Vegetable - Gogu Leaves - Other Tips

Gogu Leaves (Sorrel)

1. Cooking with Gogu :
   • Gogu (Roselle) paste :Grind Gogu (Roselle) leaves with garlic, green chillies and salt to make Gogu (Roselle) paste, which can be added to vegetables or had as a chutney.
   • Blanched Gogu:Cut the leaves in pieces. Blanching can be done by boiling or steaming. Put the leaves in a wire basket, submerge them completely in the boiling water, cover with a lid, and blanch for 3-4 minutes. To blanch by steaming, put the leaves in a steamer basket and suspend it above an inch or two of boiling water. Cover the pot, and begin timing(3-4 minutes) as soon as steam starts to escape from under the lid. With either method, shake the basket a couple of times to ensure that all vegetable surfaces are exposed to the heat. After the allotted time, remove the basket, and plunge the vegetables into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool, remove them, drain thoroughly and add to your recipe.
   • Torn Gogu :Remove the leaves from the stalks and tear them roughly with your hands in small pieces. The torn leaves are usually used for blanching or for tempering.
2. Selection :
   • Look for Gogu that have firm, unwilted leaves that are vividly deep green in colour with no signs of yellowing or browning. Leaves that are smaller in size will be tenderer and have a milder flavor. They should be displayed in a chilled section in the refrigerator case to prevent them from wilting and becoming bitter.
3. Storage :
   • Store unwashed collard greens in a damp paper towel in a plastic bag. They should be placed in the refrigerator crisper where they will keep for three to five days, but the sooner they are eaten, the less bitter they will be.

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Vegeable - Gogu Leaves - Nutrition Facts

Gogu Leaves (Roselle)

Vitamins & Minerals :

Vitamins	It is an extremely rich source of vitamin A, B9, and C
Minerals	It is a good source of vital minerals such as potassium, magnesium, sodium, iron, and calcium

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Vegetable - Gogu Leaves - Health Benefits

Gogu Leaves (Roselle)

1. Hypertension : Experts recommend drinking tea made from sorrel for blood pressure reduction, especially in patients suffering from type-2 diabetes. Studies have shown that drinking 2-3 cups of sorrel tea everyday helps in lowering the blood pressure considerably by at least 7-14mm hg. Researchers believe that the anthocyanins found in the sorrel plant are responsible for effectively reducing high blood pressure.
2. Sorrel for Women :
   • Sheep sorrel in particular is a good treatment for breast cancer. It helps in effectively breaking down and reducing tumours in the body. It is a rich source of various vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and chlorophyll that help in fighting breast cancer. Chlorophyll increases the oxygen supply in the body and health experts believe that cancer cells cannot survive for long in an oxygen rich environment. Being rich in oxalic acid, it has powerful anti-cancer and anti-tumor properties that arrest the metastasizing of cancer cells.
   • Sorrel is a good food for women because of its nutritional contents. Being a rich source of calcium, it is good for maintaining bone health in women and preventing problems like osteoporosis. However, due to the lack of scientific evidence, experts do not recommend eating sorrel during pregnancy. Some herbal tinctures of sorrel may contain high levels of alcohol that may be harmful to the developing baby. According to experts, sorrel is also one of the herbs to avoid during the breastfeeding tenure. A large intake of sorrel may reduce the supply of breast milk and in turn hamper the baby’s nutritional needs. On the other hand, sorrel is a good herb to use when weaning, to reduce milk flow.
3. Cancer :The flavonoids found in the sorrel plant are good deterrents against particular types of cancers. These flavonoids help in destroying cancer cells in the body and prevent further spread of this disease. They are also helpful in strengthening the immune system. Sheep sorrel in particular is a good natural cure for cancer. It contains oxalic acid and chlorophyll that are both effective in fighting cancer. Therefore, many people regularly eat sorrel leaves as a preventive measure against cancer.
4. Healing and Medicinal Properties :For centuries, experts in folk medicine have advocated sorrel healing and the medicinal properties of this herb. Some of its essential medicinal properties are as under:
   • Sorrel contains powerful antioxidant properties that help lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the body.
   • It contains effective diuretic properties that help in increasing the production of urine, thereby assisting in weight loss as well.
   • Sorrel has powerful detoxifying properties that help in the elimination of harmful toxins from the body that can cause a number of diseases and infections.
   • It contains protocatechuic acid that helps eliminate harmful free radicals from the body.
   • Sorrel also contains effective anti-bacterial properties that help prevent as well as treat a number of infections and related diseases.
   • It helps strengthen the functioning of the heart and liver and fights various inflammations present in the body.
   • A combination of sorrel juice and castor oil in equal proportions is an effective cure for insomnia and other problems.
5. Hair benefits :Sorrel is also a good natural treatment for dry and damaged hair. It is widely used in commercial hair care products for this very reason. Experts believe that sorrel can also help control balding when applied regularly to bald patches. Therefore, it is also considered a good cure for mild hair loss.
6. Other health benefits :
   • Sorrel leaves help cure gonorrhea, urinary tract infections, scurvy, chronic catarrh, and haemorrhages.
   • Sorrel contains powerful antioxidants that help prevent premature ageing.
   • Sorrel leaves are dried and used for the treatment of ringworm, itchy skin, and seasonal fevers.
   • Sorrel tea is a natural cure for kidney stones and jaundice.
   • It is a natural laxative that helps in treating problems like constipation.
   • Sorrel leaf juice is applied topically for the treatment of ulcers, boils, and malignant tumours.
   • Sorrel is also effective in curing scorbutic and inflammatory diseases.
7. More about Roselle :
   • Being rich in oxalic acid, sorrel may not be an ideal choice for everyone, especially those suffering from rheumatism, bladder, and kidney stones
   • It contains powerful laxative properties and over consumption may result in diarrhoea.
   • It is low in energy content but provides adequate dietary fibbers.
   • Not only can you use sorrel as both a fresh and dried herb in cooking, you can also use it to prepare hot and cold teas.

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Vegetable - Gogu Leaves - Beauty Tips

Gogu Leaves (Roselle)

1. Weight Loss :1/2 cup of Gogu curry , every day in your meal,will reduce your weight slowly and reduces excess fats.

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Vegetable - Gogu Leaves - Allergies

Gogu Leaves (Sorrel)

1. Side Effects of Sorrel :Although sorrel has a number of health benefits, it is also important to understand its risks on health. One of the biggest hazards of sorrel is that it can lead to death when eaten in large quantities, because of its high oxalic acid content. Some of its other side effects include:
   • Kidney stones
   • Stomach pain
   • Diarrhoea
   • Nausea and vomiting
   • Skin rash
   • Skin irritation
   • Muscle spasms
   • Dizziness
   • Liver disease

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Vegetable - Gogu Leaves

Gogu Leaves (Roselle)

Health Benefits Nutrition Facts Beauty tips Naming Convention Varieties Allergies Other tips

About the Vegetable :Gogu or Roselle Leaves are available in two varieties, green stemmed leaf and red stemmed. The red stemmed variety is more sour than the green stemmed variety. Gongura is popular in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Manipur, Tripura and also Mizoram.A baby gongura leaf is a full leaf. As the leaf grows older, the leaf splits into four or more parts.

Scientific / Binomial name : Hibiscus cannabinus

Popularly Known as :Ambaadi,Huli Soppu, Pulicahi keerai, Gongura, Pundi Palle, Roselle, karkade, asam belanda, lumanda, katolo, galda, Guragod, Labug, Pundu koora

Usage :

• In Andhra cuisine, Hibiscus cannabinus, called gongura, is extensively used. The leaves are steamed along with lentils and cooked with dal. The other unique dish prepared is gongura pachadi, it is prepared by mixing fried leaves with spices and made into a gongura pacchadi, the most famous dish of Andhra cuisine and is often described as king of all Andhra foods.
• In Burmese cuisine, called chin baung ywet (lit. sour leaf), the roselle is widely used and considered an affordable vegetable for the population. It is perhaps the most widely eaten and popular vegetable in Burma.The leaves are fried with garlic, dried or fresh prawns and green chili or cooked with fish. A light soup made from roselle leaves and dried prawn stock is also a popular dish.
• Among the Bodo tribals of Bodoland, Assam (India) the leaves of both hibiscus sabdariffa and hibiscus cannabinus are cooked along with chicken, fish, crab or pork, one of their traditional cuisines.
• In the Philippines,the leaves and flowers are used to add sourness to chicken dish "Tinola" (Polynesian Chicken Stew).
• Other well known recipes made with Gongura as the main ingredient are Gongura Pappu (Lentils), Gongura mamsam (goat/mutton) and Gongura royyalu (shrimp). In recent times, Gongura Chicken is also being served in restaurants. Gongura and calabash is extremely popular with the Telugu community in South Africa.

Vegetables - Gogu Leaves - Varieties

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