Scent of Green Papaya.......

Scent of Green Papaya.......
.....these things sprout up everywhere. So it seems we might as well learn how to use them!
Quick look on how papaya is good for us
Has more carotene compared to other fruits.
Contains very few calories: 32 KCal per 100g
Will ensure a good supply of vitamin A and C.
Is an excellent aid to digestion, as it contains digestive enzymes.
Can be prescribed for dyspeptic patients.
Is an ideal food for invalids.
Can be used as tenderizer in cooking.
Is reported to speed up healing, particularly parasites.

Healing
Healing speeds up with pieces of papaya laid on wounds and surgical incision. A large number of people believe that pregnant women should avoid papaya as it may cause a miscarriage. Scientifically speaking there is no evidence to support these beliefs.

Green Papaya Salad

This is a favourite dish of the Thai people- in some parts of the country they eat it as a part of every meal! Not only is it a safe way to consume salad (because it only uses inner parts of the papaya and so does not need to be cleaned), but it is known for it's anti-parasitic properties.

To prepare:
Pick the papaya: a green one looks green from the outside (rather than having orange tones). You may need a long stick to dislodge papayes form tall trees!
Wash it to clear off the white sticky latex
Peel the papaya with a veggie peeler

Now you need a special papaya shredder! These are available at every Thai kitchen shop. They look like an ordinery horseshoe-shaped peeler, but instead of a straight blade, the blade has a cerrated edge. Use your shredder to create slivers of green papaya into a big bowl

Now make your sauce Shamanic SomTam Sauce:
lemon juice of 1 lemon (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
teapoon of brown sugar or honey
3 cloves of garlic
1 spoon of Chili paste: Mae Pranom Brand Thai Chili paste (contains fish and shrimp) http://importfood.com/cpmp1601.html
1-10 chillies, according to taste!
fish sauce - a quick sprinkle
soya sauce- a spoonful or so
sprinkle of sea salt
Cashew nuts or sunflower seeds (much healthier than peanuts!)

The whole recipe can be made without fish sauce and Mae Pranom's to make it vegetarian.Throw the above ingredients into your mortar and bosh it with a pestle! Make sure the garlic is crushed and the nuts are broken down.Add a handful of your shredded papaya. Bodh it all well, so the sauce covers the papaya. the boshing action also helps break down the cellulose in the papaya, making it softer and easier to digest.
Use a large serving sppon to scoop mixture up from the bottom of the mortar as you pound it. Keep adding papaya, pounding well before adding the next handful.Serve it up to eat.

It is fabulous with brown rice, rice noodles and pasta.
Another variation is to stir in a tin of tuna to the salad, making it much more hearty a meal!And even more... You can cook green papaya like a vegetable. Turn it into a cuury, or a soup.... You can place the whole green papaya in your fruit basket and wait a few days for it to ripen.

Fruit treats
The fruit may be eaten as is it.....or try blending it with coconut milk, honey and spirulina and drink a papaya smoothyIf you have a freezer compartment you can then freeze the smoothy for a few hours and make papaya ice cream....mmmmmmmmmmmmm