ALOE VERA RECIPES - MIRACLES OF ALOE IN KITCHEN

Eating ALOE-
“Aloe in the kitchen”

Hippocrates said “Our food should be our medicine and our medicine should be our food.”

We all have heard of the miracle plant  “ Aloe vera” and the miraculous feats  that this incredible plant performs on injured and sun burned skin.

This wonder plant is succulent and freely growing evergreen perennial herb.It belongs to liliaceae family….the same family to which garlic and onion belong to. 
Aloe vera contains over 200 active components including vitamins,minerals,amino acids,enzymes,polysaccharides and fatty acid- in fact a wonder plant used for wide range of remedies...it has both external as well as internal application.
Many people drink aloe vera juice even Mahatma Gandhiji believed that drinking Aloe juice daily in his early years helped him to withstand prolonged periods of fasting.
This wonder plant has now become a part of daily diet in many homes.One can add Aloe to smoothie,in salads and one can even prepare a delicacy from its leaves.Since I hail from Rajasthan ,this incredible plant is known as 'GAWARPATHA'  here.So here I am with two recipes of this wonder plant.
Aloe leaf is available in many of the vegetable shops in India.There are many types of Aloe Vera available in market.Prefer to choose having dark green colour leaf as it taste much sweeter than the other ones.In fact ALOE word comes from Arabic word 'alloeh' - shining bitter substance and Vera comes from Latin word 'Veritos' meaning Truth.

Aloe Paneer Melange(Classic Combination of Aloe and Cottage cheese in nutty gravy)

I saw this recipe on one of the cookery show.I made some slight variations.

Ingredients:

2 leaves of Aloe vera
1 onion                                                            
250 gm paneer

20 cashews ( make paste of 10 cashews)
1/2 cup methidana (fenugreek seeds) soaked overnight then boiled to remove its bitterness.Drain after boiling.                  
10 -15 raisins

pinch asfoetida                                                  

1 teaspoon grinded mustard seeds                      
Spices-red chilly powder,turmeric,garam masala,coriander powder,2 dried red chilly,amchur,salt
1  tablespoon edible oil ( in Rajasthan mustard oil /ground nut oil is used)

Method

Wash and peel the sides of Aloe Vera leaf to remove the thorns.Chop into cubes and pressure cook for 2 whistles with 1 cup of water.( Water can be used for kneading dough).During boiling gel present in the leaves  solidifies a little.Drain properly.
Heat oil ,add hing,dried red chilly,chopped onion,red chilly powder,turmeric powder,10 cashews chopped.Saute for 3-4 mins till oil leaves the edges.Add Aloe Vera,fenugreek seeds,salt ,garam masala,coriander powder and a pinch of sugar (sugar maintains the rich colour of the dish).Now add grinded mustard powder,amchur then paneer cubes and raisins.Add cashew paste and 1/2 cup water.Simmer on low flame for 5 min.Your impressive and healthy Aloe is ready to serve with hot crisp parantha or humble phulkas.

My serving suggestion : Serve in a silver plate and decorate (cover the royal dish) with silver leaf (chandi ka varak)

PAC DELIGHT (pineapple,aloe,cucumber delight)

Aloe is not so pleasant tasting on its own but when blended with tasty ingredients it gives a super tasty nutritious drink.This smoothie is bit tart,bit sweet and a whole lot refreshing.

Ingredients:

 (2 servings)
2 big size pineapple slices
1 cucumber peeled and cubed ( if it is organic in nature no need to peel)
1 cup Aloe Vera gel*
1/2 litre water
1 piece ginger
some mint leaves/parsley
salt,chaat masala,roasted jeera powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
crushed ice

Method:

Blend the above in mixer and add the spices according to your choice.Serve in stem glasses.

Some Tips while handling Aloe Leaf*

Aloe vera leaf has the ability to detoxify our body but it does not mean it is not toxic.It has a toxic part 'ALOIN' which has to be removed.This yellow colored ALOIN is present underneath the skin of the leaf.This bitter taste part of aloe is bitter in taste and has laxative property.

TRICK for removing ALOIN
1}EEP the leaf of the plant in the fridge overnight .Next day use the fruit peeler to remove the skin of the leaf.Be sure that you rinse the aloe gel you collect off in water two to three times to remove yellow sap.
2}If you have own potted plant then after cutting the leaf lit it stand up in a glass for 2 hours and let the yellow part drain .After that you have to fillet Aloe leaves to get gel.
                                                                               

1 Aloe vera leaf/stem

2 "filet it like a fish"

3 Gel separated out

Feel free to comment me on the above recipes from nature's wonder plant.....