Fenugreek. Care, Cultivation, Reproduction. Blank. Application. Spice. A Photo

Many housewives use the aromatic Indian curry when cooking rice, fish or hot vegetables. It contains various components, including fenugreek, which gives the flavoring bouquet a special color.

Fenugreek, or fenugreek (Trigonella coerulea), has a strong, persistent and distinctive aroma. It is widely used in Indian and Western European cuisine and is widely cultivated in these regions.

In our country, this unpretentious plant of the legume family is almost never found in summer cottages and household plots. But this is a very valuable plant. In addition to the ability to improve the quality of ready-made meals, fenugreek also has medicinal properties. It contains up to 30% mucus, which is used in the pharmaceutical industry for the manufacture of bactericidal patches. Due to the emollient properties of fenugreek, as an expectorant and anti-inflammatory agent, it helps in the treatment of colds. In addition, fenugreek, like all legumes, enriches the soil with nitrogen and improves its structure.

Fenugreek looks rather unpretentious. Bushes about 60 cm high. Stems are hollow, soft. The flowers are inconspicuous, light yellow, solitary, located in the leaf axils. The fruits are bizarre beans, which is why fenugreek got another name - "goat's horns". The seeds are large, diamond-shaped, ribbed.

There is nothing difficult in the cultivation of this spicy crop. I sow seeds directly to the garden in mid or late April, planting them to a depth of 4-5 cm. Experimentally, I came to the conclusion that it is best to sow fenugreek with continuous rows of 15 cm spacing. Seedlings appear in a week. Since that time, I regularly weed the weeds, loosen the aisles. I water it as needed.

Fenugreek blooms from the first half of June for a month, while emitting a wonderful smell, which is especially felt in the morning. Fenugreek does not lose its aroma even after drying.

For the bizarre shape of the beans, fenugreek is also called "goat's horns"

When about 60% of the beans turn yellow, I mow the fenugreek at a height of 10-15 cm from the ground. I spread the mass in a thin, loose layer on a canvas and dry it in a draft under a canopy (not in the sun). As the beans dry out, they begin to burst. I thresh them and bring out the seeds to dry in the sun. I make sure that they do not dry out.

I cut off the tops of the plants and dry them again in the shade, after which I grind them in a coffee grinder and then use them for dressing dishes from potatoes, mushrooms, and vegetable soups. I store the seasoning in an airtight container. I add ground seeds to adjika or prepare a curry mixture.

Having tried the fenugreek seasoning once, I added it to my list of must-have garden crops.