BURSTING WITH VITAMINS

How can you imagine a traditional Azerbaijani meal in summer with different kinds of viands if there is no coban salad. This is an extremely tasty and nutritious, refreshing salad of finely chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and fresh herbs, with a dressing of sunflower oil and lemon juice and moderately seasoned with salt and ground black pepper. M-m-m… It's really yummy. All these yummy things appear to have just been picked from the vegetable patch and served right away. 

And it is not at all cheeky or boastful to say that the tastiest cucumbers and tomatoes are grown in Azerbaijan. You don't believe it? Ask the visitors to our land. It may be said that no visitor or tourist who comes to Azerbaijan fails to notice the special taste and aroma of the vegetables picked from Azerbaijan's fertile soil.

Green and unripe

Whether it is an ordinary or a cultivated cucumber, it is an annual herbaceous plant of the Cucurbitaceae [gourd] family. According to the etymological dictionary of the German specialist in linguistics, Max Julius Vasmer, the name has been borrowed from Greek, and goes back to the word "unripe". This vegetable, eaten in unripe form is deliberately contrasted with the melon which is eaten when it is ripe.

According to the latest studies, the melon and the cucumber are 95 per cent genetically similar. The cucumber is not only a low-calorie product, but is also one that contains a minimum number of calories while being maximally nutritious. The calorific content of a fresh cucumber is only 13.5 kcals per 100 gr. This means that you do not have to give up eating cucumber if you are on the strictest of diets. Besides, the cucumber is especially good for you if you are overweight, because it regulates the appetite, creates a feeling of being full and facilitates digestion.

One hundred grams of fresh cucumber is made up of 98.5 g of water, which helps to quench thirst and cleanse the body; it contains a tiny bit of proteins, fats and carbohydrates; one gram of food fibre which helps the keep the bowels working properly; it also has a small amount of group B vitamins, ascorbic acid, vitamins E and PP; it contains a large amount of potassium as well. The most valuable property of the cucumber is that it helps keep the heart and kidneys working properly; compared with other vegetables, it has a large amount of iodine which is easily absorbed by the body. It also boasts a wealth of minerals such as sodium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, chlorine, aluminium, cobalt, chromium, fluoride, zinc, copper, manganese and molybdenum which ensure normal metabolism.

The cucumber facilitates the absorption of protein food, so it is good to serve it with meat dishes. Fresh cucumbers are highly beneficial for those suffering from problems of the cardio-vascular system and the digestive tract. They have a diuretic, laxative and choleretic effect. You can avoid oedema and constipation if you eat cucumbers. The gentle cellulose cleanses the bowel and rids it of excess cholesterol, which helps to stop atherosclerosis from developing. A unique property of fresh cucumber is that it neutralises the acidic compounds which disrupt the metabolism processes, lead to salt precipitation and the ageing of the body. The regular consumption of fresh cucumbers protects you against diseases of the thyroid gland.

Cucumber juice and the flesh of the cucumber are still regarded as an irreplaceable means of achieving a healthy skin and hair. They are used for getting rid of freckles and whitening the skin, for combating inflammation, rashes and excessive weight. The fresh cucumber has the power to do all of this. For whom might fresh cucumber be harmful? People suffering from gastric diseases that cause hyperacidity. The cucumber's ability to boost the acidity of the gastric juices means that it cannot be part of the diet of people suffering from gastritis and gastric ulcers.

Nursing mothers should not forget about the laxative effect of fresh cucumbers.

Cucumbers in eastern medicine

Farid Alakparli, a specialist in the history of eastern medicine, says that this annual is grown everywhere in Azerbaijan and primarily on irrigated plots. Back in 1311 the Azerbaijani scholar Yusif ibn Ismail Khoyi wrote that the cucumber was good for treating swelling of the intestines, quenching thirst, excreting bile and urine, and getting rid of kidney stones. It is good for treating severe fevers, jaundice and headaches.

Avicenna writes that cucumber leaves can be placed on nettle-rash to soothe it. Smelling cucumber helps people who have fainted. The cucumber root is an emetic agent. Muhammad Mu'min recommends the following for improving the complexion: soak cloves in cucumber juice for a 24 hours, then take the cloves out and drink the juice with honey sherbet. If you continue to do this for several days, the complexion will improve. If you boil up fresh cucumber skin and drink it for three days, that is good for jaundice.

The 18th century writer Muhammed Hussain Khan notes: "The best sorts of cucumbers are the smooth, thin ones, especially the very thin, bumpy ones… Cucumbers have cleansing properties, they quench thirst well, cool the body down, expel bile and lower blood pressure. Besides this, they expel renal stones and sand from the kidneys and bladder, and bitter cucumbers are more effective in this sense."

"Eat more tomatoes"

Dieticians will happily recommend this to prevent cardio-vascular diseases and for a hypocholesterine diet. It has been shown that fresh tomatoes and tomato extract help to lower the overall cholesterol level. Besides this, it has been shown that tomato extract (tomato paste) prevents heart attacks. The world learned about tomatoes thanks to America. The residents of Mexico, the Aztecs, called the tomato "tomatl". This is where the word "tomat" came from. Europeans called this exotic vegetable "the love apple" or the "golden apple" (in French it sounded like "pomme d'amour" and in Italian "pomi doro").

This is how the word "pomidor" came about. Tomatoes belong to the Solanaceae family which includes such vegetables as aubergines [egg plants], peppers, and potatoes. Tomatoes arrived in the East from Western Europe. Contemporary studies show that tomatoes contain the substance lycopene, which protects the heart, blood vessels and bones. Just like herbs, beta-carotene and vitamins A and E, lycopene lowers the risk of myocardial infarction. Doctors recommend tomatoes for people whose metabolism is disrupted and who are suffering from cardio-vascular diseases and from stomach and intestinal upsets. Besides this, tomatoes contain substances which suppress the development of pathogenic micro-organisms.

Many studies have confirmed that tomatoes possess anti-cancer properties. They combine two necessary properties: a powerful antioxidant and a strong anti-inflammatory, which are equally necessary for preventing serious ailments. Many forms of cancer start as a result of chronic acidifying stress and chronic inflammatory disease, but tomatoes help to keep these processes in check.

The best studied form of cancer using tomatoes is prostate cancer. The scientists' verdict is unequivocal: by eating tomatoes men's risk of prostate cancer is considerably lowered. Alfa-tomatine has been discovered in tomatoes, a substance that kills existing cancer cells. Besides this, tomatoes have a beneficial effect on some types of cancer of the lungs, pancreas and breast cancers. Besides alpha-tomatine, lycopene plays an import part here. 

As they are a storehouse of beneficial nutritious substances, tomatoes are needed in many diagnoses. For example, for those suffering from metabolism syndrome and obesity, for lowering the risks of some neurological diseases (including Alzheimer's). Moreover, if you simply want to lose 2-3 excess kilos, you should definitely include the low-calorie fat-burning lipids in tomatoes in your everyday menu.

Tomatoes provide the body with an excellent concentration of vitamin C and beta-carotene, a very large quantity of manganese, as well as vitamin E. They contain a large amount of potassium and vitamin K. There are quite a few studies testifying to the anti-oxidant protection afforded by tomatoes in the bones, liver, kidneys and blood.

COBAN SALAD

Coban salad is shepherd's salad which is an inseparable part of an Azerbaijani meal, especially in the summer when there are plenty of fruits and vegetables. It is not hard to guess that this is the case because it is so easy to prepare. You can literally cut it up while you are on the go like a shepherd, for whom it is sufficient to take with him some tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh herbs, cut them up, mix them with a bit of salt and pepper and have lunch sitting on the grass in the shade.

Ingredients:

2 cucumbers

4 tomatoes 

1 pepper

1 small red onion

Fresh herbs - coriander, dill, basil, mint

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

The salad should be prepared 30 minutes before serving. Wash the vegetables and herbs. Cut the vegetables into small pieces and chop the herbs. Add vegetable oil and salt and pepper to taste. Mix it all together and place in the fridge, to allow the salad to release its juices which are very tasty. You can dunk your bread in the juice and eat it. You can also add a tablespoon of lemon juice. The salad goes well with meat dishes, especially with sislik [shishlik; shish-kebab].

Enjoy your meal!