English name
Turmeric
Green Saffron Blends using Black Pepper
Aloo Gobhi, Bengali Tiger Prawn, Bombay Aloo, Badaam Pasanda, Biryani, Boiled Ham and Cabbage, Chana Masala, Curry Powder (Karnataka Sadya), Dahl Makhani, Dhansak (Dahl Gosht), Jalfrezi, Keemar Matar, Korma, Madras (Tamil Style), Masala Gosht, Murgh Tandoori, Panch Phoron, Red Lentil Dahl, Rogan Josh, Tikka Masala and Vindaloo.
Hindi name
Haldi
Sanskrit name
Haridra, Gauri
Latin name
Curcuma longa Linn
Plant Family
Zingiberaceae, which includes ginger and cardamom
Region grown
Across India
Part of plant used
Rhizome, tubers
Plant description
It grows as a leafy herb up to around 1m tall. Its flowers are yellow and white on a long spiky stem. The flowers do not produce viable seed, its reproduction done, instead, through its rhizomes – the thick and fleshy underground stem which is ringed with the bases of old leaves. This is the part that is boiled for 45-60 minutes within a couple of days of harvest, dried and then ground to produce the distinctive yellow powder that we love.
Characteristics
Turmeric is a powerful colouring agent, as your dry-cleaner will testify! It should only be used in small quantities and cooked thoroughly. It is widely used throughout most regional Indian cooking and often added to the hot oil before any other ingredients.
Aroma
It has an earthy, sweet, pungent smell with astringent qualities, whilst the taste is quite bitter.
History
surely no spice has a greater history, and certainly none can claim a more romantic one. The search and desire for many once exotic and rare spices such as pepper and ginger has inspired many an adventurer of the past, and certainly necessitated the ancients gaining mastery of the seas. Yet, whilst pepper is now as common as salt, saffron remains enticingly mysterious.
Traceable history of saffron is estimated as going back between 3000 – 5000 years, it certainly seems to predate any written history. There seems to be evidence that the Sumerians in Mesopotamia used it 5000 years ago. Their writing on ceramic tablets (on display in many museums from The Louvre to Cairo) is the oldest text known to man, and they suggest that saffron was well known to them.
Some sources suggest that it arrived in Kashmir as early as 500BC. It is mentioned in many more ancient texts such as The Bible and some of the oldest Ayurvedic treatises, such as the Charaka Samhita which dates back to 500BC.
Both Ovid in ‘Metamorphoses’ and Virgil in ‘Georgics’ tell us the saffron crocus descends from Crocus/Crocos, although for differing reasons. Ovid suggests that because of his unrequited love for Smilax the gods turned him into a saffron plant (she into a climbing bramble), whereas Virgil says that Hermes turned him into the plant after accidentally killing him in a game of discus. Others say that wherever the blood dripped from this mortal wound, a saffron crocus grew.
Zeus, the head of all ancient Greek Gods, slept in a bed of saffron; Cleopatra, legendary Queen, used to bathe in it. It kept her skin clear and blemish free, and apparently made her lovemaking more pleasurable. Rumours are that she also used it as make up, presumably giving her a hue not too dissimilar from the self-tan so liberally applied by many girls today!
It was an indispensable ingredient in the great Moghul (Northern Indian) kitchens, and used liberally when cooking for the royals.
Decorating dishes with saffron in India is still a mark of honour for your guest.
General culinary use of saffron is with rice, but this is unnecessarily limiting. There are many more wonderful dishes that include it, including much baking and many puddings: saffron ice cream is very popular across India.
Ireland, in the 16th century, imported their saffron from Spain. It is quite possible it was grown there as well. A pamphlet, published by the Dublin Society in 1732, certainly advocated its cultivation in Ireland. In 1858 William Pinkerton in "The Highland Kilt and the Old Irish Dress" in the Ulster Journal of Archeology quotes a 14th century poem which lists "All the herbys of Ierlond" and "saffrowne" is one of them.
Points of interest
it has been used as a dye since 600BC, with its use in food coming later.
It most likely originated in Western India (with some claiming its chronicled use dates back 4000 years) and reached China in 700AD and West Africa in 1200AD.
The plant we know today is a hybrid between the wild turmeric and closely related plants. It has always been considered a very auspicious plant, and its medicinal uses (see below) extend back a long way. In mediaeval Europe it was known as ‘Indian Saffron’, and is still sometimes used as a cheap alternative to saffron.
Ayurvedic properties
Cools Kapha, warms Vata and Pitta in excess. It affects all tissue, and circulatory, digestive, urinary and respiratory systems. It has antibacterial, antibiotic and vulnerary (wound healing) properties, and also has a stimulant effect. Its Ayurvedic uses are many: Amenorrhea, anemia, arthritis, blood purifier, blood tissue formation, circulation, cough, diabetes, worms, jaundice, eye problems, fevers, gas, hemorrhoids, edema, indigestion, ligament stretching, metabolism regulator, mucus relief, hysteria (from inhaling fumes – calms it, not causes it!), pharyngitis, protein digesting, skin disorders, abscess, urinary diseases, wound and bruise healer, improves intestinal flora, inflammatory bowel syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, chronic hepatitis, chronic bronchial asthma, psoriasis, all inflammatory conditions, acne, insect bites, sore eyes, bruises and sprains (with honey or aloe gel).
Curcumin, an active ingredient in turmeric, has been shown to help prevent cancer in rodents, but more research needs to be done to see if it can benefit humans in a similar way.
Spiritual
Gives you the Divine Goddess’s energy and prosperity
Precautions
Probably shouldn’t be eaten to excess if pregnant. Stains anything into which it comes in contact…very readily!!
