English name
Cumin, distinct from black cumin (caraway)
Green Saffron Blends using Black Pepper
Aloo Gobhi, Bengali Tiger Prawn, Bombay Aloo, Badaam Pasanda, Biryani, Chana Masala, Curry Powder (Karnataka Sadya), Dahl Makhani, Dhansak (Dahl Gosht), Garam Masala, Jalfrezi, Korma, Madras (Tamil Style), Masala Gosht, Murgh Tandoori, Panch Phoron, Red Lentil, Tikka Masala and Vindaloo.
Hindi name
Jeera, Zira
Sanskrit name
Jiraka
Latin name
Cuminum cyminum
Plant Family
Apiaceae (parsley family)
Region grown
Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh.
Part of plant used
Dried fruits, frequently mislabeled as seeds. They are yellowy brown in colour, 6mm long, pointed oval in shape with ridges.
Plant description
Flowering herbaceous annual plant approximately one foot tall, maybe a little taller. The leaves are thread-like and the flowers pink or white. They are planted during November and take nearly four months before they’re mature. You know that they are ready for harvesting when they become yellow-brown. The fruits are gathered by threshing the whole plants.
Characteristics
The dried fruits, whether whole or powdered, can be dry roasted or fried in ghee to bring out their flavour. If you have the inclination, it is better to buy whole cumin and grind it to order, as it will lose its flavour quite quickly when powdered. It is a major part of much Indian cooking, and a constituent part of garam masala and the Bengali panch phoram, and tandoori chicken. Lentils are often flavoured with cumin fried, often with onions, in ghee. Although, whilst its history is long, it is also slightly unclear. ‘Jeera’ can sometimes mean both cumin and caraway, and so translations, including in some recipe books, have sometimes taken the wrong meaning.
Aroma
Strong, heavy, warm and earthy, slightly bitter. It is reminiscent of curry powder as they are a major ingredient in many varieties.
History
Cumin has been used as a culinary ingredient and herbal remedy since biblical times. Indeed, the Bible says that it could be used as currency, such was its value as a medicine. Native to the Mediterranean’s warmer regions and the Middle East, Egypt in particular is associated with its early use.
Cumin has been found in some of the Egyptian pyramids – they used it to mummify their pharoahs, and it is well documented that the Romans use to trade with Egypt for it. The Romans would use it in a similar way to black pepper, particularly when their own supplies of pepper were short, or grind it to a paste to spread on meat and bread.
The Emperor Marcus Aurelius (AD 121-180) was nicknamed ‘Cuminus’, because the Romans associated cumin with avarice and greed. Pliny wrote in his Historia Naturalis that, because the paste applied to the skin would give it a pallid complexion, students would use it to fool their tutors into thinking that they been studying indoors all hours of the day!
It was the Romans who introduced it to much of Europe, including Britain. In the Middle Ages it was more commonly used in medicine than cooking. It is only relatively recently that its use as a spice has started to pick up.
Points of interest
Cumin tea can be drunk after meals to aid digestion. The essential oil extracted from it is used in perfumery and also in various liquors. It is a good source of iron for vegetarians.
Energetics
Pungent/hot/pungent
Ayurvedic properties
Vata, Kapha, Pitta neutral. Has stimulant, carminative, antimicrobial, anti-spasmodic, lactogogue & diuretic actions. Considered invaluable for digestion, and its Sanskrit name literally means ‘promoting digestion’. A cleansing spice, it also helps clear digestive toxins (ama), which are the root of much illness. It also helps with the absorption of nutrient. Good for stomach, liver, intestinal complaints, and diarrhoea.
It reduces uterine inflammation, and has a beneficial effect on the female reproductive system.
For a hangover cure a teaspoon of lime juice with a pinch of cumin can be taken in a glass of orange juice.
