Madhulika Achal offers natural, healthy dips, dressings, marinades and more at her Cilantro and Mint Booth in the Scripps Ranch Farmer’s Market. (photos by John Gregory)
New flavors at the market
A relatively new booth is appearing at the Scripps Ranch Farmer’s Market featuring a selection of all-natural products that can be used in many different ways to add flavor to all types of food. These products should be of interest to any dedicated foodies or parents who want to add more to their daily meals.
“We have a lot of dips and dressings and marinades and pasta sauces,” explained Cilantro and Mint owner Madhulika Achal. “You can use these products for fried rice, use it for vegetables. It’s really good as a sandwich spread. You can use it on burgers. You can just spice up your regular day-to-day food.”
Stop by the Cilantro and Mint booth and taste a sample of any one of the products on a piece of pita bread. Achal is extremely organized and can explain each product and how it tastes. She can also suggest an abundance of ways to cook with each product.
Achal said she noticed how many artificial ingredients were in most food items purchased from super markets and realized these can’t be good for anyone if they are trying to stay healthy. That’s when she began developing her products. They have no preservatives and no artificial flavors. They will last in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, and they can also be frozen.
Try the dips on sandwiches and there will be no need to add mayo. They are also excellent as a dip for vegetables or mixing with salads.
The marinades are useful for adding flavor to any type of meat: beef, chicken or fish, for example.
Ingredients for the original flavor includes cilantro, mint, lemon juice, cumin, ginger and garlic. It has a fresh, minty flavor, Achal said, and it is very good as a marinade for meats.
Other flavors available from Cilantro and Mint include a yogurt blend, spicy tomato and fresh coconut.
The spicy tomato can be used as a pasta sauce, Achal said.
Look for the Cilantro and Mint booth in the Scripps Ranch Farmer’s Market, which is open for shoppers from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. every single Saturday at 10380 Spring Canyon Road, in the Innovations Academy parking lot. Visit srfm.org.