Asafetida, also spelled as Asafoetida, better known as Hing (or heeng)
Okay, asafetida stinks!! As soon as you open that container of hing, as a newbie, you are bound to find it stinky. It is beige or yellowish brown in color. It tastes very pungent too, and can be pretty off-putting to a novice. But not to worry, it's not going to kill you! ;)
If you were to ask any Indian elder what is asafetida, they will probably just say- it's hing!! Honestly, I too had no clue what it was, until I looked it up online. There's quite a bit of research done on the medicinal properties of hing. It is a gum resin extracted from the thick horizontal stem and root of the plant named Ferula asafetida. As with everything, it's all up there on the internet. If interested, you can look at images of this plant too. It's pretty cool.
Benefits:
1. As with most spices used in Indian cooking, asafetida works like magic for digestive issues
2. Regulates blood pressure
3. Helps ease menstrual issues such as horrendous cramps that a lot of women experience during their period
4. Useful for treating certain conditions of the Central Nervous System
5. Respiratory issues such as asthma, bronchitis
Grandma's Home Remedy for a Stomach Ache:
Take some hot steamed rice in a bowl. Add a pinch of hing, a little bit of ghee, and a pinch of salt. Mix and mash it all up, and eat.
Mustard Seeds
Mustard seeds are tiny, round, ranging from black to brown color. There's also yellow colored mustard seeds. As far as taste goes, as the name indicates, it is mustardy (think wasabi), and bitter. The seeds come from mustard greens.
Benefits:
1. Eye health
2. Alleviating pain caused by sore muscles, and stiff joints
3. To ease menstrual pain
4. For headaches, sinus issues, etc
5. Promoting healthy hair and skin
*Mustard oil is used for massage on infants, and children in north India. While in the south, they use sesame oil.
Grandma's Home Remedy for a Cold and Cough:
Take a teaspoon of mustard seeds. Crush using a pestle and mortar. Add this to some hot steamed rice. Mix with ghee, and salt. Mix, and mash. And eat!
Cumin Seeds
These are tiny, brown colored oblong seeds, that taste almost peppery-nutty. Cumin seeds come from the cumin plant. I think this is my favorite spice. It's also used quite a bit in Mexican and North African cooking.
Health Benefits:
1. Just like hing, cumin helps alleviating gastrointestinal issues
2. Regulating cardiovascular health
3. Respiratory health
4. Regulates blood sugar level
5. Women's health
Grandma's Home Remedy for Nausea:
Roast a couple teaspoons of cumin seeds, until fragrant. Crush using a pestle and mortar. Mix with hot steamed rice, ghee, salt, and black pepper. Mix, mash up, and eat!
Green Cardamom
Green Cardamom is a truly ancient Indian spice, that grows abundantly in the southern coast of Malabar. It is related to ginger root. Good quality cardamom is a lovely green color, almost tender, and very fragrant. As it dries up, the green turns a bit brown, but the tiny seeds inside remain fragrant. The seeds are black in color. I would describe the taste as being blunt to a novice palate, but to a seasoned palate, it is blunt, yet flowery, almost lemony. Some prefer consuming just the seeds, and discard the skin. I think that's such a waste of the lovely spice.
Health Benefits:
1. You guessed it- gastrointestinal health
2. Cardiovascular health
3. Oral health- you can just pop a cardamom pod or two into your mouth instead of gum. Yes!
4. Respiratory health
5. Regulating blood sugar level
Every Indian Chai lover will swear by "elaichi waali chai," meaning Cardamom Tea. The recipe is simple. While brewing a cup of tea, add a couple pods of green cardamom, coarsely crushed. The tea will be elevated to a whole new level. Flowery, fragrant, and delicious!
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is also an ancient spice originally from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. It is obtained from the inner bark of a tree! Pure unprocessed cinnamon does in fact look like tree bark! This spice is spicy, woody (duh!), and sweet.
Health Benefits:
1. Controlling blood sugar level
2. Oral health
3. Big time antioxidant
4. Cardiovascular health
5. Arthritis management
Quick fix for sore throat- Add a pinch of cinnamon powder into a cup of warm water, add some honey, and drink. It will soothe your throat.
Turmeric
How can we forget good old turmeric? That beautiful yellow colored spice used in so many Indian dishes. Fresh turmeric can often be mistaken for organic ginger root. Well, they are cousins after all! The type used commonly in cooking is the dry powder form of turmeric. It tastes slightly bitter. It has a nice aroma to it. A word of caution, passed down by my grandma to my mother to me- do not use too much of turmeric as it can become toxic. Now I don't know what "too much" really means, but I just assume not more than 1-2 tsp in any dish. I am still alive and kicking, so I assume I have been using the right quantity all these years!!
Health Benefits:
1. Antiseptic properties
2. Respiratory issues
3. Rheumatoid Arthritis
4. Digestive health
5. Extensive research has been done in the past on it's cancer therapy properties, and some positive results were found. Research continues.
Grandma's Home Remedy for that Nasty Cold and Cough:
In a cup of milk, add a pinch of turmeric, some black pepper powder, and some sugar. Bring the milk to boil. Pour into cup, and sip away.
There are many more spices that are used in Indian cooking. This was just a snapshot, to get you started with. If you noticed, almost all of these spices are beneficial for overall digestive, cardiovascular, menstrual, and respiratory health, as well as diabetes, and arthritis management, and even in cancer therapy. Spices not only impart flavor to foods, but are in fact good for you.
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