Life is full of spice - indeed it is. Spices - the aromatic flavours used to enhance every dish, is an essential part of cooking. There are innumerable varieties of spices. Barks, roots, seeds, leaves and flowers which are used as flavours.

Spices add to the excitement of cooking. Discovering new tastes, experimenting with them and creating exotic recipes with spices is a thrilling experience. Each spice has a special aroma and taste. Each one of them can be used in an assortment of dishes like pies, puddings, curries, main courses, soups and a whole lot of meat and fish recipes. Spices pep up salad dressings as well. In short, food without spices would be quite boring. Let’s discover some commonly used spices.

This is a highly pungent spice. It is a dried bark. Thin long rolls of cinnamon are used for gravies. The bark of the tree is thick and brownish in colour. Cinnamon has a sweet taste. It can be ground into powder too. Cinnamon consists of fats, carbohydrates, ash, fibre, iron and phosphorus. It is also excellent as a mouth freshener. A decoction of cinnamon is good for coughs and colds. For acne and headaches, cinnamon powder paste can be applied.

Uses: Cinnamon is used in puddings, pies, some varieties of wine, rice varieties, fruit masalas, cakes and stews. It is also used in pulao or biryani. Cinnamon helps in digestion.

Pepper brings pep into the dishes. Black, green and white pepper are the different berries got from the plant. Black pepper is a digestive, aromatic, pungent, stimulant and is also an appetiser. It is an effective treatment for cough and cold conditions. A decoction of pepper is said to be excellent for digestive disorders. It is used to enhance the taste of buttermilk and varieties of soups. Bunches of green pepper are washed and immersed in lime juice with green chillies and salt, and pickled.

Uses: Pepper powder is versatile and is used for a variety of preparations such as salads, soups, stocks, etc. Pepper powder is also used as masala mixes for fruit salads, gravies, curries, sambhar, rasam, sandwiches and a whole lot of other foods. White pepper is used for hair and scalp disorders too, especially dandruff.

Perhaps the most widely used spice in India, fennel seeds have a strong aroma. Fennel has always been a medicinal spice. It helps in clearing phlegm and is a trusted breath freshener. Ground fennel seeds are good for digestion. Fennel seeds are also dry roasted. Candied fennel seeds are normally taken after food. In severe cough and cold conditions, fennel decoction is consumed.

Uses: Widely used in pickles in North India, it is added in side dishes too. For bread, fish preparations and pork varieties, fennel is extensively used. Candied fennel is used as a breath freshener.

Hing is an international spice, but it is widely used in the tropics. This resin- like potent substance is strong with a pungent smell. Our ancestors used this to aid digestion. Hing can be used as whole blocks or as powder. For special mango pickles, hing blocks are slightly crushed and mixed in the pickle. Hing is a preservative too.
A pinch of hing used to be mixed with a spoon of curd and smeared on the navel for gas and ingestion.

Uses: Curry powders, masala mixes, side dishes, or vegetables, pickles, sambhar powder and rasam powder, savouries like murukku, decoction for gas relief and dals.

Lemon grass is coarse in texture and has an earthy fragrance. It grows widely in the hills where one can always get the lemon grass aroma in the gentle breeze. The fresh leaves have a great flavour. The fresh stalks of lemon grass can be dipped in gravies. Dried grasses are less aromatic, but can be powdered with other masalas. Lemon grass can also be grown in pots for immediate use. Lemon grass perfumes are used for cosmetics especially skin applications. The lemon grass oil is used as an insecticide too.

Uses: Perfume oils, Pulao or Biryani, soups, fish dishes, stews, masalas or curry powder preparations, variety of pork dishes, chicken and beef dishes. Lemon grass oil can be used as an insecticide.

Magical cloves are universally present in masala mixes. Cloves are flower buds that taste bitter in the uncooked stage. They have a warm flavour and are aromatic. Powdered cloves are used for medicinal purposes, especially cough and cold conditions. They are ideal as a cure for indigestion. Cloves are said to be used as an aphrodisiac.

Uses: Savouries, sweets, ham, decoction for cold and cough, in masala mixes and in side dishes or curries.

There is no sweet or kheer in which cardamom powder is not used. It has a pleasant aroma and is one of the most expensive spices. In India cardamom is grown in the hills. Kerala, Nilgiris, Karnataka, Wynad are well known for cardamom cultivation. Cardamom tea has a unique flavour. Cardamom is used in masala and curry powders. The big brown cardamom is used for Pulao or Biryani. The seeds are either powdered or used whole.

Uses: Tea, coffee, ice creams, and cakes, rice varieties, sweets, puddings and kheer.

Jeera is used all over India. It is either dry roasted or roasted in ghee or oil. It is pungent and has a strong flavour . In most savoury preparations, cumin is used with pepper. Jeera powder is part of the masala and curry mixes. It is also used for Kichdi, Pongal and Kadi varieties. Jeera rice is a popular dish. Jeera is a digestant and a decoction of jeera is given for gastric pain. This decoction is also a home made recipe for menstrual pains.

Uses: Jeera is used in papads, pickles, for seasoning, salad varieties, side dishes, and masala mixes, breads, snacks, meat varieties, fish dishes and decoctions for stomach pain.

Turmeric is considered auspicious in India. No ceremony or festival is celebrated without this. The fresh root is used in the thali for greeting people and is also a preservative. Turmeric is also used in cosmetics because of its antiseptic properties. Powdered turmeric is used as a colourant in practically all curries as also in masala mixes. It is also used for decorating idols of gods and goddesses. Turmeric is ideal for making vegetable dyes too.

Uses: Curry dishes, dals, masala powder, sambhar or rasam powder, in sweets, in day to day cooking and in dyes.

Coriander leaves are widely grown in India. It is an essential part of our daily cooking. Coriander seeds are ground and used in garam masala, sambhar powder, dals and in pickles. The seeds can be preserved for years when a few peppercorns are added to it. Indian coriander or dhania seeds are sweet and are used for flavouring tea. This is called 'Dhania tea'. Our ancestors gave this kind of decoction for memory improvement. Dhania chutneys are popular especially in the winter months. There are two varieties--- one is the short aromatic variety and the other is the long less pungent variety that grows wildly in north India.

Uses: Dhania seeds are used in pickles, gravies, kadi, dals, side dishes, meat and fish dishes, chocolate preparations, rasam powder and as seasoning too. The leaves are made into chutney by grinding them with green chillies and tamarind, tomatoes and salt. Coriander leaves are also used in soups, salad dressings, in chaat varieties as a dressing.