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TAJ MAHAL Restaurant -  Links - Indian Spices

Indian cuisine is a combination of subtle tastes. Flavours are as varied as the climate of India and as exotic as the people of India. Fragrant spices, pungent and warm spices, from the four corners of the country are delicately blended in meticulous proportions to create the dishes. Each dish will have its own distinctive flavour and aroma which cannot come from any Curry Powder but from spices which have to be separately prepared each day afresh for each individual dish. The blending and preparation of spices is a centuries old craft and indispensable to Indian cuisine

Turmeric Indian turmeric has been known to the world since ancient times. With its rich curcumin content, which imparts the distinctive yellow colour, and other inherent qualities, Indian turmeric is considered the best in the world.

Coriander The name `coriander' is based on the Greek work `kopis' which means `bug'. Coriander requires full exposure to sunlight but with less heat and medium-to-heavy loamy soil, good drainage and well-distributed moisture. Since many parts of India meets all these conditions, coriander is a thriving crop in this country. Since the Indian farmers prefer organic cultivation, the quality is good.

Chillies Though, at one time, Americas most important contribution to the world of spices, chilli today is one of India's major export attractions. An annual plant, chilli comes in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colours and in different degrees of pungency.

Cumin Though native to Egypt and the Mediterranean, cumin is now mostly produced in India. The quality is better by the organic cultivation adopted by Indian farmers.

Fenugreek Fenugreek is one of the earliest spices known to man. The ripe, dried fruit of a quick-growing annual leguminous herb, fenugreek has a strong, pleasant and quite peculiar odour reminiscent of maple. In India, this spice is often cultivated as a cover crop in citrus-fruit groves to take advantage of their leguminous nature.

Pepper Popularly known as the `King of Spices', the best quality pepper is grown in the monsoon forests along the Malabar Coast in South India.

Fennel Ancient Indians used fennel as a condiment and culinary spice. In Greece, it was a symbol of success. In Rome, the young fennel shoots were used as food. Pliny considered it good for improved vision. Culpeper recommends it as an antidote for poison. In India, it thrives in the sunny, limey, well-drained loam. The pleasingly warm, sweet smell and the clean appearance are clear indications of how well Indian fennel retains its exclusive quality even after drying.

Cardamom Large Large cardamom is the dried fruit of a perennial herbaceous plant. It's quality characteristics are different from that of small cardamom. The fruit is 4 to 6 times size of small cardamom. The largest producer and exporter of large cardamom, India enjoys near monopoly in this spice.

Glossary of Indian Terms

Cumin