(Kufte Tabrizi) Tabriz is the capital of Azerbaijan province in northern Persia. ½ pound rice ¼ pound yellow split peas 1 pound ground lamb, veal, or beef 2 onions, grated ¼ teaspoon each turmeric, pepper , and curry or clove ½ teaspoon salt 3 hard-cooked eggs or 6to 9 dried prunes or plums 12 almonds, blanched and chopped 1 large onion, chopped and sautéed in butter until lightly browned. Cook the rice according to directions for chelou and rinse. Cook peas until very tender, then mash. Grind the meat twice through finest blade of a meat grinder. Combine the rice ,peas, meat, grated onion, spices, and salt and knead the mixture into a dough. Wet a clean cloth and spread it in a small round bowl, approximately 6 inches in diameter, which will serve as a mold. Fill the bowl half full of dough. In the center place either a hard- cooked egg or 3 prunes or plums, and sprinkle with a little chopped almonds and 1 teaspoon of the sautéed onion. Cover the ingredients with more of the meat dough and shape the whole into a medium-sized ball. Make two more balls in the same manner, using remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil 3quarters of water, filling to the top a sauce- pan large enough to hold the three meat balls. Add remaining sautéed onion and carefully lower the meat balls into the boiling water. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until well done. Remove meat balls to a serving dish and either pour the broth over them or serve it separately. If desired, 2 cups lemon or pomegranate juice may be substituted for part of the water used to cook the balls . Also cooked chicken meat ,mixed with fruit and nuts ,may be used in
(Kufte Tabrizi)
Tabriz is the capital of Azerbaijan province in northern Persia.
½ pound rice
¼ pound yellow split peas
1 pound ground lamb, veal, or beef
2 onions, grated
¼ teaspoon each turmeric, pepper , and curry or clove
½ teaspoon salt
3 hard-cooked eggs or 6to 9 dried prunes or plums
12 almonds, blanched and chopped
1 large onion, chopped and sautéed in butter until lightly browned.
Cook the rice according to directions for chelou and rinse.
Cook peas until very tender, then mash. Grind the meat twice through finest blade of a meat grinder. Combine the rice ,peas, meat, grated onion, spices, and salt and knead the mixture into a dough. Wet a clean cloth and spread it in a small round bowl, approximately 6 inches in diameter, which will serve as a mold.
Fill the bowl half full of dough. In the center place either a hard- cooked egg or 3 prunes or plums, and sprinkle with a little chopped almonds and 1 teaspoon of the sautéed onion. Cover the ingredients with more of the meat dough and shape the whole into a medium-sized ball. Make two more balls in the same manner, using remaining ingredients.
Bring to a boil 3quarters of water, filling to the top a sauce- pan large enough to hold the three meat balls. Add remaining sautéed onion and carefully lower the meat balls into the boiling water. Cover and simmer for about 2 hours, or until well done. Remove meat balls to a serving dish and either pour the broth over them or serve it separately.
If desired, 2 cups lemon or pomegranate juice may be substituted for part of the water used to cook the balls . Also cooked chicken meat ,mixed with fruit and nuts ,may be used in the center of the meat balls in place of eggs.
Ingredients of Adas Polou ¾ pound lentils 1 pound long-grained rice 2 tablespoons cooking oil 1 tablespoon Hot water 1 pound diced cooked lamb, veal or chicken ¼ pound stoned dates ¼ pound currants ½ teaspoon saffron ½ cup melted butter or margarine (Serve 3 to 4) Wash lentils, cover with highly salted water, and cook until tender. Drain.Cook the rice according to the directions for chelou and mixed with the cooked lentils. Coat inside of a deep casserole with 2 tablespoons oil mixed with the hot water. Place casserole over low heat and pour in half the rice and lentils. Place meat on top and sprinkle with the dates and currants. Add remaining rice, mounding it up, and make a hole in the center. Cover and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 45 minutes. Just before serving , mix saffron with a little hot water and with ½ cup melted butter or margarine and stir highly into the polou. Note: If desired,2 or 3whole hard-cooked eggs may beaded with the meat. This polou may also be served with Qameh instead of meat or chicken. In this case just use dates, currants, and eggs for the filling. Serve hot with pickles.
Ingredients of Adas Polou
¾ pound lentils
1 pound long-grained rice
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tablespoon Hot water
1 pound diced cooked lamb, veal or chicken
¼ pound stoned dates
¼ pound currants
½ teaspoon saffron
½ cup melted butter or margarine
(Serve 3 to 4)
Wash lentils, cover with highly salted water, and cook until tender. Drain.Cook the rice according to the directions for chelou and mixed with the cooked lentils. Coat inside of a deep casserole with 2 tablespoons oil mixed with the hot water. Place casserole over low heat and pour in half the rice and lentils. Place meat on top and sprinkle with the dates and currants.
Add remaining rice, mounding it up, and make a hole in the center. Cover and bake in a preheated 350° oven for 45 minutes. Just before serving , mix saffron with a little hot water and with ½ cup melted butter or margarine and stir highly into the polou.
Note: If desired,2 or 3whole hard-cooked eggs may beaded with the meat. This polou may also be served with Qameh instead of meat or chicken. In this case just use dates, currants, and eggs for the filling. Serve hot with pickles.
Qeymeh is a Persian stew consisting of meat, tomatoes, split peas, onion and dried lime. The stew is garnished with eggplant and/or French fries that usually served with rice. Variations Qeymeh Sibzamini or classic Qeymeh: Qeymeh stew with thin-cut potato fries. Qeymeh Bademjan: Qeymeh stew with pan-fried whole or long-cut eggplants. This easy stew is a perfect weekend dish for when the days start getting a little colder and you need a big pot of hearty goodness! If you can, use lamb shoulder on the bone for the best flavor. You can buy in at butchers and ask them to trim off all the fat and cut it into small chunks. Alternatively, use lamb steaks from the supermarket and add some chicken or vegetable stock to give it some oomph. Dried limes add the unique Persian flavor to this dish with their sour and slightly bitter aroma. You can buy them from most Middle Eastern shops or online. I’ve included two options for toppings – potatoes or eggplants. Qeymeh is just as good with either topping (and extra delicious with both!) Serves 4-6 Ingredients 2 onions 3garlic cloves, crushed1.2 kg lamb (on the bone preferably) cut into 1 inch chunks2 tbsp liquid saffron1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cinnamon , 1 tbsp lemon juice 1/2 tsp ground cumin ,1/2 tsp ground coriander 150g yellow split peas 3 tbsp tomato purée6 dried limes Salt and pepper Vegetable oil Toppings: 1 potato 1. Fry the onions in a large casserole pot until they are soft. Add the garlic and fry for another few minutes. 2. Add the meat, turmeric, cumin, coriander and cinnamon and fry until the meat is brown on all sides. Then add the saffron, tomato puree, lemon juice and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Add enough cold water
Qeymeh is a Persian stew consisting of meat, tomatoes, split peas, onion and dried lime. The stew is garnished with eggplant and/or French fries that usually served with rice.
Variations
Qeymeh Sibzamini or classic Qeymeh: Qeymeh stew with thin-cut potato fries.
Qeymeh Bademjan: Qeymeh stew with pan-fried whole or long-cut eggplants.
This easy stew is a perfect weekend dish for when the days start getting a little colder and you need a big pot of hearty goodness!
If you can, use lamb shoulder on the bone for the best flavor. You can buy in at butchers and ask them to trim off all the fat and cut it into small chunks.
Alternatively, use lamb steaks from the supermarket and add some chicken or vegetable stock to give it some oomph. Dried limes add the unique Persian flavor to this dish with their sour and slightly bitter aroma. You can buy them from most
Middle Eastern shops or online. I’ve included two options for toppings – potatoes or eggplants.
Qeymeh is just as good with either topping (and extra delicious with both!)
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
2 onions
3garlic cloves, crushed1.2 kg lamb (on the bone preferably) cut into 1 inch chunks2 tbsp liquid saffron1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cinnamon , 1 tbsp lemon juice
1. Fry the onions in a large casserole pot until they are soft. Add the garlic and fry for another few minutes.
2. Add the meat, turmeric, cumin, coriander and cinnamon and fry until the meat is brown on all sides. Then add the saffron, tomato puree, lemon juice and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper. Add enough cold water to cover the meat (around 500ml) then put the lid on the pot and cook over a low heat for about an hour and a half. While the meat is cooking wash the split peas and leave to soak in cold water.
3. Around 30 minutes into the cooking time pierce the dried limes with a fork few times and add them to the stew along with the yellow split peas and another 250ml of water.
4. After the stew has been cooking for 1 hour add 1 teaspoon of salt. Squash the dried limes against the sides of the pot until they burst to release their juices and stir well. Then continue cooking until the split peas are cooked through and the lamb is tender.
5. When the Gheymeh is almost ready, prepare your topping:
Slice the potato into matchstick sized pieces, salt them and fry until they are crispy. Set them aside on some kitchen paper to drain and sprinkle over the stew just before serving.
Serve with white rice and a green salad.
Khoresh-e Fesenjān , or simply Fesenjān, is an Iranian stew flavored with pomegranate syrup and ground walnuts . It is traditionally made with poultry , but also variants using balls of ground meat, ghormeh cut lamb, fish, or no meat at all are not unusual. Depending on the cooking method, it can have sweet or sour taste. It is served with Persian white or yellow rice . It is also found in Iraq and Azerbaijan Fesenjan This khoresh is also a very old and popular dish with all Iranians. It is mandatory at all festival dinners and the public food servings of the religious nights of Ramadan and Muharram. It may be made of duck, partridge, chicken, lamb or veal hind shin, shoulder, or ground meat. 1 large onion, minced ½ teaspoon pepper ½ teaspoon turmeric 2 tablespoons butter or cooking oil 1 pound meat or a small duck or partridge ½ pound walnut meat, coarsely chopped 1/3 cup hot water 1 ½ cups pomegranate juice Salt to taste Juice of 1 or 2 lemons (optional) 1 small eggplant Cooking oil 1 ½ teaspoons cardamom powder Sauté the onion with the pepper and turmeric in the butter or the oil until well browned. Remove onion and drain. If ground meat is used, make small balls and brown slightly in the oil remaining in the pan. If birds are used, brown them on all sides. Sprinkle meat or birds with the flour and the chopped walnuts and sauté for a few minutes longer. Add water, pomegranate juice, and salt to taste and , if you like a sourer dish, the lemon juice. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Peel eggplant, cut lengthwise into 6 or 8 pieces, sprinkle each piece with salt, and stack one on top of the other for a few minutes to drain .Then rinse in cold water, dry ,
Khoresh-e Fesenjān , or simply Fesenjān, is an Iranianstew flavored with pomegranate syrup and ground walnuts . It is traditionally made with poultry , but also variants using balls of ground meat, ghormeh cut lamb, fish, or no meat at all are not unusual. Depending on the cooking method, it can have sweet or sour taste. It is served with Persian white or yellow rice .
It is also found in Iraq and Azerbaijan
Fesenjan
This khoresh is also a very old and popular dish with all Iranians. It is mandatory at all festival dinners and the public food servings of the religious nights of Ramadan and Muharram. It may be made of duck, partridge, chicken, lamb or veal hind shin, shoulder, or ground meat.
1 large onion, minced
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons butter or cooking oil
1 pound meat or a small duck or partridge
½ pound walnut meat, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup hot water
1 ½ cups pomegranate juice
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 or 2 lemons (optional)
1 small eggplant
Cooking oil
1 ½ teaspoons cardamom powder
Sauté the onion with the pepper and turmeric in the butter or the oil until well browned. Remove onion and drain. If ground meat is used, make small balls and brown slightly in the oil remaining in the pan. If birds are used, brown them on all sides.
Sprinkle meat or birds with the flour and the chopped walnuts and sauté for a few minutes longer. Add water, pomegranate juice, and salt to taste and , if you like a sourer dish, the lemon juice. Cover and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.
Peel eggplant, cut lengthwise into 6 or 8 pieces, sprinkle each piece with salt, and stack one on top of the other for a few minutes to drain .Then rinse in cold water, dry , and sauté in hot oil until lightly browned on both sides. Arrange the eggplant on top of the meat or poultry, partially cover, and simmer over low heat until the eggplant is tender and a rich, brown gravy rises to the top. Add powdered cardamom, stir well but gently, and cook about 5 minutes longer. Serve with chelo.
Note:
1pound white fish or salmon may be used instead of meat or poultry. In this case the cooking time will be about 15 minutes less. Also either of the following vegetables may be substituted for the eggplant :one pound fresh pumpkin meat, minced and sautéed , or one pound Italian squash halved and sautéed.
Sometimes I use lemon or lime juice, brown sugar, and ½ cup tomato juice when pomegranate juice is not available.
Qormeh Sabzi is an Iranian herb stew. It is a very popular dish in Iran and neighboring Azerbaijan Republic. It is often said to be the Iranian national dish. The history of Qormeh Sabzi dates back at least 500 to 2,000 years. Etymology Qormeh is the Persian word for "stew", while Sabzi is the Persian word for herbs. Preparation This mixture is cooked with kidney beans, yellow split-peas or black-eyed peas, yellow or red onions, black lime (pierced dried limu-Omani Persian lime), and turmeric-seasoned lamb or beef. The dish is then served with chelo (Persian parboiled and steamed rice) or over tahdig. This khoresh is served with chelou or kateh, dami and sweet polou. It is very much favored for picnics, and is humorously titled say-yed-ul-qava-mire, meaning the master of all minced ones. 1pound shoulder, leg, or shanks of lamb or veal with bone 1medium onion, chopped 2 tablespoons oil 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 teaspoon black pepper ½ cup hot water 1 cup lemon juice 2 pounds equal parts of fresh green onion leaves, celery leaves, spinach, parsley, and fresh dill (if available) 1/3 cup any good oil One of the following ingredients: 3 ounces dried red or small white beans or ½ pound chopped raw potatoes (Serves 4 to 5) Cut meat into large pieces and sauté it with the onion in the 2 tablespoons oil until browned. Add turmeric and pepper, the hot water, and lemon juice. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Meanwhile wash and mince all vegetable leaves and, without adding water, cook them in the large frying pan over low heat, folding constantly until wilted and dry. Add the 1/3 cup oil and mix and sauté about 5 minutes longer. Add vegetables to the simmering meat. If dried beans are to be used, they must be added now. Cover top partially and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes longer. If potatoes are used, they should be sautéed
This khoresh is served with chelou or kateh, dami and sweet polou. It is very much favored for picnics, and is humorously titled say-yed-ul-qava-mire, meaning the master of all minced ones.
1pound shoulder, leg, or shanks of lamb or veal with bone
1medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ cup hot water
1 cup lemon juice
2 pounds equal parts of fresh green onion leaves, celery leaves, spinach, parsley, and fresh dill (if available)
1/3 cup any good oil
One of the following ingredients:
3 ounces dried red or small white beans or ½ pound chopped raw potatoes
(Serves 4 to 5)
Cut meat into large pieces and sauté it with the onion in the 2 tablespoons oil until browned. Add turmeric and pepper, the hot water, and lemon juice. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile wash and mince all vegetable leaves and, without adding water, cook them in the large frying pan over low heat, folding constantly until wilted and dry.
Add the 1/3 cup oil and mix and sauté about 5 minutes longer. Add vegetables to the simmering meat. If dried beans are to be used, they must be added now. Cover top partially and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes longer. If potatoes are used, they should be sautéed slightly in a little oil and then added to the meat. Let simmer again, partially covered, until a rich gravy rises to the top.
Note:
Sour fruit such as unripe sour plums or dried limes may be added in place of the lemon juice.
Rhubarb Rhubarb is a plant from the sorrel’s family (knotweed) and with aerial stalks plus leaves which contain of food storage and acidic, so that’s why people use it in their foods. Rhubarb is found in three varieties: red, green or speckled. The colors refer to the fibrous edible stalk of the plant. The rhubarb plant is large and typically requires one square yard of garden space. The smooth stalks can reach a length of 18 inches and a width of 2 inches. Cross sections of the rhubarb stalk are solid. Rhubarb leaves are large, smooth, dark green when mature and have curled edges. This Sour nutritious plant can be found in different parts of Iran like near hillsides, rivers, and places with calm weather in spring. Thick and meaty leaves of this plant are used in Foods. Proliferation of this planet is with cultivation in green house and transmission to the field, or with plant new seeds. You can use Rhubarb in desserts, pastry, and so on. Raw rhubarb is naturally sour.You can cook it with sugar or honey to make it sweet, after that cook pastry with them. Rhubarb along with strawberry is used in jam or jelly. Seasonings which are used with rhubarb are lime,ginger, and cinnamon. You can Keep rhubarb for two days in refrigerator. For keeping it for a longer time, you can freeze them after cutting the stalks. In the eastern plateau of Iran's farsi speakers called it Rawash or Ryvach. How to Freeze Raw Rhubarb Rhubarb is available cut up and frozen or as long, fresh stalks, and it is also possible to grow it in your garden if you live in an area with cool summers -- temperatures less than 75 degrees F -- and cold winter temperatures of less than 40
Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a plant from the sorrel’s family (knotweed) and with aerial stalks plus leaves which contain of food storage and acidic, so that’s why people use it in their foods.
Rhubarb is found in three varieties: red, green or speckled. The colors refer to the fibrous edible stalk of the plant.
The rhubarb plant is large and typically requires one square yard of garden space. The smooth stalks can reach a length of 18 inches and a width of 2 inches. Cross sections of the rhubarb stalk are solid. Rhubarb leaves are large, smooth, dark green when mature and have curled edges.
This Sour nutritious plant can be found in different parts of Iran like near hillsides, rivers, and places with calm weather in spring. Thick and meaty leaves of this plant are used in Foods. Proliferation of this planet is with cultivation in green house and transmission to the field, or with plant new seeds.
You can use Rhubarb in desserts, pastry, and so on. Raw rhubarb is naturally sour.You can cook it with sugar or honey to make it sweet, after that cook pastry with them.
Rhubarb along with strawberry is used in jam or jelly. Seasonings which are used with rhubarb are lime,ginger, and cinnamon.
You can Keep rhubarb for two days in refrigerator. For keeping it for a longer time, you can freeze them after cutting the stalks.
In the eastern plateau of Iran’s farsi speakers called it Rawash or Ryvach.
How to Freeze Raw Rhubarb
Rhubarb is available cut up and frozen or as long, fresh stalks, and it is also possible to grow it in your garden if you live in an area with cool summers — temperatures less than 75 degrees F — and cold winter temperatures of less than 40 degrees F. Rhubarb has a high water content and is fairly low-calorie. It has only 26 calories in one cup, and it contributes to your daily vitamin A and C and potassium intake. Should you find rhubarb taking over your yard or encounter a particularly cheap sale at the market, stick the extra rhubarb in your freezer. Pre-freezing preparation is minimal.
Step 1
Wash and dry the rhubarb completely.
Step 2
Cut off any wilted or otherwise unsightly, and pull off stringy parts. Remove all leaves.
Step 3
Chop the rhubarb into smaller chunks, as you prefer. Cut rhubarb in containers is more convenient for storing.
Step 4
Spread the pieces on a tray in one layer, or measure out specific amounts and place them in a freezer-safe container, with at least 1/2 to 1 inch of space between the fruit and the lid. For example, if you regularly make a pie that uses 1 cup of rhubarb, measure separate one-cup portions. Freezing the rhubarb in a portion means the pieces could stick together. Freezing them separately on a tray first keeps them loose, so you can take only what you need without thawing the entire container.
How to Grill Rhubarb
Rhubarb is a stalk vegetable that looks similar to celery. Rhubarb commonly serves as a dessert food, such as in a pie. The characteristic tart flavor of the vegetable is usually cut with sugar. Grilling rhubarb with a touch of sugar caramelizes the stalks, making for a sweeter, lighter and healthier end to your meal. You can grill rhubarb easily on a gas or charcoal grill.
Step 1
Wash the rhubarb to remove any dirt or silt that remains on the stalks. Dry with paper towels.
Step 2
Cut the stalks into 2-inch, bite-sized pieces.
Step 3
Place the rhubarb in a zip-top plastic bag with up to 1/3 cup of sugar. Let the vegetable and sugar soften for at least an hour. As the rhubarb and sugar mixture sits, preheat your grill to medium-high heat.
Step 4
Remove the rhubarb, shake off any excess sugar and place it in a grill basket. Use a heat-proof frying pan or casserole dish if you do not have a grill basket. The purpose of the vessel is to prevent the small pieces from falling between the grill grates.
How Many Calories Are in a Cup of Cooked Rhubarb With No Added Sugar?
Rhubarb is most often stewed, baked or preserved in jams or jellies. Because of its tart, acidic flavor, it is typically sweetened with sugar or honey, though doing so can more than quadruple its calorie content per serving, points out Dianne Lamb of the “Brattleboro Reformer.” Without added sweeteners, cooked rhubarb is low in calories and rich in essential nutrients such as dietary fiber, potassium, vitamin C and calcium. Use cooked, unsweetened rhubarb as an ingredient in sauces for fish or meat, or prepare it with fruits like strawberries, apples or pears for a sweet but low-calorie topping for ice cream or in baked goods.
Total Calorie Content
A single cup of cooked rhubarb that includes no added sugar contains approximately 50.4 calories. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this amount is roughly equivalent to the calories you would receive from consuming 1 cup of cooked chopped broccoli, 1 cup of chopped raw carrots, 1 cup of raw, peeled apple slices or 1 cup of cooked yardlong beans.
Calories from Fat
Rhubarb is very low in fat: 1 cup of unsweetened cooked rhubarb provides only 4.3 calories from fat, or about 11 percent of the vegetable’s total caloric content. Most of rhubarb’s fat calories come from polyunsaturated fat — approximately 2 of the 4.3 calories — with a small amount also contributed by monounsaturated and saturated fat. Rhubarb does not contain any cholesterol.
Calories from Carbohydrates
A 1-cup serving of cooked rhubarb without any added sugar contains nearly 11 grams of total carbohydrates, which supply 43.6 of the 50.4 calories per cup of the vegetable. Rhubarb has 4.3 grams of fiber in each cooked cup, though fiber does not contribute any calories to the total amount. The bulk of rhubarb’s carbohydrate calories is supplied by simple sugars such as fructose.
Calories from Protein
Rhubarb is low in protein, with each cup of cooked, unsweetened rhubarb containing about 2.2 grams of protein, or 8.8 calories. This amount is 17 percent of the caloric content of each cup of plain, cooked rhubarb. The protein in rhubarb is incomplete — the vegetable does not provide all of the amino acids that your body requires every day. Eating a wide variety of plant products regularly can ensure that even people who don’t consume any animal products can get adequate protein.
The Health Benefits of Rhubarb
Rhubarb with cool temperament contains of vitamins and various minerals. Rhubarb, as a nutritious plant, incredibly and miraculously increases the efficiency of your body.
Before 18thcentury people had not used rhubarb for their foods.
Rhubarb appears to look like red celery, but it has large leaves and is actually considered to be a member of the fruit family. The stem of the rhubarb plant is usually cooked and used in desserts, such as pie, but it can be eaten raw as well. Rhubarb is also available in frozen form, but choose one that does not contain added sugar, because it will have more nutritional value. Rhubarb offers many health benefits, and finding a way to add it to your diet can help you take advantage of them.
Calcium
Your diet should include plenty of calcium because it is a nutrient essential for the health and strength of your bones and teeth. Having adequate stores of calcium will help prevent softening of the bones as well as bone and tooth loss. One cup of rhubarb supplies 105 mg of calcium, which is about 10 percent of the 1,000 mg of calcium average adults need in their daily diet.
Lutein
Rhubarb is also a good source of lutein, a compound that has many health benefits. Including plenty of lutein in your diet is a healthy way to take care of your skin and eyes. The Lutein Information Bureau reports that your skin and eyes are the only organs in your body that are exposed to the environment and need additional nutrients to keep them healthy and prevent disease. Lutein helps neutralize free radicals, which are dangerous compounds that can lead to cancer. A 1-cup serving of rhubarb contains 207 mcg of lutein.
Vitamin K
Another notable vitamin in rhubarb is vitamin K. Your diet should include sufficient amounts of vitamin K because this nutrient helps form blood clots when you are injured. If you have a vitamin K deficiency, you may have a more difficult time clotting your blood, which can lead to an unhealthy amount of blood loss in the event of an injury. One cup of rhubarb supplies 35.7 mcg of vitamin K.
Antioxidants
The compounds that give rhubarb a vibrant red color are powerful antioxidants that can promote good health and help prevent disease. Roberta Larson Duyff and the American Dietetic Association report in their book, “American Dietetic Association Complete Food and Nutrition Guide,” that red fruits and vegetables contain several beneficial antioxidants, such as lycopene and anthocyanins. These compounds help promote the health of your heart, eyes and immune system, as well as help prevent cancer. Cooked rhubarb supplies a good dose of lycopene, but raw rhubarb supplies none.
When to Plant
Plant or divide rhubarb roots in early spring while the plants are dormant. Planting seeds is not recommended except in extremely southern areas of the United States.
Spacing & Depth
Plant the roots with the crown bud 2 inches below the surface of the soil. Space the roots 36 to 48 inches apart in rows 3 to 4 feet apart. Good garden drainage is essential in growing rhubarb. Planting on raised beds ensures against rotting of the crown. Working plenty of well-rotted manure or compost into the rhubarb bed before planting greatly increases production .
Old roots may be dug and divided to make new plantings. Cut the roots into four to eight pieces. Each piece must have at least one strong bud. To improve vigor and leaf size, many gardeners divide the old plants and establish a new planting after at least 5 years of full harvest. Plantings older than this tend to begin crowding themselves out. Dig the roots of the most vigorous, healthy plants to establish a new bed the spring before the old planting is to be discarded.
Care
Cultivate shallowly as often as necessary to remove weeds. Apply a complete garden fertilizer before growth begins in the spring and side-dress with a high-nitrogen fertilizer in late June. Except in poorly drained sites, organic mulches help moderate soil temperature and moisture. Irrigate during extended dry periods. An application of manure or compost is beneficial in late fall or early winter. Do not cover the crowns.
Harvesting
Do not harvest rhubarb during the first year of planting. Newly set plants need all their foliage to build a strong root system. Stalks may be harvested for 1 or 2 weeks during the second year and for 8 to 10 weeks (a full harvest season) during the third and subsequent years. Harvest in the fall only when the plants are to be discarded the next season. To harvest, pull the leafstalks from the plant and trim off the leaf blades. The leaf blades contain large amounts of oxalic acid and should not be eaten. To keep the plants healthy, vigorous and producing well, remove only about one-third of the leaves from a plant at any one time.
If seedstalks and flowers develop during the spring and summer, cut them from the base of the plant as soon as they appear and discard them. Vegetatively propagated, named varieties usually have been selected to produce fewer seedstalks than cheaper, seed-produced plants. The petioles (leafstalks) are of the highest quality (maximum color, flavor and tenderness) in early spring. They should be crisp and fairly thick. Yield and quality are highest if petioles that have just reached full size are harvested before any coarse fiber can develop.
Stew rhubarb
Delicious stew with sour taste is stew rhubarb that is a special one for spring. You can prepare it with mint & parsley (like celery stew) with a unique scent.Ingredients for this amazing stew include:
Rhubarb, onion, sugar, deboned meat, pepper, salt, oil, fresh mint and fresh parsley .
First peel the onion and wash them. Chop them to sliced pieces. Put some oil in the pan and let it to get hot then add the onion. Fry them until they are golden.
Second wash and slice deboned meat and add it to the onion in the pan. Let the color of meat change. Now add 2-3 glass of hot water to the mixed of onion and meat. Wait until the meat is cooked.
Third wash and peel rhubarb and chop them to 3 cm pieces. Simultaneously wash fresh mint and parsley and finely chop them.
Forth put oil in a small pan and let it to get hot. Add mint and & parsley.
Note:Too much mint makes your stew bitter.
Fifth add mint and parsley to cooked meat and let to boil together for 10 minutes, then add rhubarb, sugar, salt, and pepper to the mixture and let them to cook for 10 more minutes.
Note: As the rhubarb crushes early, so after adding it to the stew, do not boil it too much.
Note: As you like sour taste of rhubarb you don’t have to add sugar to the stew.
