23rd FEB 09: YOUNG PAPAYAYoung papaya has many medicinal values compared to ripe papayas. When you cut a young papaya, its milk will ooze out. Take a small drop of the milk and apply on your gums when it is swollen, sore or infected. The milk will help reduce the swelling and fluid or puss from the gums will be released. Benefits of eating young papaya are: a) When you are cooking red meat or chicken, there may be hidden fats inside the meat. To break the fat, young papaya is an effective ingredient. Cut the young papaya into big pieces (treat it as though you are using potatoes) and cook it together with the meat.You can also add young papaya when preparing Sambar. It has been a tradition to include 3, 5 or 7 different vegetable when preparing Sambar and you can treat young papaya as one of the vegetable. b) Young papaya when included in meat dishes can help reduce cholesterol. Those who have high cholesterol are advised to include young papaya in their cooking at least once a week. It is even better if you can eat it raw. i) Peel the skin and cut the young fruit into half. Scrap the seeds out and grate the fruit with a hand grater ii) Add onions, chilies and yogurt and serve as a salad.
