Text by: Tanya Munshi
Just like any other cuisine in the world, Indian cuisine has distinctive spices, condiments and herbs. Most of us know the local names of the spices and are lost when we hear the English names for it.
So here we are, with a spice dictionary, in order to avoid mishaps of buying the wrong ingredient when the cookbook actually asked for another. It is also important to know why certain spices and condiments are used in Indian cooking. And would you believe it that every spice used in Indian cuisine has certain medicinal properties as well.
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Asafoetida — Hindi - Hing. It’s a light powder with quite an offensive odour, but is used for tempering dal, curries and pickles. Asafoetida is known for its digestive properties which is rich in sulphur and acts as a detoxing agent. The best part about Asafoetida is that you only need a pinch of it to season your curries.
Aniseed – Hindi – Saunf. Most often in India, aniseed is used as an after meal mouth freshener. Aniseed is known to have cooling properties. Soak a teaspoon of aniseed over night in a glass of drinking water. Next morning, on an empty stomach, drink the water by straining the seeds. Aniseed can also be used to flavour dishes like curries and pickles. Aniseed is known to have anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and expectorant properties.
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