Ginger As a Spice

Ginger As a Spice

Ginger has been utilized for its medicinal properties for a considerable length of time. Nevertheless it is mostly used in cooking too. Specially in many sri lankan dishes ginger is added as a spice. Sri lankans use ginger when making Dosi ( a sweet made of melon, sugar and ginger) chutney, jam and ginger beer. A word must be said about ginger beer. Sri lankan ginger beer does not contain any alcohol. So don't drink ginger beer in sri lanka and expect to get high. It is a very nutritious drink that has the ability to improve your appetite. And many sri lankans prefer ginger beer to other carbonated drinks. When it comes to tea many sri lankans love their tea with a bit of ginger. Tea with ginger is believed to enhance one's memory and also help to digest food.

Ever wondered why sri lankan curry powder is so unique. Now I am going to tell you why. Sri lankan curry powder has about 7 spices. These ingredients differ from village to village. And many sri lankans add ginger to this combination. When ginger is mixed to this combination , it becomes stronger and gets that unique taste. This is one of the reasons why curry powder in sri lanka has this amazing taste and aroma.

Ginger is also used when making cake and pudding. Specially when making traditional sweets at weddings and other special occasions ginger is used a lot.

Aloe

Aloe plant

Aloe is a short-stemmed succulent plant growing up to about 70cm tall. Leaves of this plant are thick and have spikes all over them. The edge of the leaf is serrated and has little white spikes. Inside aloe leaves there is a cool gel. Value of aloe can be mainly attributed to this gel. Aloe Vera is a plant that is mostly grown in desert like places. In other words aloe grows well in tropical areas. This plant has been used as a medicine from a very long time. Aloe is mostly used in cosmetics.  Aloe is known as a good skin conditioner that can protect you from the sun by acting as a sunblock. Aloe also has this natural substance that can heal pimples and blemishes. Many are the uses and medical advantages of aloe. People have started adding aloe juice into beverages also. i.e  milk shakes, fruit juice and so on.

Margosa

Margosa

 

Margosa otherwise called kohomba is a tree in the mahogany family. It grows in India and the Indian subcontinent including Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It is grown well under hot climatic conditions. Margosa trees are now  grown  in islands situated in the southern part of Iran. Its essence is the wellspring of Margosa oil.

Margosa is a quick developing tree that can achieve a tallness of 15–20 meters. During summer it may loose most of its leaves. The branches are wide and spreading. This tree produces white fragrant flowers. There is a belief among sri lankans when there is a Margosa tree in front of one's house with a lot of flowers it brings good luck to the house.