Kitchen Medicine Cilantro / Coriander …

I love Coriander Y Y Y …  I think it is my most favourite (culinary) herb of all.  If I could, I would always have the leaf available and add it to everything!!   I think it is a bit of a ‘Marmite’ plant though because it seems that you either love it or hate it (ie, no inbetween!).  It seems to some that it tastes ‘soapy’ and I have seen it said that this may either be due to the presence of an enzyme in saliva or to one of the constituents that makes it taste so to some people!

Coriander’s botanical name is Coriandrum sativum and is related to the carrot and parsley family. 

We generally think of the leaf of the Coriander plant as ‘Coriander’ but there is some confusion as to whether it should be called Cilantro and it seems that this depends upon where you are in the world!  Coriander is often referred to as ‘Coriander leaves’ in the UK but it is also known as Arab, Chinese or Mexican parsley in France.  In the United States and other parts of the world, it is called Cilantro, which is the Spanish word for coriander leaves. What the?!!

What we can say for sure is that the flavours of the seeds and the leaves have quite different tastes!  The root can also be used, as it is in Thai cuisine.

Coriander is often used for ‘balancing’ the flavour of hot spicy dishes and is used for just this purpose in Thai, Indian, Moroccan, Mexican, Chinese, Indonesian, African and South American cooking.  

My Sister-in-Law, who was Thai, used to make up a simple ‘salad’ consisting of chopped carrots and cucumber, chopped sausage (could be veggie sausage), soy sauce (which she used to keep in a jar with chillies infusing in it … so it was chilli-soy sauce), lemon juice and lashings of coriander leaf.  It is delicious – and can be modified in all sorts of ways but the mixture of tastes was wonderful and the coriander leaf offsets the heat of the chilli-soy sauce.

Coriander is a little powerhouse of nutrients, containing Antioxidants, Vitamins, Minerals and Volatile Oils.

Therapeutic uses …

Coriander has a cooling effect in the body and is especially used in this regard in Ayurvedic (Indian) medicine to balance hot, inflammatory conditions, especially of the digestive tract. 

In India they tend to use a lot of coriander leaf in foods both to prevent and remedy symptoms such as heartburn, indigestion, wind, colic and diarrhoea.   It can also be used to enhance appetite and improve digestion and the absorption of nutrients.  Coriander seeds can be taken along side laxatives to prevent any griping that they may cause.

The cooling effects of coriander can also be used to help urinary disorders, particularly those with hot burning symptoms, like cystitis.  I have included some recipes below and you can find a tea recipe there which can be used for this purpose.

  

Coriander may also help to remedy hot flushes during menopause.  An infusion of coriander can be used for this purpose and you can read how to do this on the next page.

In China coriander seeds are used to promote sweating and break a fever and are also used to bring out the rash in infections like chicken pox and measles, plus to stimulate the appetite.

Coriander seeds can be used to help fight colds, flu, coughs and catarrh and also act as a decongestant.  When combined with turmeric and cumin in a hot tea, this is especially effective.  This tea also makes an effective gargle for sore throats and oral thrush.

As you can see, there are so many uses for Coriander apart from just its culinary purposes.  Following are a few formulas and recipes for using Coriander…

Recipes …

SALMON WITH LIME, CORIANDER AND CHILLI CRUST – taken from the Daily Mail

Enlarge

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

Finely grated zest of 1 lime
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 fresh salmon fillets or steaks

METHOD:

Preheat your oven to the hottest setting.
Mix together the lime, chilli, coriander and olive oil to make a paste, and season with salt and pepper. 

Place the salmon fillets in a baking tray and press the paste onto the top of each piece of salmon, totally covering the fish.  Bake for 15 minutes, or until fish is opaque and firm to the touch. Serve with basmati rice and steamed broccoli.

Coriander Pesto …

INGREDIENTS:

1 clove garlic, peeled

1/2 cup almonds, cashews or brazil nuts or a mix of them, chopped finely

1 cup fresh coriander leaves

2 tablespoon lemon juice

6 tablespoons cold-pressed: extra-virgin
olive oil

Sea salt, to taste

METHOD:

Blend the coriander and oil in a blender until the leaves are chopped. Add the garlic, nuts and seeds and lemon juice and mix until the mixture is blended into a paste. Add a pinch to sea salt to taste and blend again. Store in dark glass jars and in the fridge to extend shelf life.

Coriander Seed Tea ...

Coriander seeds can be made into a light yellow, aromatic tea that eases digestion and relaxes the mind and body. You can drink it on its own, but it works even better in blends.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 teaspoon crushed coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon crushed fennel seeds

1 teaspoon ginger root

Use 1 tsp of herb mixture to each cup hot water.  Infuse for 10 minutes with the lid on the teapot or lid on the pan.  Add honey to taste.

Coriander and Fennel can help digestion while adding Cinnamon and Ginger to Coriander can help to cool fevers..

Another Coriander seed tea blend …

1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 tsp of fennel seeds
1 tsp of cumin seeds

Add ½ to 1 tsp of the herb mixture to each cup of hot water and infuse for 10 minutes, with a lid on the teapot.  This tea will help soothe an irritated gut and cools the body.  Add honey to taste.

Coriander Essential Oil …

Coriander is also used as an essential oil … it is described as having a sweet, warm, herbaceous fragrance.

Coriander has soothing and calming properties which can help the digestive and the circulatory system.  Whilst being calming it can also refresh and uplift the mind and is useful for mental fatigue, migraine, tension and nervous weakness. 

Coriander essential oil is also helpful for rheumatism and arthritic pain, as well as muscle spasms and is also useful with colds and flu.  It also acts as a general cleanser of the body, to rid it of toxins and fluid wastes.

Ways to use Coriander oil …

In an oil burner – it can stimulate the mind and ease fatigue.  It can also help to improve the appetite.  Just add 2 – 3 drops to your oil burner.

Used in a bath – add 2–3 drops but note that essential oils are not water soluble so they will float on top of the bath and skin passing through the oil will be exposed to full strength essential oil.  You can either mix the essential oils into a carrier oil (eg Almond oil) first or you can even use full fat milk as a dispersant in the bath … but agitate it well before stepping in!

Add the essential oil to massage oil, cream or lotion, wherein it can help digestion and pains of arthritis or rheumatism.  Use only 4–6 drops of essential oil per treatment and always diluted in at least 10 – 15 mL oil / cream / lotion.

For babies (older than 2 months) use only 1 drop diluted first as above.  Do not use Coriander oil during pregnancy.

Enjoy using Coriander ... see you next time !

El x