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Fennel, Fenugreek and Coriander: 3 Spices that You Thought Were Indian but Aren't

Alexanders invasion of India in 327 BC mayhave been brief but it left behind a rich legacynevertheless in terms of mixed genes, a newschool of art and sculpture, and, of course,food.

Anyone who talks of cultural purity should lookno further than his or her own kitchen todiscover that that concept simply does notexist. The world was a global village muchbefore we began to call it as such and there isvery little, by way of ingredients and cookingpractices, that is truly indigenous or nativeto any place, especially if that place happens tobe as multi-cultural and multi-layeredhistorically as India.

From Kewra to Kalpasi: The Hidden Gems of Indian Spices

The Greek Special: Coriander

Coriander may be one of the most common spices in the Indian kitchen; the fresh green leaves garnishing every curry imaginable and thedry seeds powdered to give you that troika of dry masalashaldi, dhaniya, mirch (turmeric, coriander and red chilli powders) that rules ourkitchens. But it is an ingredient that came to India only post Alexanders onslaught.

I am not a big fan of dry coriander powder, at least the way in which it is used in most Indian curries to bulk them up as much as to flavourthem with the unique, complex notes of the spice. But use it sparingly, especially if you lightly toast the seeds and then roughly pound them,it assumes a much more potent significance in your cooking, instantly elevating any dish.

Top 10 Indian Ingredients

In summer, a great way to use the spice known to have anti-oxidant properties, to cure stomach aches, lower LDL and provide bothdietary fibre and a host of minerals is to use it with onions, another summer ingredient that is used traditionally to keep heat strokes atbay. Raw whole onions with our flatbread would be the quintessential mid-day meal for farmers, especially in regions such as Rajasthan,

Anoothi Vishal, Modified: June 16, 2015 09:47 IST

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where this would protect them from the hot loo winds.

It is interesting then that a lightly sauted whole onion recipe from Rajasthan uses freshly pounded, dried coriander seeds in the spice mixto give it a distinctive summer taste. But the recipe has a third subtle but equally prominent ingredient too: fenugreek seeds.

An easy recipe for Methi Mass

A Sprinkling of Fenugreek

Like its cousin coriander, with which it shares so many similarities, fenugreek came to India from Greece as well. Historical records suggestthat it was indeed the Macedonian army that brought the spice with it to Punjab and northern India. In Latin, the name means Greek hay,even though, today in modern Greece, you will not find anything by that name.

Instead, ask for tsemeni (it is the Turkish name for fenugreek) and what you will get is our own methi-dana, a spice used in that part of theworld to flavour pastrami and make dips and hot sauces that go exceedingly well with falafel et al.

6 Spices That'll Keep You Cool on a Hot Day

Like coriander, fenugreek is a strong spice. And like the former, the leaves are equally well-known for their culinary use. But if methi leavesare a winter staple in the subcontinent, methi-dana, the seeds, have cooling properties according to Ayurveda. They help cure fever,headaches, indigestion and aid in lose weight: just soak methi-dana in water overnight and then strain the liquid and drink it first thing in themorning to counter obesity and diabetes, the twin silent epidemics in urban India.

There are, of course, better ways to consume this spice, one of my favourites in the kitchen. The slight bitterness adds to the complexity ofany preparation to which it is added: be it sauted whole onions or a basic potato curry. Bedmi Aloo, the traditional breakfast dish from OldDelhi, has a mandatory ingredient that many replicators of the dish fail to add: methi-dana. Not only is a tangy methi-dana chutney anecessary accompaniment to the breakfast combo, but fenugreek seeds go into the humble potato curry, giving it a twinge of bitterness aswell as astringency that also come with using soaked methi-dana. It is a distinctive and complex flavour profile that elevates an otherwiseordinary dish.

What Should You do With All Your Old Spices?

You could splutter a little methi-dana in oil and use it to flavour anything from rice to vegetables like okra and even fish (cooked in mustardoil). Or you can add another layer of flavour to fresh chutneys that can balance sweet, sour and bitter, with the addition of this ingredient.Try doing this with raw mango or tomatoes, adding the mandatory sweet by way of jaggery or sugar and tempering with fenugreek-seeds,for the dash of the sublime.

10 Best Methi Recipes

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Add Some Fennel

And then there is fennel, the third of my favourite summer spices. Like coriander and fenugreek, it quite obviously hasMediterranean/Middle-Eastern connections too, and is similar to anise in its flavour and use. Again, like coriander and fenugreek, the leavesof the plant (belonging to the celery family) are equally and significantly used in cooking. It is also a common ingredient in Ayurveda-basedIndian kitchen because of its therapeutic properties, and is commonly used as a digestive (it is an ingredient in many common anta-acidsyrups as well), as a cure for coughs and respiratory infections, and as a lactation-enhancer, just like coriander and fenugreek.

Essential spices to improve dish's flavour

Fennel is also an intrinsic part of both Kashmiri and Bengali cooking so firmly entrenched in the traditional repertoires that you canscarcely believe that the spice made its way on to our plates from the Mediterranean, after all. But even if you are not using the panch-phoran, you could use it to flavour broths, to spice up vegetables with its distinct and powerful presence, to flavour milky drinks (fennel andcold milk go hand-in-hand; the traditional thandai is an example) and above all to make condiments for your table.

Speak of pickles and you cannot help but think of fennel from raw mango achars of the Indo-Gangetic plain to red chilli pickles fromBenares and Punjab, fennel is an interesting, inevitable spice, offsetting the piquancy or the hotness of the other ingredients. Besides which,of course, you can simply chew on a spoonful with a few bits of sugar for instant mouth-freshness!

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Tags: Spice, Fenugreek, Coriander, Fennel

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