Stand Alone Spices
Stand Alone Spices
Black and yellow mustard is native to southern Europe while the brown mustard is native to India. Mustard is cultivated in India, Canada, United States, and parts of Europe and it belongs to the cabbage family. The Romans first introduced this plant to Europe and in medieval Europe mustard was the one spice ordinary person could afford. These tiny seeds weather they are brown, black, yellow or [white as some people call it] seem unassuming to look at with barely any aroma until you toast it or fry it like tadka (tempering) or until you grind it. There is another variety called the hot mustard or Chinese mustard which are more difficult to come by, so we won’t go into that for now. Do not undermine the importance of this little seed as the mustard plant is used in all its forms, from its leaves as in saag and salads, or oil from the seeds that is used for health benefits and in sautéing vegetables and cooking and in making Indian style pickles etc. not to mention the hundreds of ways its seeds are used on a daily basis in our everyday cooking as well.
Like I said earlier it is an unassuming little seed with very little aroma. They will deliver a big punch with slight heat when they are toaster or fried or ground. Let’s start with the yellow/white mustard since it is the mildest of all three but still offers some heat and has a slight bitterness. Black mustard seeds are a bit stronger than the yellow mustard and great when used whole. This is the one I prefer to use even though I grew up using the slightly smaller brown mustard in India which is slightly less flavorful in my opinion. The flavors of all three varieties are a bit pungent, a bit bitter and slightly hot and aromatic with slight variations among them.
Oh my! Where do I start. I do not know of any other spice that has more uses than this tiny little seed with barely any aroma. I will only talk about the black and the yellow mustard seed as these are the only ones I use. I have stopped using the small brown Indian variety a long time ago. Though mustard seeds are not very popular in daily use in western cuisine it is sometimes used as a pickling or preserving spice. Let’s not forget the use of mustard condiment on our hot dogs and sandwiches. But that’s the extent of its use in the western world except for a few gourmet chefs. In some parts of India, the oil is also used in cooking. The ground black mustard that I use is first toasted on a mild heat to bring out its flavor. After letting it cool for a while, I will grind it but not too fine. I still like it to feel slightly grainy. This gold powder with tiny specks of black is too beautiful to look at. To me this spice is the king of all spices. This is used in making various marinades and spice blends and spice rubs, especially for fish. As for the whole mustard I have one jar of just black and another of just yellow and another jar with both black and yellow mixed together. The whole black is used in Tadkas (tempering) on lentils or soups and some vegetable dishes like turnip which has a strong flavor and hence needs a slightly stronger variety of mustard. The mixed jar is used in vegetable dishes to give a medium flavor and for esthetic sense to kind of make the dish more attractive. And the mustard powder is used in curries and in various spice blends and for fish and some garam masalas. And you can also add it to marinades and even salad dressings. A small quantity goes a long way so please me mindful of that. I have this very special spice blend I make with this mustard powder, granulated honey, and one other very special spice. And I use this spice blend to make salad dressing and I also use it on mild fish like cod etc. it is heavenly I tell you.!! May be some day soon I will share it. That is a lot of information for a tiny little seed. Enjoy, experiment cautiously and let me know.
The words Shahi Zeera Aka Black cumin have been used interchangeably in India and Pakistan and sometimes it has been confused with nigella sativa which is also called black cumin by people outside of India and Pakistan. It belongs to the Apiaceae family. Black cumin is native to Asia and Northern India but grows wild predominantly in Kashmir, India. While growing up in India the word shahi zeera was used when referring to this spice. So, I will stick with that name the reason being due to the scarcity of this spice and its unique flavor it was only used in Moghul kitchens of India hundreds of years ago. And hence it’s nickname” Shahi zeera” meaning “royal cumin” or “imperial cumin”. Though not as common as our regular cumin it is still used in most house holds in India and just now started showing up in western cuisine.
This little thin crescent shaped seed is slightly smaller and darker than our regular cumin and that is why some people mistake it for caraway which is even smaller and rounder then shahi zeera but not as much darker. Shahi zeera has a distinctive and slightly floral aroma, that is heavy, strong and piney when roasted and crushed. The taste is peppery, and a bit pungent and nutty resembling that of caraway.
I love this part. It is mainly used in masala packets for biryani rice. But that is just the beginning or the most common use of this spice. Other than that, it is used in spice blends, garam masalas, breads, cookies, sea food, kabobs and some vegetable dishes. My own favorite is something I started a few years ago that I call “Khada Rice Masala” to accompany my lentils with rice and kabob dishes. I guess my kids just had too much of plain rice and needed a change, so I started flavoring my rice. Since I knew shahi zeera goes well with biryani rice I started mixing shahi zeera with other spices and came up with a few different varieties of spice blends for rice alone and I hit the jackpot. Well, we will talk about it later. Three of them are in my 4th category of “mom’s mystery/magic/miscellaneous masala”. [Still need to decide on the name.] The point is that the basis of all these masalas weather whole or powder is the shahi zeera. There is even a shahi garam masala with shahi zeera and saffron in it in our 4th category.
Cumin has been native to Nile valley in Egypt for over 4000 years. It has long been cultivated in most hot regions like the Eastern Mediterranean, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Morocco, North Africa and the middle east and in China. It is an herbaceous plant belonging to the parsley family.
Cumin is a small, tiny seed but packs a good punch when it comes to flavor. The flavor is rich and a bit bitter and sharp with a nutty and slightly peppery note. The smell of cumin is somewhat earthy and strong and heavy, spicy and sweet. So please use sparingly. You can maximize the flavor by slow toasting it on medium flame by continuously mixing till it turns medium brown. After salt and chili powder this is probably the most used spice in India. And this just happens to be my favorite spice and that is why I keep a jar of homemade toasted and coarsely ground cumin that I use a lot in my day-to-day cooking.
It is used in most Indian dishes, either in powder form or as a whole seed. It is used in Vegetable dished as starter spice. It is used in curries, chutneys, tadkas (tempering), meat and vegetable dishes. We also make zeera water by soaking the zeera/cumin over night that you can drink for many health benefits related to digestion etc. Last but not least this spice is the basis or a must for all garam masalas, no exceptions and most spice blends. When ground it gives it gives off a very strong woodsy flavor with persistent pungency of a complicated spice.
Cubebs are a fruit of a tropical, climbing perennial vine of the pepper [piperaceae] family. It is also known as tail pepper or java pepper. Originally it was cultivated mostly in Java Indonesia but now it is cultivated in many parts of Asia as well. Since the 7th century Arab merchants have been trading this spice which ultimately made its way to India and then Europe. It was originally grown for medicinal purposes but later found its way into our cuisine. Cubebs are scarcely known in the west, but there is a revival of interest in them among spice aficionados.
It is a complex, aromatic pepper with a hint of allspice and a whiff of eucalyptus. When eaten raw it is strongly pungent and pinelike and bitter in taste with a numbing after effect.
This spice is a bit tricky to use. It has taught many cooks that too much is not always good. For me it has ruined a dish or two when I refused to use it sparingly and treat it with the respect it deserves. It is best when you ultimately realize how important it is to maintain balance when using spices. Specially with this spice if you use too little you can’t tell the difference, too much and the dish becomes bitter. Perfect proportion is what you need so start small and add bit by bit till you get the right flavor in your dish. As a whole, it is used in stews and in stocks and in specialty rice and vegetable dishes. In its powder form it is used in meat dishes specially baked ones and also in some spice blends.
Long pepper also known as pippli, and P. Longum the Indian long pepper and P. retrofactum the Balinese also known as Javanese long pepper originated in India and Indonesia. It is also cultivated in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Philippines. It is mostly used in Asia, East Africa and North America. It has a rich history dating back to ancient Indian, Greek and Roman texts for its medicinal use. At that time, it was expensive and highly priced. Due to the trade routes to Europe and later to the rest of the world this pepper later found its way into Ethiopian and African cuisine.
It has a complex sweetly fragrant flavor resembling that of nutmeg, cinnamon and pine. And yet it is hotter than the regular black pepper and it has a biting numbing after taste. Because of its complex and unique aroma most people prefer to use the regular black pepper.
As a whole, it is used in stews and roast meats and vegetable pickles. But in India it is used in powder form in curries and some garam masalas as well. One of the most popular one is the Tandoori chicken masala. Oh well, the secret is out. Not many people know or use it in this dish. They just use the regular pepper as it is more easily available. The unique flavor of this spice makes it a favorite for chefs who want nothing but the best. You can coarsely grind them and add to any salad dressing or marinades for chicken or meat and to flavor your sea food and vegetables.
Black Stone flower is a species of Lichen. It is an edible fungus that sprouts amid tree trunks or mountains in the hilly areas in India such as the Himalayas in the North and the Deccan Peninsula in the South. The health benefits are enormous due to its astringent quality and the presence of antioxidants.
It has a very delicate zest with an overpowering earthy fragrance, with a bitter and astringent-like taste. It has a dry and delicate fluffy texture.
This spice is typically used in meat dishes such as nihari, paya, biryani and meat stew dishes and some vegetable dishes as well. You can add it to any meat stews and lentil soups or broths. It will give a unique flavor to your dish and elevate it to a whole new level. Try it and let me know what you think. Be creative and try some in your salad dressing or marinades and let me know how it turned out. I myself love the flavor of this spice very much. But you can’t use too much of it due to its very strong flavor. Just a few 2-3 pieces is good enough to a dish that serves 3-4 people. Use it whole or crush it before using. I usually just rub it between both palms of my hands before tossing it into a dish.
It has been coveted for centuries across Asia, India, Morocco, North Africa, Eastern Europe, North America and the Middle East. It is an annual herb belonging to the parsley {Apiaceae} family. It is one of the few spices that is completely edible from their leaves [cilantro] to seeds and roots. Known as Dhania in India it is essential to many of India’s authentic cuisines and one of the most used spices after cumin. Here in US, it is more commonly used in pickling spices, though it is becoming more popular in various other cuisines as well.
The coriander seed has a sweet woodsy, spicy fragrance with floral and citrus notes. The leaves of this plant called cilantro has a very different flavor, but they complement each other and go well together in many Indian dishes. You can maximize the flavor by toasting it on medium flame by continuously mixing till it slightly changes color and starts to brown. After letting it cool off, I grind it in small matches as I need it for maximum flavor. I don’t like mine too finely ground because I like to add some texture to my dish. This is how our toasted ground coriander is made and immediately packed for freshness.
In Its powder form it is used as a base for many Indian spice blends and garam masalas. I myself use it in about half a dozen of my garam masalas. It is one of the most used spices after cumin. It is used in meat curries and sea food dishes and legumes and vegetables. It can also be added in marinades and soups and savory fried finger foods. For my personal home use, I grind it in three different thicknesses so I can customize its use based on the dish and sometimes I will combine the thickest with the finest {store bought which has much less flavor} to bring out added layers of flavor and texture.