hiccup 

Chan for barbecue. Chaman: what is it and when is this spice used. Marinades for barbecue recipes

The variety of aromas and tastes can turn the head of a novice cook. And how many interesting names spices used in modern recipes! Therefore, it is very important to understand the principle of working with aromatic additives and to study the properties of various spices. We invite you to get to know seasoning "chaman", which is in demand in the preparation of dishes of Eastern cuisine.

On the site site you can find out Where to buy your favorite spices at an affordable price price and understand the intricacies of reproducing amazing recipes.

Spice chaman: what is it?

Spices- this is an integral addition to any culinary masterpiece, because they are able to give the dish a rich taste and unique aroma. Chaman is grass the legume family, which is known to many as fenugreek, shamballa or helba.

What same such a spice chaman? The plant is used in this form:

  • Seeds are only mature beans. Light roasting is preliminarily carried out, it is important not to overexpose the seeds on fire, as they will start to taste very bitter. With proper heat treatment, they give the dish a rich nutty taste and tart aroma.
  • The stems and leaves of the plant are harvested during flowering. They are dried thoroughly in a well-ventilated area, and then ground to a state of flour. They are used as a spice because they have a unique flavor.

Applies plant in various dishes:

  • Soups, salads and the second are excellent.
  • They bake bread with fenugreek and make unique confectionery products.
  • Used in the alcohol industry.
  • Creations of amazing tea, coffee and various drinks.
  • In the production of green cheese.
  • In vegetarianism, fenugreek is considered a valuable source of protein.
  • Preparation of marinades and preserves.

On our website you can find photo and feedback on the use of fenugreek.

Composition of spice chaman


Thanks to its unique composition, seasoning It is not for nothing that it is also called Shambhala. Fenugreek can be attributed to a plant miracle, because it contains:

  • Potassium.
  • Calcium.
  • Arsenic.
  • Magnesium.
  • Phosphorus.
  • B group vitamins.
  • Nicotinic acid.
  • Ascorbic acid.
  • Iron.
  • Squirrels.
  • Essential oils.

Thanks to the unique components, the plant is capable of:

  • Increase appetite and stimulate the digestive tract.
  • Reduce blood pressure.
  • Improve the work of the cardiovascular system.
  • Normalize metabolic processes in the body, therefore it is used in the treatment of diabetes.
  • Soften cough.
  • Increase the body's defenses.
  • Relieve allergic reactions.
  • Reduce toothache.
  • Remove decay products from the body.
  • Eliminate skin diseases.

How to cook Armenian chaman?

Based on seasoning cook inimitable in taste Armenian chaman:

  • Boil water and let it cool down to 30°C.
  • Enter 900 grams of fenugreek. Mix thoroughly and leave to cool completely.
  • Add 450 grams of chili pepper and the same amount of paprika to the resulting mass.
  • Enter 450 grams of garlic, passed through the press.
  • The next step is to add 2 teaspoons of cumin, black and allspice.
  • The ingredients are mixed until a homogeneous, pasty consistency is obtained.

Seasoning is ready!

Chaman in Armenian barbecue

To prepare the right Armenian barbecue it is impossible to do without fenugreek. All you need is 1 teaspoon of marinade seasoning for the flavor of the meat to make you forget everything in the world!

How to replace chaman?

Many chefs wonder if what to replace spice if it's over? None of the spices is able to fully reproduce the unique properties of chaman. As a last resort, you can try replacing Shambhala with blue fenugreek (ucho-tsuneli) or add ground hazelnuts to the dish to add a nutty flavor.

Armenian kebab recipe

To prepare a delicious Armenian barbecue you will need:

  • meat (pork, beef, it is better to use lamb);
  • bulb onions;
  • salt;
  • ground black pepper;
  • fenugreek;
  • greenery.

Cooking process

So, let's find out how to cook Armenian barbecue. First you need to choose good meat, which must be fresh so that the taste is on top. The meat must be cut into pieces (the size of the pieces will depend on your brazier), but it is better not to make too huge pieces so that the kebab can fry quickly and remain juicy.

Onion cut into rings and now you can learn how to barbecue. There is nothing complicated and everyone can do it themselves. After the meat and onions are chopped, we proceed to prepare the marinade for the future barbecue at home. I would like to note right away that for this it is necessary to use glassware to prevent changes in taste. You can also marinate meat in ceramic dishes, but if this container is not available, use enameled.

We place the chopped pieces in a glass container, take the onion rings in our hands and knead them with our hands, thereby breaking them and squeezing the juice out of them. Throw the onion into the dish and mix well with your hands.

Then we cut the greens (parsley, green onions) and add them to the meat, before rubbing them in our hands with the necessary amount of salt.

We take ground black pepper and sprinkle the prepared. Do not forget that pepper must be added to taste and proceed to add the most important ingredient - fenugreek. In Armenian, it sounds like a chaman. We add it to the meat no more than a teaspoon, this amount will be enough to make the aroma go crazy.

Once again, mix the meat with all the ingredients with your hands and leave the dishes with the marinade to infuse in the shade for 30-40 minutes. It’s not worth leaving for a long time, and now let’s find out how to fry an Armenian barbecue.

After the meat has been saturated with all the spices, it is necessary to proceed to the most important part of the preparation - fry it on the grill. We put the pieces on skewers, and send them to hot coals. Remember that shish kebab is best grilled not on red coals, but on slightly burnt ones.

The temperature from such coals is excellent, it turns out excellent and, and not burnt or dried out. During frying, do not forget to turn the skewers every 50-60 seconds so that the kebab is fried evenly and juicy.

In order to make the dish especially amazing, during frying, use a cardboard box or an ordinary newspaper, with which you wave it over the grill, this will contribute to better cooking and the smoke from the coals will better soak the meat and make it especially tasty.

We wish you all bon appetit and a pleasant weekend.

Chaman- a herbaceous plant, a representative of the legume family. This herb is also known under the names of shambhala, fenugurek, fenugreek. Scientists call India, Pakistan the birthplace of the plant. The word "chaman" is also used to denote a spice with a tart taste and a specific smell.

Chaman is an essential ingredient for making basturma.

The plant was well known to the ancient Egyptians. Scientists have found references to the fact that it was used in mummification. In Europe, it was known primarily as a medicinal plant.

Chaman is also called a mixture of spices that are used to prepare basturma and other dishes. The spice got its name from the name of the main ingredient, because chaman in Armenian means “blue fenugreek”.

How to cook chaman for basturma? To prepare this seasoning, add 900 g of ground chaman to warm boiled water and mix. Next, the mixture is left to cool and 900 g of ground pepper (1: 1 chili and paprika), 450 g of crushed garlic, 2 tsp are added. ground black pepper, allspice, as well as cumin. The mixture is thoroughly stirred to the consistency of a paste.

What can replace chaman? If you do not have the most important ingredient, the housewives claim that it can be replaced with suneli hop seasoning, which is sold in any supermarket.

cultivation

Growing a chaman is not that difficult. It belongs to precocious, drought-resistant and cold-resistant plants. The grass grows well on fertile soils, does not tolerate very acidic soils. In order to increase the productivity of the chaman, it is enough to add a little lime to the soil. The plant should be grown in places hidden from the wind, well refreshed by the sun. It propagates with the help of seeds, which are sown in spring directly into the ground. They germinate at a temperature of 10 degrees Celsius, for optimal growth, the temperature should be 20-25 degrees above zero.

After the first shoots have risen, it is necessary to deal with their thinning. Chaman blooms in June, but its fruits ripen in early autumn. The plant needs watering, especially until it sets fruit, then watering can be stopped. A very important place in the cultivation of chaman is the protection of the plant from weeds. When weeds appear, they must be removed, as they will impair the growth and development of the chaman.

Beneficial features

The beneficial properties of chaman have long been known to folk medicine. The strong smell of the herb is due to the presence of coumarin. Plant seeds are rich in protein (up to 30%), as well as fatty oil (up to 6%), mucus, vitamin PP, essential oils, alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins.

In Indian medicine, chaman is known as a lactation enhancer. In addition, the plant stimulates the digestive system, and also helps the heart. In diabetes, it is taken in order to control blood sugar levels. It is used externally for wounds. Widely used in cosmetology for skin and hair care.

Application in cooking

In cooking, chaman has found application as a seasoning that gives dishes a special aroma and taste. As a spice, both seeds and greens of this plant are used.

Chaman is included in such well-known seasonings as curry, various Indian massals, suneli hops.

Chaman is especially popular in the countries of the East, as well as in India, where it is called Shambhala. Ground chaman resembles coarse flour, with the difference that it is slightly beige in color.

Chaman is considered a classic spice for flavoring different types of cheese, such as green cheese. In Indian cuisine, the mature seeds of the plant are used. In America, it is used to flavor rum. The roasted seeds are used to make a coffee substitute. The aroma of these seeds is sweetish, to many it resembles the smell of burnt sugar. When added to food, chaman adds a nutty flavor and flavor to dishes, so it can easily replace hazelnuts in some recipes. Seeds are recommended to be added in small quantities so as not to spoil the taste of the whole dish.

The most famous dish with chaman is basturma. It is dried meat, beef with spices. This dish is very popular in Armenia, Egypt. Beef tenderloin according to an ancient recipe is cut into 2 pieces, washed. Sea salt is mixed with sugar and the meat is rolled in this mixture on all sides. The meat is left to rest for 5-7 hours. A plate of meat is placed in the refrigerator overnight, and then left for 12 hours. Then the meat should be washed from salt and allowed to dry. When the beef dries, it is covered with a cloth and put under pressure to remove moisture from the tenderloin: this way it will become more elastic. Next, prepare the chaman seasoning and coat the tenderloin on all sides with the resulting mass. After 2-3 hours, the sidebar is smeared again with a sauce prepared on the basis of chaman. After that, the meat is left to hang in the open air for 2 weeks.

Serve ready-made basturma, cutting the meat into thin slices. The serving is usually accompanied by cilantro and/or basil greens.

Chaman is considered a very famous seasoning, which is used alone or mixed with other spices and spices.

It is indispensable in the Eastern culinary tradition, where chaman ("blue fenugreek") is used quite often, especially when preparing the traditional dried meat dish, basturma, which we have already described above.

Chaman not only favorably emphasizes the taste of the dish, but also has many useful properties.

Using this seasoning will help make the dish tasty and healthy.

2014-05-14

Date: 14 05 2014

Tags:

Barbecue marinades are often the subject of controversy at male friendly gatherings. Everyone defends the “correctness” of their favorite barbecue marinade. The only argument is usually the words: "Yes, I've been doing this for a hundred years ... it always turns out delicious." Well, that sounds pretty convincing! Based on “delicious” and today I will tell you about my tested barbecue marinades.

Have you ever wondered “why marinate barbecue”? Do you really need a marinade for barbecue? Consider the common statement: "A marinade is needed to tenderize the kebab meat." There is some truth in this.

The fact is that the marinade, even during many hours of marinating, only slightly penetrates deep into the meat for barbecue - only a few millimeters. Therefore, the marinade cannot soften the connective tissue (collagen) that is inside the cuts of meat. Only the surface softens, but it seems to us that the whole piece of meat becomes softer from pickling - after all, biting into it becomes really a little easier!

If the marinade does not have any significant effect on the softness of the kebab, why is the meat still marinated?

Consider for this the components of marinades:

1. Spices, fresh and dried herbs, wines, garlic, onions give the kebab a certain aroma and taste. They do not affect the softness of the meat!

2. Fats (vegetable oil) are used to dissolve aromatic substances found in spices and herbs. Thus, they mainly serve to ensure that aromatic substances get to the surface and a little bit - deep into the meat for barbecue. Marinade fats will not soften tough meat!

3. Barbecue marinades usually contain acids. They are found in fruit and berry juices (apple, lemon, orange, cranberry, pomegranate), tomato juice, wine, wine and balsamic vinegar, lactic acid products. Acids somewhat destroy the connective tissue on the surface of the meat, by doing this they also facilitate the penetration of aromatic substances a little into the thickness of the meat for barbecue.

4. Salt mainly serves to enhance and improve the taste of meat.

I also want to add that the widespread use of onions in barbecue marinades is due to its excellent compatibility with any meat and fish. In addition, the sugar contained in the onion caramelizes during this time, which gives the meat a beautiful crust.

How to prepare onions in barbecue marinade

In order for the onion to have the desired effect in the marinade, it must release the juice. To do this, you can simply chop the onion thinly, salt and mash with your hands, grate on a coarse grater (or pass through a meat grinder) and squeeze out the juice.

Without belittling the importance of the marinade for the taste and aroma of the barbecue, in conclusion of my “cleverness”, I want to say that the consistency and juiciness of the barbecue to a greater extent depend (in my humble opinion) on the quality of the meat, the ability to cook it and a good barbecue.

To ensure a deeper penetration of the marinade into the thickness of the meat, the marinated kebab is often massaged with the hands several times during exposure. In this case, the pieces are well compressed, released and mixed, repeating the procedure many times.

We will take as a condition that our barbecue is “correct”, the meat is of excellent quality and we know how to cook it well. Therefore, we will focus on what it can be marinated in.

Marinades for barbecue recipes

Sour-milk marinade for barbecue (for any meat and poultry)

Ingredients

We will need:

1 liter of any quality fermented milk drink (natural yogurt, kefir, curdled milk, ayran, matsun, matsoni)

Red hot pepper (fresh)

Most often, I make such a marinade from homemade yogurt.

About the greens for such a marinade. My favorite for lamb skewers is savory, thyme, purple basil, rosemary, a little bit of mint. You can take a mixture, or you can take some separate grass. For chicken - garlic arrows, green basil, cilantro. For pork - basil (purple, green). For shish kebab from offal (kidneys, liver) - marjoram. For fish - dill, thyme. Onions are often added to sour-milk marinades.

Separate conversation - about spices. I prefer to add the bare minimum - just a little black pepper and the occasional ground fenugreek (my personal preference).

Mix the fermented milk product with chopped pepper, herbs, salt. The marinade is ready. I prefer not to finely chop the spicy herbs for marinating the kebab, but put them in sprigs, crushing the leaves with my hands.

Marinade for barbecue from homemade tomato juice (for pork, lamb, beef)

Ingredients

We will need:

Tomatoes

green cilantro

We prepare juice from tomatoes in any way.

For such purposes, it is best to take juicy, not fleshy tomatoes. Basically, any is fine. Salt the juice, put the crushed garlic, cilantro, prepared onion.

White wine marinade (for chicken, turkey, fish skewers)

Ingredients

White wine 1 liter

thyme or savory

We mix all the ingredients. You can add onions, a little wine vinegar and ground white pepper to the base.

Marinade from sherry, madeira, marsala (for shish kebab from beef, lamb, game)

Ingredients

Wine 800 ml

Sherry vinegar 200 ml

We mix the products and marinate the barbecue. Sherry vinegar can be replaced with good wine vinegar (3-6%). In the marinade for game (wild boar, roe deer), add a few crushed juniper berries.

Marinade for red wine barbecue (for beef, lamb, game, pork)

Ingredients

Wine 1 liter

purple basil greens

We prepare the marinade from the indicated products. You can add onion, a little bay leaf, black pepper to the base.

Marinade for kebab with lemon juice (for chicken, turkey, fish)

Ingredients

Lemons 2 pieces

Olive oil 200 ml

thyme, green basil

Squeezing juice from lemons

mix with olive or any other high-quality vegetable oil, put greens, salt and marinate the kebab. It is highly desirable to add onions so that the lemon taste is somehow balanced. But again, this is my personal opinion.

Marinade for pomegranate juice barbecue (for lamb, pork)

Ingredients

Grenades 3 pieces

Olive oil 150 ml

Onion 2-3 heads

green cilantro, basil

Squeeze the juice from pomegranate seeds, mix with olive oil, prepared onions, salt, herbs. The marinade is ready.

The barbecue marinade should favorably emphasize the taste and aroma of meat without drowning it out. Knowing why, in principle, you need a marinade, you can experiment with its various components. And what are your favorite barbecue marinades, my dear readers?

I recently remembered a song from my favorite movie. I never thought that ... thunder would break out again over the world and the sky would burst into flames ...

In order to prepare a delicious dish, you need a set of products, a little skill, as well as various spices to add flavor to the food. In some recipes, you can find such a spice as chaman. What it is, when it is better to use it and what dishes simply cannot do without it - all this will be discussed below.

About the concept

First, it is necessary to understand the concept itself. So, chaman - what is it? This is a spice, which, by the way, has several names, and each of them is used quite often. So, this spice can also be called shambhala, fenugreek and fenugreek. As for the name we are describing, it is most common in Armenia. In the vastness of our homeland and in Europe, this spice is often called "shambhala".

About spice

It is worth saying that the chaman belongs to the legume family, this has long been known. It will also be interesting that various parts of it can be used for food. So, the seeds of this plant, leaves and even stems (in ground form) are perfect. Having understood the concept of "chaman" - what it is, it is also worth saying that this spice gives the dishes an amazing nutty taste, and in some cases it can even replace ground hazelnuts, if necessary. Basically, this spice has an interesting bittersweet flavor, which gives the dishes an amazing persistent flavor.

Mistakes

You should know what chaman (spice) looks like so as not to confuse it with other spices. So, in crushed form, the spice looks like coarse flour of beige color. However, culinary specialists say that Shambhala fenugreek is often confused with blue fenugreek (utskho-suneli, common in the Caucasus), which is not worth doing. After all, these are completely different things. It is considered a huge mistake to identify ground chaman with ground cumin, this is also unacceptable.

Application

When may you need chaman seasoning? The use of spices will be relevant for the preparation of dishes from meat, fish and poultry. It is worth mentioning that this spice appears in all recipes for making basturma. It is also good for various kinds of soups: mushroom, pea, potato, onion. As already mentioned, chaman gives the dishes a light nutty hue, and it is also similar to the mushroom taste. In India, shamballa is used more as a vegetarian food. This spice is also widespread in Armenia, where it is almost the main one in the preparation of various types of meat. It will also be interesting that this spice is by nature an excellent thickener (analogous to starch), so it is often used to prepare various sauces. It will also be important for many that this seasoning goes well with other herbs and spicy vegetables. And ground chaman is part of such spices as suneli hops and curry.

Substitutes

Many may have a logical question: can we replace chaman (seasoning) with something else? So, no other spice can convey exactly the same taste and aroma, but the previously mentioned utskho-suneli spice is similar. And since chaman has a slight nutty flavor, in some cases ground hazelnuts can replace it.

Medicinal properties

Having understood the concept of chaman - what it is when this spice is used, it is also worth saying a few words about what benefits it brings. So, it will be interesting that in India, women consume shamballa seeds after childbirth in order to put their back in order, normalize metabolic processes in the body, and also promote the flow of breast milk. As for the expanses of our homeland, then this spice is also used to improve the body. First of all, it should be said that it is an excellent anti-inflammatory, sedative and wound healing remedy. The use of this spice on convalescent people will have a good effect: it helps to restore and gives strength and energy. Consumption of chaman in the form of porridge will help to cope with hair problems and women who have little breast milk when feeding babies. This spice perfectly heals wounds, heals boils and even ulcers (the whole reason is the huge content of adhesives in the spice). And in the form of an ointment, it will help to cope with problem skin. A tablespoon of chaman mixed in a cup of warm milk is an excellent tonic. It will also be interesting that ground fenugreek, both in the old days and now, is used in the treatment of impotence in men and infertility in women. According to other sources, this spice is an excellent aphrodisiac. For women, the following information will be important: you can make hair conditioners from chaman (ground chaman + yogurt), as well as face masks (along with turmeric and vegetable oil).

Attention!

Although this seasoning is almost universal in its use, it is also worth saying that there is a category of people for whom it can be dangerous. Yes, they are pregnant women. They should not consume this spice, because it contains saponins, which can provoke a miscarriage.