Think saffron round up and announcing the spice for November…

For the last few months, I’ve been urging my fellow bloggers to think about a particular spice during the month…and not once did you disappoint me. This month too, all of you came out with wonderful creations and I’m very pleased to round them up. The exquisite spice of saffron has been celebrated in so many novel ways…main dishes, desserts, drinks..you name it. My sweet tooth is really on a high…check out the entries and you’ll know why.

But before I offer you the round up to last month’s edition, of Think Spice…,let me announce the spice that I want you to think about during the month of November…and it is none other than…do I hear the drums rolling….now hold your breath…if you don’t want to, at least pretend to…now don’t be a spoil sport…okay, let me put you out of your misery…it’s Ginger.

As for ginger,

• Ginger is the common name for the monocotyledonous perennial plant Zingiber officinale. The term is also used to describe the edible part of the plant which is commonly used as a spice in cooking throughout the world. Often erroneously referred to as “ginger root”, the edible section is actually the horizontal subterranean stem or rhizome of the plant.
• The ginger plant has a long history of cultivation known to originate in China and then spread to India, Southeast Asia, West Africa, and the Caribbean.
• Ginger contains up to 3% of an essential oil that causes the fragrance of the spice.

Apart from it’s culinary use, ginger has quite a lot of medicinal properties as well…I remember my koka (grandad) urging us to have finely chopped ginger with a little salt for tummy troubles and also to revive the taste buds when ill. Some more medicinal properties follow….

• The medical form of ginger historically was called “Jamaica ginger”; it was classified as a stimulant and carminative, and used frequently for dyspepsia and colic. It was also frequently employed to disguise the taste of medicines.
• Ginger has been found effective by multiple studies for treating nausea caused by seasickness, morning sickness and chemotherapy,
• Tea brewed from this root is a folk remedy for colds.
• Ginger ale and ginger beer have been recommended as “stomach settlers” for generations in countries where the beverages are made and ginger water was commonly used to avoid heat cramps in the US.
• Ginger has also been historically used to treat inflammation, which some scientific studies support while others show ginger to be no better than a placebo or ibuprofen.(more here)

If all the above have inspired you enough, then get started and give a little thought to this wonderful spice…in other words, during the month of November, if you Think spice…think ginger. You can use any variety of ginger and in any form(updated)

And before mailing the entries, please go through the guidelines to make sure that everything is in order, especially the links to the specific recipe…it would really be a big help. Thanks and looking forward to your future participation.

Now , for the round up…as before, I’ve tried my best to document all the entries..if, you notice anything amiss, please feel free to point it out and I will try to correct the error as soon as possible.

Does sleep refuse to touch your eyes? Then Kribha’s masala paal, which is her mom’s recipe, is just the thing for you…it is supposed to induce sleep.

Bee and Jai thought this lovely picture of their peach lassi with saffron sucks… you can imagine what their non-sucking ones look like!

Rina has never used saffron in her cooking before but came up with this wonderful peach mango kesar shake.

The ever enthusiastic Asha has sent us some delicious saffron infused sweet and savoury butternut squash patties…who can resist.

Anh wanted to make something to celebrate the return of her senses after being under the weather for a while…and does so with her fried zesty spiced sweet puffs.

Manisha joins us with a’ traditional, simple and flavorful recipe from Persia which goes by the name of sabzi polow.

A kitchen scientist and a white rat hubby brings to us the saffron rice which she made to serve an elderly couple…well, this would satisfy all ages.

Lissie brings us this lovely chicken pulao, in which the chicken is cooked along with the rice.

Maryann’s lovely risotto Milanese with saffron would win over even chef Ramsay… it does look good.

Cinnamon brings to us her stunning version of saffron rice…it sure does look the part.

After two tries, dear Zlamushka has finally managed to join us…and she does so with her saffron rice, which she is trying out for the first time…doesn’t look like a maiden effort at all.

Sushma joins us with a wonderful recipe for kesar pulav.

This is Revathi’s first online event participation…and she sends us this lovely saffron rice which she managed to rustle up for friends after a hectic day.

Priya’s sabz chawal is a variation of vegetable pulao and is a meal in itself…looks beautiful.

Saju’s tempting mutton biryani is an East African style Biryani ,in which the meat curry and rice are kept separate.

Bindiya offers a quicker and healthier alternative to pulao with her baked saffron pulao.

Lizanne tries to kill two birds with one stone with her safron risotto with grilled shrimp …she certainly succeds!

Keerthi’s kesari pulao with paneer and peas looks beautiful and tempting.

Suganya calls her saffron rice , humble…well, I call it mild and lovely.

Mansi’s love for the Italian cuisine and particularly ravioli is reflected in her stuffed ravioli in saffron and cream sauce.

Dear Musical has put so much thought into her dish that needless to say she has named it ‘thoughtful paneer’..looks lovely and of course, deep in thought.

Hima has done a good job her brother’s colleague’s recipe for paneer chettinad… hot , hot , hot.

Sia brings to us this gorgeous looking dish of paneer koftas in creamy saffron gravy…very tempting.

Viji joins us with these lovely saffron buns…who can resist!

After much thought about it’s authenticity, Mike prefers to call his saffron flan ‘Mediterranean’…whatever be it’s origins, it sure looks great.

Red chillies stumbled upon the idea for this Saffron rava badam cake in one of her eureka moments…I’m so glad she followe her instncts..

Bazu’s sourdough semolina saffron bread is an experiment with sourdough…it has come out so well.

Dhana sends us not one, but two different recipes for cookies with saffron…saffron and coffee,saffron and orange.

Dhivya was a bit apprehensive about her saffron tea loaf…but it was needless…the loaf looks wonderful.

I contributed to the event with my saffron-coconut muffins with saffron cream topping.

Suma fulfilled her desire to make shrikhand with her peach-saffron shrikhand…I’m drooling now.

Hima celebrates her 50th blog post with a low fat and low calorie version of rasmalai.

Tee brings us her mom’ recipe for a quick dessert in the form of peach sudharas…must have finished quickly as well.

Padma brings us this lovely looking kesar pista amarkhand, a mango flavoured dairy dessert form the west of India.

‘Sehr gut”, said Pushpa’s hubby while enjoying her lovely saffron milk jelly…well I say, ’sehr, sehr gut’.

Easy craft joins us with this lovely saffron cashew halwa…delicious.

The kitchen scientist with a white rat hubby said that even a policeman would be able to make this beautiful tapioca custard…it’s that easy.

Raaga loves this badam kheer so much that she even made sure it was served as one of the desserts for her wedding… the way it looks, it’s really no wonder she loves it so.

Rajeshwari managed to catch the train at the last moment with her milk kesari, and I’m so glad she did…looks so tempting.

Sharmi sends us the sago pudding that she made for Durga puja…lovely.

Kamini can’t stop reminiscing whenever she makes rabdi…her mother’s favourite dessert… with those looks., I wouldn’t mind that at all.

Bhawna sends us a very nice and simple recipe for aloo ka halwa…very unique.

When I saw Roopa’s boondhi laddo, I was so happy…it’s one of my favourite sweets…so what if I couldn’t have them , at least I can feast my eyes…

Rajitha’s very fancily named saffron rocotta with sweet carrots does look posh indeed…find out it’s common name for yourselves… I’m not telling you.

Madhu joins us with this lovely plate of badam barfi.

Siri’s lovely looking shrikhand is one very quick and easy to make dessert.

Veronica brings us this beautiful saffron and cardamom panna cotta…her hubby said that too much of saffron made one laugh…well, with such a dessert, who wouldn’t!

Saju also sends us this lovely seviyan/sweet vermicelli which was a part of her Eid celebrations.

Happy cook joins us with some mango kulfi with coconut, which she enjoyed making as well as having it…not surprising at all.

Latha sends us this cute bowl of kalkandu pongal/sugar candy rice pudding, which is prepared during certain festivals.

Sirisha’s mava kesar roll is simply to die for…don’t they look tempting.

From the passionate baker and beyond, comes this delicious looking bowl of phirni/rice pudding…absolutely beautiful.

Pragyan brings us some kheer sagar which is one of the many milk based sweets in an Oriyan household…more like an ocean of indulgence.

Namratha shares her recipe for this beautiful looking rice pudding.

Roopa was trying to use up all her perishables before embarking on a trip and came up with this lovely bowl of chickpeas, leek and saffron soup.

Lakshmi joins us with a recipe for perumal theertham or divine water, used for religious purposes…

After finding out the many benefits of oatmeal, Vijaya has become it’s fan and she sends us a lovely bowl of pistachio oatmeal.

Pamela’s craving for some spicy Indian food led her to dish up this delicious moghlai murgh/moghlai style chicken.

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Vege Yum joins us with this lovely and subtle saffron tea which includes four C’s…find out what they are.

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Even at the last minute, dear Srivalli was able to dish out these cute biscuits with a safffron and peach topping.

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Thanks to each one of you for those wonderful saffrony entries… looking forward to the gingery ones now.