The unforgettable spices of Indian healthy food recipes.

Indian cuisine is famous all around the world for its great taste, colors and aromatic spices. Sometimes those who experience Indian dishes once find other food little bit tasteless. Indian cuisine also enjoys the enviable reputation of being very healthy and unique in taste.

India is a diverse country with followers of many religions living together for centuries and so you will see diversity in different recipes for cooking Indian food. Indian cuisine offers a mind-blogging variety of food. The Persian, Mughal and the Greek influence truly reflects in numerous dishes even today. It can be seen significantly in Haryana, Punjab, UP, Delhi, and Kashmir.

Some of the popular spices used in healthy food recipes are cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, mustard, coriander seeds, fennel, asafoetida, turmeric, ginger etc. Each spice of Indian food has dozens of different flavors which strongly depends on the cooking method like whether they are cooked in oil or ground or roasted. When cooked in oil, it’s called Tadka and this technique is quite different to Indian cooking. When spices are cooked in oil they transfer their flavor to the hot oil and anything cooked in this oil carry the flavor of spices in tasty recipes.

Some spices are used in the form of ground and used for aroma in Indian dishes. These are used as whole and discarded during eating. Some spices are roasted to enhance the taste and decorate the main course dish.

Benefits of Indian Spices

Beneficial uses of Indian spices are recorded in the ancient books. Some health benefits of Indian spices are:

• Cinnamon helps lower high cholesterol levels and regulates blood sugar
• Cumin, fennel and cardamom help in digestion
• Ginger is the universal healer
• Turmeric acts as anti-inflammatory and an anti-cancer agent

Some simple spices

Let’s have a look at these spices that will allow you to make dozens of balanced, complex and healthy food recipes. They are common enough that you can easily find them in the supermarket. These are:

1. Coriander seeds: It adds a lemony and earthy flavor to the food when these seeds are freshly grounded. It is an indispensable part of Indian Cuisine.
2. Cumin seeds: It has an aromatic and peppery flavor. It was an important spice of ancient India too. Indians cook with whole, ground and roasted cumin. Aside from cooking, it can be chewed after meal for digestion.
3. Mustard seeds: These are pungent, tiny and slightly bitter. It is used in simple Indian dishes and also in complex curries and pickles.
4. Ground turmeric: It adds a musky flavor and yellow hue that make a lot of Indian dishes. It’s a part of ginger family that has antibacterial properties.
5. Asafoetida/heeng: It is used in preparation of several pickles, S?mbhar and some lentil preparations. It is mainly digestive and helpful in cases like asthma and bronchitis.
6. Bay leaves: Bay leaves have many medicinal uses and admired for their beauty and smell. It is used for flavoring curries and pulao. Oil of bay leaves is generally used as a rub to get relief from joint pains. It also prevents tooth decay.
7. Black pepper: It is also known as the King of Spices and sought by people for its medicinal values. It’s a culinary spice used all over the world in all the cuisines. It is bitter, digestive and a stimulant. It is useful to treat fever, cough, dysentery, arthritis etc. It is a marvel of nature and used in Ayurveda too.

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