Spice

Ajwain Seeds

The small fruit pods are pale brown and have an oval shape, resembling caraway and cumin. It has a bitter and pungent taste, with a flavor similar to anise and oregano. They smell almost exactly like thyme because it also contains thymol, but is more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as slightly bitter and pungent. Even a small amount of fruit pods tend to dominate the flavor of a dish.

The plant is mainly cultivated in Iran and northern India. Rajasthan produced about 55% of India’s total output in 2006.

Coriander Seeds

Coriander is one of the oldest of herbs and spices. The fruit of the coriander plant contains two seeds which, when dried, are the portions used as the dried spice. When ripe, the seeds are yellowish-brown or tan in colour with longitudinal ridges. Coriander seed has a warm and subtle flavour with a slight citrus hint. It has an aromatic scent that is soothingly warm, nutty, slightly fruity, and complex. Coriander seeds are available throughout the year, in whole or in ground powder form.

Crushed coriander seeds

To crush the coriander seeds, first clean and dry roast the seeds lightly till light aroma comes out from the seeds. Cool and place them between a clean cloth and crush using a rolling pin or a mortar and pestle into coarse or fine powder. Use as per the recipe requirement. For crushed seeds, you can use both whole or split coriander seeds. Store the crushed seeds in a clean dry air-tight container and keep away from humidity.

Fenugreek Seeds

Fenugreek seeds are small, roughly angular, brownish yellow seeds, which have a pleasantly bitter flavour and strong aroma. The seeds are often toasted to enhance their pungent aroma, and then powdered alone or with other spices. In Indian cuisine, fenugreek seed is a common ingredient in curry powders and pickle powders. It is also used to temper various vegetable and dal based dishes to enhance the aroma and taste.

Dry-roasting of fenugreek seeds enhances their aroma and nutty flavour. Before roasting, sort the seeds to remove stones and other debris. Then, heat a pan till warm and add the seeds. Roast on a medium flame stirring occasionally to avoid charring. Roast till the colour deepens. For a mellow flavour (preferred for subzis and dals) roast lightly and for a more bitter taste (preferred for making some pickle masalas), roast for a longer while.

Cumin Seeds

Today, cumin is the second most admired spice in the world after black pepper, usually get used in foods, beverages, liquors, medicines, toiletries and perfumery. Cumin can be used to season many dishes, either ground or as whole seeds. Cumin is said to help in treatment of the common cold, when added to hot milk and consumed.

Cumin Seeds Nutrition Value :

Cumin seeds are a very good source of iron and a good source of manganese. Other nutritional are Protein, Carbohydrate, Dietary fiber, Vitamin A, B, C, E and K, Calcium, Phosphorus and Potassium.

Colour: Pale Green.
Extraneous matter: All matter from the specific plant other than the required part. The total content of this extraneous matter shall not exceed 1%.
Country of origin: India
Packaging: 12.5 kg, 25 kg & 50 lbs paper/poly bags.
Labelling: As per buyer’s requirement.
Shelf life: 1 year from production date.
Storage condition: Cool and dry (<20C).

Turmeric

Turmeric comes from the root of Curcuma longa, a leafy plant in the ginger family. The root, or rhizome, has a tough brown skin and bright orange flesh. Ground Tumeric comes from fingers which extend from the root. It is boiled or steamed and then dried, and ground. India is the world’s primary producer of Turmeric. It is also grown in Vietnam and India.

Turmeric is a necessary ingredient of curry powder. It is used extensively in Indian dishes, including lentil and meat dishes, and in Southeast Asian cooking. Turmeric is routinely added to mustard blends and relishes. It also is used in place of saffron to provide color and flavor.Turmeric is mildly aromatic and has scents of orange or ginger. It has a pungent, bitter flavor.

Turmeric Store in cool, dark, dry places.Because of its bitter taste, Turmeric should not be used as a flavor substitute for saffron. A Turmeric stain can be washed out with soap and water if treated quickly. Use Turmeric to add Eastern mystery to new favorites as well as in traditional curries, rice and chicken dishes, and condiments. Turmeric is a classic addition to chutneys, pickles, and relishes. Add a pinch of Turmeric to fish soups. Blend with melted butter and drizzle over cooked vegetables, pasta, or potatoes.

Dry Ginger

Dry Ginger powder is Soonth powder, Sunth powder, Sukku. Dried ginger is nothing but fresh ginger, which has undergone a drying process. The fresh rhizomes are soaked in water overnight after which the outer peel is carefully removed using a knife or a peeler. They are washed again and then sun-dried on mats or barbecues for around a week. During this period, they are turned periodically. The end result is a pale white dried ginger. Many a times, dried ginger is bleached with calcium carbonate to get a whitish coating, but this is unnecessary and better avoided. When this dried ginger is powdered in a mixer, we get dried ginger powder. It is a fine off-whitish powder, which has a strong aroma and slightly pungent flavour.

Chilly

Chili peppers have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since at least 7500 BC. The most recent research shows that chili peppers were domesticated more than 6000 years ago in Mexico, in the region that extends across southern Puebla and northern Oaxaca to southeastern Veracruz,[6] and were one of the first self-pollinating crops cultivated in Mexico, Central and parts of South America Chilies were cultivated around the globe after Columbus.[9][10] Diego Álvarez Chanca, a physician on Columbus’ second voyage to the West Indies in 1493, brought the first chili peppers to Spain and first wrote about their medicinal effects in 1494.

he chili pepper features heavily in the cuisine of the Goan region of India, which was the site of a Portuguese colony (e.g., vindaloo, an Indian interpretation of a Portuguese dish). Chili peppers journeyed from India,[12] through Central Asia and Turkey, to Hungary, where they became the national spice in the form of paprika

Dill Seeds

Dill Seeds have a much more potent flavor, similar to a combination of anise and celery. The flat, yellow flowers umbels of late summer give way to the seeds in fall. Dill seed has a camphorous, slightly bitter flavor and has a delicate flavor.

Why Useful:

Drinking dill tea is recommended for those suffering from insomnia.
Dill weed contains the carminative agent and aids with digestion by relieving intestinal gas.
Dill is said to promote lactation in nursing mothers and has been historically used as a weak tea given to babies to ease colic, encourage sleep, and get rid of hiccups.
Dill Weed and Health Teas made with dill seed relieve indigestion and nausea, and produce a lulling effect. · Gripe water is made with dill seed specifically as a remedy for colic in infants.
The seeds contain so much calcium that 1 tablespoon contains 100 milligrams — more than in 1/3 cup of milk.
Dill seed is a very good source of calcium, dietary fiber, as well as the minerals manganese, iron, and magnesium.

Kalunji

Nigella sativa has a pungent bitter taste and smell. It is used primarily in confectionery and liquors. Peshawari naan is, as a rule, topped with kalonji seeds. Nigella is also used in Armenian string cheese, a braided string cheese called Majdouleh or Majdouli in the Middle East.

Fennel Seeds

Fennel seed is a highly aromatic and flavourful herb, derived from a shrub. The seeds are pale greenish in colour and have a faintly sweet and refreshing flavour.

Tamarind

The tamarind is a long-lived, medium-growth, bushy tree, which attains a maximum crown height of 12.1 to 18.3 metres (40 to 60 feet). The crown has an irregular, vase-shaped outline of dense foliage. The tree grows well in full sun in clay, loam, sandy, and acidic soil types, with a high drought and aerosol salt (wind-borne salt as found in coastal area) resistance.

Leaves are evergreen, bright green in color, elliptical ovular, arrangement is alternate, of the pinnately compound type, with pinnate venation and less than 5 cm (2 inches) in length. The branches droop from a single, central trunk as the tree matures and is often pruned in human agriculture to optimize tree density and ease of fruit harvest. At night, the leaflets close up.

The tamarind does flower, though inconspicuously, with red and yellow elongated flowers. Flowers are 2.5 cm wide (one inch), five-petalled, borne in small racemes, and yellow with orange or red streaks. Buds are pink as the four sepals are pink and are lost when the flower blooms.

The fruit is an indehiscent legume, sometimes called a pod, 12 to 15 cm (3 to 6 inches) in length, with a hard, brown shell. The fruit has a fleshy, juicy, acidulous pulp. It is mature when the flesh is coloured brown or reddish-brown. The tamarinds of Asia have longer pods containing six to 12 seeds, whereas African and West Indian varieties have short pods containing one to six seeds. The seeds are somewhat flattened, and glossy brown.