Chadon Beni - Trini Herb Extraordinaire

Chadon beni or shado beni is a herb with a robust stinky odor and taste this is used widely in Caribbean cooking, extra so Trini cooking. The clinical identify for the herb is 'Eryngium foetidum' however in Trinidad and Tobago the preferred "marketplace" names for chadon beni are culantro or bhandhania.

Culantro is distinct from cilantro or coriander (every other herb) which carries the clinical identify 'coriandrum sativum' and will have to no longer be puzzled. The confusion comes from the similarity within the two herbs' scents. The adaptation between Chadon beni (or culantro) and cilantro is that chadon beni (or culantro) has a more potent and extra stinky odor. It will have to even be famous that chadon beni belongs to the botanical circle of relatives Apiaceae the place parsley, dill, fennel, and celery, additionally belong to this botanical circle of relatives. An fragrant circle of relatives at that I might additionally upload!

The plant is going by way of quite a lot of different names such false coriander, black benny, fitweed, duck-tongue herb, noticed leaf herb, sawtooth coriander, spiny coriander, and lengthy coriander. In Hindi it's known as 'Bhandhanya'. Other international locations even have its personal identify for this herb. Some examples are:

• Alcapate (El Salvador)


• Cilantro extranjero, cilantro habanero, parejil de tabasco (Mexico)


• Ngo gai (Vietnam)


• Pak chi farang or pak chee (Thailand)


• Racao or recao (Puerto Rico and Spain)


• Sea holly (Britain)


• Jia yuan qian (China)


• Fitweed or spiritweed (Jamaica)


• Langer koriander (Germany)


• Stinkdistel (Netherland)


• Culantro, Shado beni or Chadon beni (Trinidad and Tobago)

In Trinidad and Tobago, nearly all our recipes name for chadon beni. The herb is extensively used to taste many dishes and is the bottom herb used when seasoning meat. It's utilized in marinades, sauces, bean dishes, soups, chutneys, snacks, and with greens. One common chutney we like to make at the island is "Chadon Beni Chutney" which is generally served with a favorite trini snack known as pholourie (pronounced po-lor-rie). If you can not to find culantro at your marketplace, you'll be able to all the time change it with cilantro, however you'll have to building up the quantity of cilantro used, or seek for it by way of its many names as indexed above.

The leaves of the chandon beni are spear like, serrated, and stiff spined and the darkish, inexperienced, glossy leaves are typically Three-6 inches lengthy. Each and every plant has a stalk, generally 16 inch tall, with smaller prickly leaves and a cone formed greenish flower. When harvesting the herb' s leaves a lot care needs to be taken for the reason that prickly leaves of the flower could make your pores and skin itch. However that may simply be combated by way of dressed in gloves or gently transferring apart the flower stalk whilst choosing the the leaves.

The leaves of the chadon beni also are wealthy in iron, carotene, riboflavin, and calcium, and are a very good supply of diet A, B and C. This herb additionally has medicinal houses. The leaves of the plant are a just right treatment for hypertension, and epilepsy. In some Caribbean international locations it is known as fitweed on account of its anti-convulsant houses. This is a stimulant and has anti-inflamatory and analgestic houses. As an issue of reality, the entire plant might be used to treatment headache, diarrhea, flu, fever, vomiting, colds, malaria, constipation, and pneumonia.

Chadon beni grows higher in sizzling humid climates. It may be grown from the seed, however it's sluggish to germinate. This plant should get complete solar to phase coloration, and positioned in fertile, wet, and well-drained soil.

That is one in all my favourite herbs in cooking and with such flavorful and well being qualities, I will't do with out this straightforward however unusual herb.

Supply by way of Felix Padilla