SPICE INFORMATION

AJWAIN. Raw ajwain smells almost exactly like thyme but is more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as slightly bitter and pungent. It tastes like thyme or caraway only stronger. Even a small amount of raw ajwain will completely dominate the flavor of a dish. In Indian cuisine, ajwain is almost never used raw, but either dry-roasted or fried in ghee or oil. This develops a much more subtle and complex aroma, somewhat similar to caraway but "brighter". Among other things, it is used for making a type of paratha, called "ajwain ka paratha".

ASAFOETIDA The resin-like gum which comes from the dried sap extracted from the stem and roots is used as a spice. The resin is greyish-white when fresh, but dries to a dark amber color. The asafoetida resin is difficult to grate, and is traditionally crushed between stones or with a hammer. Today, the most commonly available form is compounded asafoetida, a fine powder containing 30% asafoetida resin, along with rice flour and gum arabic.

CARDAMOM. Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic fragrance. It is a common ingredient in Indian cooking, and is often used in baking in Nordic countries. One of the most expensive spices by weight, little is needed to impart the flavour. Cardamom is best stored in pod form, because once the seeds are exposed or ground, they quickly lose their flavour. However, high-quality ground cardamom is often more readily (and cheaply) available, and is an acceptable substitute. For recipes requiring whole cardamom pods, a generally accepted equivalent is 10 pods equals one and a half teaspoons of ground cardamom.

CAYENNE PEPPER The Cayenne is a hot red chili pepper used to flavor dishes and for medicinal purposes. The fruits are generally dried and ground, or pulped and baked into cakes, which are then ground and sifted to make the powder, Cayenne pepper. Cayenne is used in cooking spicy hot dishes, as a powder or in its whole form (such as in Szechuan cuisine). It is generally rated at 40,000 to 90,000 Scoville Units. It is also used as a herbal supplement.

CHILLIES. Indian cooking has multiple uses for chilies, from snacks like bajji where the chilies are dipped in batter and fried to the infamously hot vindaloo. Chilies are also dried and roasted and salted for later use as a side dish for rice varieties like vadam (a kind of pappad). In Turkish or Ottoman cuisine, chilies are widely used where it is known as Kirmizi Biber (Red Pepper) or Aci Biber (Hot Pepper). Sambal is dipping sauce made from chili peppers with many other ingredients such as garlic, onion, shallots, salt, vinegar and sugar, which is very popular in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.

CHILLI POWDER is a spice mix consisting of various ratios of dried ground chili peppers, cumin, garlic, and oregano. The ground chili peppers may be exclusively hot ones such as cayenne or (rarely) just mild ones like paprika, but are usually a mixture of types to give the desired balance between heat and chili flavor. As the name suggests, chili powder is used to spice chili as well as many other dishes. The origins of the chili powder can be traced to Indian cuisine, where it used extensively in making curries and other dishes. Apart from India, chili powder as described above is widely used in Mexican cuisine as well.

CILANTRO is the American name for CORIANDER, it is mainly the leaves which are shown here.

CINNAMON Cinnamon bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material, being largely used in the preparation of some kinds of desserts, chocolate, spicy candies, tea, hot cocoa and liqueurs. In the Middle East, it is often used in savoury dishes of chicken and lamb. In the United States, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavour cereals, bread-based dishes, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is even sold separately for such purposes. Cinnamon can also be used in pickling. Cinnamon bark is one of the few spices which can be consumed directly.

CLOVES Cloves have historically been used in Indian cuisine (both North Indian and South Indian). In the north Indian cuisine, it is used in almost every sauce or side dish made, mostly ground up along with other spices. They are also a key ingredient in tea along with green cardamoms. In the south Indian cuisine, it finds extensive use in the biriyani dish (similar to the pilaf, but with the addition of local spice taste), and is normally added whole to enhance the presentation and flavor of the rice.

CORIANDER The fresh leaves are an essential ingredient in many Vietnamese foods, Asian chutneys, Mexican salsas and guacamole. Chopped coriander leaves are also used as a garnish on cooked dishes such as dhal and many curries. As heat diminishes their flavour quickly, coriander leaves are often used raw or added to the dish right before serving. (Though in some Indian and Central Asian recipes, coriander leaves are used in huge amounts and cooked till they dissolve into sauce and their flavour mellows). The dry fruits are known as coriander seeds or coriandi seeds. In some regions, the use of the word coriander in food preparation always refers to these seeds (as a spice), rather than to the plant itself. The seeds have a lemony citrus flavour when crushed. It is also described as warm, nutty, spicy, and orange-flavoured. They are usually dried.

CUMIN Cumin can be used to season many dishes, as it draws out their natural sweetnesses. It is traditionally added to curries, enchiladas, tacos, and other Middle-eastern, Indian, Cuban and Mexican-style foods. It can also be added to salsa to give it extra flavour. Cumin has also been used on meat in addition to other common seasonings. The spice is a familiar taste in Tex-Mex dishes and is the lingua franca of the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Cumin was also used heavily in ancient Roman cuisine.

CURRY LEAVES are highly aromatic and are used as a herb. Their form is small and narrow and somewhat resemble the leaves of the Neem tree. They are commonly used as seasoning in Indian and Sri Lankan cooking, much like bay leaves and especially in curries with fish or coconut milk. In their fresh form, they have a short shelf life and may be stored in a freezer for up to a week; they are also available dried, although the aroma is clearly much inferior.

FENNEL SEEDS The bulb, foliage, and seeds of the fennel plant are widely used in many of the culinary traditions of the world. Fennel pollen is the most potent form of fennel, but it is exceedingly expensive. Dried fennel seed is an aromatic, anise-flavoured spice; they are brown or green in colour when fresh, and slowly turn a dull grey as the seed ages. For cooking, green seeds are optimal. Fennel seeds are sometimes confused with aniseed, which is very similar in taste and appearance, though smaller. In India, it is common to chew fennel seed (or saunf) as a mouth-freshener.

FENUGREEK The rhombic yellow to amber colored fenugreek seed, commonly called Methi, is frequently used in the preparation of pickles, curry powders and pastes, and is often encountered in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent. The young leaves and sprouts of fenugreek are eaten as greens, and the fresh or dried leaves are used to flavor other dishes. The dried leaves (called kasuri methi) have a bitter taste and a strong characteristic smell.

GARAM MASALA is a blend of ground spices common in the Indian cuisine, whose literal meaning is 'hot (or warm) spice'. There are many variants: most traditional mixes use just cinnamon, roasted cumin, cloves, nutmeg (and/or mace) and green cardamom seed or black cardamom pods. Many commercial mixtures may include more of other less expensive spices and may contain dried red chili peppers, dried garlic, ginger powder, sesame, mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander, bay leaves, cumin, and fennel.

GARLIC Garlic is widely used around the world for its pungent flavour, as a seasoning or condiment. Depending on the form of cooking, the flavor is either mellow or intense. It is often paired with onion, tomato, and/or ginger. The parchment-like skin is much like the skin of an onion, and is typically removed before using in raw or cooked form. An alternative is to coat heads of garlic and roast them in the oven. The garlic softens and can be extracted from individual cloves by squeezing one end.

GINGER Young ginger roots are juicy and fleshy with a very mild taste. They are often pickled in vinegar or sherry as a snack or just cooked as an ingredient in many dishes. They can also be stewed in boiling water to make ginger tea, to which honey is often added as a sweetener; sliced orange or lemon fruit may also be added. Mature ginger roots are fibrous and nearly dry. The juice from old ginger roots is extremely potent and is often used as a spice in Chinese and Indian Cuisine to flavour dishes such as in seafood and mutton.

MANGO POWDER Mangoes are widely used in chutney, which in the West is often very sweet, but in the Indian subcontinent is usually made with sour, raw mangoes and hot chilis or limes. In India, ripe mango is often cut into thin layers, desiccated , folded, and then cut and sold as bars that are very chewy. Dried unripe mango is used as a spice and is known as amchur (sometimes spelled amchoor) in India.

MINT The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, and ice creams. In Rome, Pliny recommended that a wreath of mint was a good thing for students to wear since it was thought to 'exhilarate their minds'. Some modern research suggests that he was right.

MUSTARD SEEDS are the small seeds of the various mustard plants. The seeds are about 1 mm in diameter, and may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are important spices in many regional cuisines. The seeds can come from three different plants: black mustard, brown Indian mustard, and white or yellow mustard. In the Indian subcontinent they are often used whole, and are quickly fried in oil until they pop to impart a flavor to the oil.

NUTMEG and mace have similar taste qualities, nutmeg having a slightly sweeter and mace a more delicate flavor. Mace is often preferred in light-coloured dishes for the bright orange, saffron-like colour it imparts. In Indian cuisine, nutmeg powder is used almost exclusively in sweet dishes. It is known as Jaiphal in most parts of India. It may also be used in small quantities in garam masala.

ONION SEEDS are widely used in Indian cuisine, particularly in mildly braised dishes such as korma. The seeds are used in the preparation of garam masalas and are one of the five spices in the Indian spice mixture, panch phoron. They are added to vegetable and dhal dishes as well as in chutneys. The seeds are traditionally sprinkled on naan breads before baking.

PAPRIKA is a spice made from the grinding of dried sweet red bell peppers. In India, a similar powdered spice comes from a fruit locally called 'deghi mirchi', which is grown widely and takes on a slightly different flavour depending on local soil and climatic conditions. The hottest paprikas are not the bright red ones, but rather the palest red and light brown coloured ones.

PEPPERCORNS are often categorised under a label describing their region or port of origin. Two well-known types come from India's Malabar Coast: Malabar pepper and Tellicherry pepper. Tellicherry is a higher-grade pepper, made from the largest, ripest 10% of berries from Malabar plants grown on Mount Tellicherry. Sarawak pepper is produced in the Malaysian portion of Borneo, and Lampong pepper on Indonesia's island of Sumatra. White Muntok pepper is another Indonesian product, from Bangka Island.

SAFFRON's aroma is often described by connoisseurs as reminiscent of metallic honey with grassy or hay-like notes, while its taste has been noted also as hay-like and somewhat bitter. Saffron also contributes a luminous yellow-orange colouring to foods. Because of the unusual taste and colouring it adds to foods, saffron is widely used in Persian, Arab, Central Asian, European, Indian, Iranian, Moroccan and Cornish cuisines.

TAMARIND The fruit pulp is edible and popular. It is used as a spice in both Asian and Latin American cuisines, and is also an important ingredient in Worcestershire sauce, HP sauce and the Jamaican-produced Pickapeppa sauce.The hard green pulp of a young fruit is very sour and acidic and is most often used as a component of savory dishes. The ripened fruit is sweeter, yet still distinctively sour, and can be used in desserts and sweetened drinks, or as a snack. In Thailand, there is a carefully cultivated sweet variety with little to no sourness grown specifically to be eaten as a fresh fruit. Tamarind is a staple in the South Indian diet, where it is used to prepare Rasam (spicy soup), Kuzambu or Sambhar (spicy lentil soup vegetables and tamarind), a soupy preparation called pulikkuzambu popular in Tamil Nadu, Puliyodarai rice, and various types of chutneys. In another south Indian State Andhra pradesh 'Pachi Pulusu' is a famous dish made of tamarind syrup diluted with water then boiled with spices, salt and Chopped onions.

TURMERIC rhizomes are boiled for several hours and then dried in hot ovens, after which they are ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a spice in curries and other South Asian cuisine, for dyeing, and to impart color to mustard condiments. Its active ingredient is curcumin and it has an earthy, bitter, peppery flavor. Sangli, a town in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra, is the largest and most important trading centre for turmeric in Asia or perhaps in the entire world.