7 ways to use fennel in your diet

Wondering how to add saunf to your diet? Here are some ideas.

It is a common practice to eat saunf or fennel seeds post meals. They are great digestives and help cleanse your palate too after a heavy meal. Besides being a good digestive, fennel seeds have anti-bacterial properties that keep bad breath away. Its carminative properties keep flatulence at bay and also relieve menstrual pain. It beats water retention, keeps you away from anaemia and is good for weight loss too. If you are wondering how to use these seeds in your daily diet other than as a digestive, here are some quick tips:

Sherbet: Soak 1 cup fennel seeds, 1 cup sugar in 7-8 glasses of water. Leave this overnight so the water absorbs the flavour. This sherbet is just perfect for the summers as fennel seeds have cooling properties too. Strain the water before consuming. You can add more water in case the flavour is too strong. You can skip the sugar and add honey when you consume the drink for a healthier version.

Vegetable or meat stock: You can add fennel seeds or powder while boiling your vegetable or meat stock for soups and stew. Add just a spoonful of the seeds for a great flavour. Have you tried this Dudhi-fennel sabzi recipe?

Dal: The paanch phoran mix is a popular blend of spices used in Bengali food. You can add fennel seeds along with mustard, cumin seeds while tempering dals or other curries.

Teas: For monsoons and winters, you can boil fennel seeds in water and consume the hot tea with honey. You can even add a few seeds while brewing your green tea to enhance the flavour and enjoy the health benefits of fennel seeds. Saunf can be added to milk based teas.

Pickles: Traditionally, saunf is added to a few pickles like lemon and mango. Read: Why do Indians eat saunf after dinner?

Fresh salad dressings: Put some fennel seeds in a mixer till it becomes a powder. Use it in salad dressings for a fresh flavour. You can even sprinkle it on few salads.

Desserts: Flavour your yogurt or fruit salads with a fennel seeds powder. You can even add them to your pancake or malpua batter. The flavour is truly amazing. You can even add saunf powder to lend flavour to masala milk.

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