Humble herb can be used fresh, as a seed or powder

MY GRANDFATHER was called Patches. A towering, handsome man with steely grey eyes. He patched everything from his shoes to his under things.

He was also called Jumbo as he had to stoop to get in the door. My sister in KwaDukuza will recall that she mischievously teased him “Thousands” for his popularity with the ladies.

He was also a farmer dispossessed of his land and prosperity by the apartheid Group Areas Act.

Whatever he had left was eaten by the bookmakers and the Pullman buses that drove him to the racecourses.

In spite of having lost everything, my grandfather planted with a fury in every patch he could find.

“So you got dhania in your garden?” asked my part-time comedian friend, Mahendran.

He is the fellow famed for fathering 12 children after a late marriage at 42.

I feared that he might have heard about the aphrodisiac qualities of dhania and wanted to raid my garden.

The Greeks certainly believed that dhania gave a boost to the loins, while the Hindus differed on that score.

Ancient Greeks also believed that it could secure immortality of the soul.

Hindus spend a lot of time concerned with the welfare of the soul, but I can’t be sure they have made that connection.

Much of the time we look upon the humble herb as a garnish to be chopped up and sprinkled on the breyani or dhall to bring out an enticing aroma.

It certainly is remarkable that dhania can be used as a seed, a powder and as a fresh herb.

Eaten raw, it is meant to aid digestion. It similarly cools the stomach when added to plain yoghurt as a dip or side dish. Seeds added as part of the condiments also have digestive properties.

Seeing as he is carrying some extra upholstery in his journey into middle age, Mahendran quoted me one Indrani Subramanian of Apollo Hospitals in Kolkata saying: “Coriander seeds contain a compound called coriandrin that controls the process of lipid digestion, as a result bringing down our cholesterol levels.”

One of his sources also claims that dhania seeds have key vitamins like folic acid, vitamin A and beta-carotene as well as vitamin C. The latter is great for fighting the flu. My eminent doctor friend will need to verify these claims as everything Mahen says I take with a sack of rough salt.

My grandfather had this habit of pinching the tops of his plants to see if they were ready for harvesting. He would even dig up groundnuts and eat them raw.

If Mahen is to be believed, Patches might have lingered a little longer with the dhania to get a bit of a lift in the sack.