Backyard spices to flavour your food

If you like your food hot and spicy, you can add a sizzling boost to your dish, beverages or milk products with natural ingredients, all of which you can grow in your little backyard garden or in pots on your balcony.

You will not only be enjoying your meals but also having a healthy feast.

This year’s Nairobi International Trade Fair, organised by the Agricultural Society of Kenya, showcased a number of highly valued natural spices.

The Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (Kalro) displayed the value of the vanilla plant – a highly valued climber and orchid in the market.

Vanilla is mostly used to add that satisfying taste and flavour in dairy products. You cannot mention ice cream, milkshake or yoghurt without the thought of the vanilla flavour.

Elizabeth Kimani, a Kalro officer, says that the vanilla thrives in hot and humid areas like the coastal and lake regions and parts of western Kenya like Busia.

Temperature ranges of between 28 and 35 degrees are ideal for the plant’s growth. But this does not limit those interested in planting some vanilla vines in their backyards, away from the aforementioned areas.

“If planted in areas with fluctuating temperatures, their growth may be stunted but farmers in highland areas may put up a sizeable greenhouse with controlled humidity and temperature and the plant will still grow well,” says Ms Kimani.

HOW TO PLANT IT

Vanilla

Vanilla is planted as a vine; usually the vine will be about one metre long. It takes between 18 to 22 months to attain its first flowering. When the vanilla plant attains maturity (experts call it curing), they form pods just like beans. One cured bean goes for Sh100 in the local market.

“By the time you are harvesting vanilla, the pods have to be cured (just like ripening of bananas but for this plant, we call it curing). This means that it would have developed the flavour and scent. A long bean of vanilla has five to 10 beans,” she says.

Joan Wakasa, a lecturer of Information Science at Karatina University, is a passionate vegetable farmer.

She plants a number of other natural herbs in her backyard, in Nyeri town.

Rosemary

The Rosemary plant is one of the spices in her garden. It is a member of the mint family.

“Rosemary, just like many herbs, requires very little effort, little space and not even the best soil. One can actually grow enough to supply not only the needs of their family, but friends and small restaurants in their area just like I do,” says Ms Wakasa.

She says, however, that Rosemary seeds are scarce and many have resorted to planting its cuttings instead – which still do well.

Ms Wakasa says that she buys a bunch of Rosemary cuttings (of less than 15 centimetres) from a farmer in Nyeri at Sh30.

She then digs a hole of less than an inch deep and places the cuttings and waters regularly for faster maturity. “If you want finger-licking roasted meat or stew, then this is the spice to use – fresh from the farm. You can also use it in rice meals and your milk tea; you will literally forget your regular dishes,” she says.

She hints that Rosemary brings out the best taste when added to already cooked food just about to simmer. It can also be packed in nylon paper for refrigeration, she says.

In her garden is also parsley, from the coriander (dhania) family.

Ms Wakasa says parsley’s seeds are first grown in a seed bed for two weeks then left to grow in a mixture of soil and manure. The seeds cost her Sh200 a pack.

Parsley

Parsley can also be planted in tins or small pots.

This herb couples well with meat and egg dishes, potato and pasta dishes, vegetables, rice, salads, and soups, as well as cottage cheese and herb butters.

“Make sure you give enough spacing between the holes while planting parsley. They are ready for harvesting after two months. The darker their green leaves, the more pronounced the flavour-rich garnish for any dish,” she says.

Ms Wakasa says you can add sliced parsley to a dish near the end of the cooking process or dust it on vegetables or salads immediately before serving to maintain the garden-fresh flavour.

Radishes

She also boasts of radishes in her small garden space.

Radish as an edible root vegetable is mostly eaten raw as a crunchy salad. The seeds make a spicy snack, says Ms Wakasa.

“It can go well with a dish of soft butter and sea salt, in a salad with shreds of apple or on toasted bread. They are good in slow-cooked stews,” says Ms Wakasa.

Chillies

She states that she also tried chillies in her backyard but they did not do so well, but that gives you an idea of another natural vegetable you can try.

Ginger

Ginger is also another spice plant that is not so involving. A root with a bud can be planted in a bucket in warm conditions, ginger leaves are also pretty enough and can pass for a houseplant.

Besides its striking taste in food, beer lovers can add grated ginger in their mugs for a fizzy drink.

“Being a lecturer comes with a lot of research and for my love of vegetable farming, I come across tons of information. One can mix grated ginger, chopped lemon grass, sugar to taste. Strain and top up with sparkling mineral water, add ice and lemon leaves and your drink is ready to go down,” she says.

Ginger root can be kept in the freezer for a longer life.

Turmeric, lemon grass and garlic are also on Ms Wakasa’s list of healthy herbs and spices that she wants to grow in her garden.