Announcing JFI - August ’09: Peanuts

Let me start my thanking Indira (@ Mahanandi) for giving me the opportunity to host Jihva For Ingredients (JFI). In Indira’s words “Jihva for Ingredients (JFI) is an online monthly food event, celebrating the Ingredients and what they can do for our Jeeva.”

So for this month’s JFI, I have chosen PEANUTS as the ingredient. Let me pass on some of the Gyan (knowledge) I gained browsing the internet:

• Peanut is actually not a nut; it is a species in the legume family and is related to chick peas and other beans.
• They start growing as a ground flower that due to its heavy weight bends towards the ground and eventually burrows underground where the peanut actually matures.
  
• India is the second largest producer of peanuts next only to China (US is 4th on the list).
  
• Peanuts are a very good source of monounsaturated fats, the type of fat that is emphasized in the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet.
  
• Peanuts are a rich source of protein with 30gms per cup after roasting. Peanuts are a good source of niacin and thus contribute to brain health, brain circulation and blood flow.
  
• Peanuts are native to South America, Mexico and Central America. Evidence demonstrates that peanuts were domesticated in prehistoric times in Peru. Archeologists have thus far dated the oldest specimens to about 7,600 years before the present. It was then introduced to Europe by Spanish conquistadors. The legume gained western popularity when it came to the United States from Africa. It had become popular in Africa after being brought there from Brazil by the Portuguese.
  
• The moral of this story is Peanuts have come a long way from their roots in South America and they are being used and enjoyed world wide in some form or the other.

Coming to the rules:

• Come up with a recipe that has PEANUTS (Raw/ Roasted/ Boiled) or PEANUT BUTTER as one of the main ingredients. Cooking in peanut oil or using chopped peanuts as garnish are not allowed, Sorry.
  
• Email me the link to your post on or before July 31st, 2009.
  
• Please make the dishes Vegetarian; cheese & eggs are allowed.
• Include a link in your post to this announcement and to Indira's site (themahanandi.org).
  
• If you have recipes that are already posted, repost and include a link to this announcement and Indira’s site.
• Use of Logo is optional, but much appreciated if used.
  
• Email me at cookshideout@gmail.com with the following information.

1. Name
2. Blog Name
3. Entry Name
4. Entry URL
5. Picture of your creation in any size.