My Favorite Spices

I am not shy with my spices. I was born in the country of black pepper, salt and occasional bay leaf, but have gathered my spice knowledge through my life and travels in India, Turkey and Morocco. Now when I go back to Russia and cook in the houses of my parents or friends I feel I can’t express myself fully without my spices. Why am I so keen on them?

There are obvious reasons such as boosting flavor, bringing variety and being able to cook ethnic dishes, but as I am learning more about Ayurveda I am discovering more reasons to use spices in your cooking. Using spices helps you include all the six tastes in your meals and therefore ensure you get balanced nutrition. Spices boost digestions, give you energy and help you maintain healthy weight. Finally, thoughtful use of spices can improve your health and that of your near and dear.

I don’t mean this post as an encyclopedia article, I only want to tell you about the spices I love most and use daily. When choosing spices and deciding on the used quantity make sure to Learn your dosha and consider the current of your well-being. As a rule of thumb, the spices I describe below balance all the three doshas when used sparingly. And by sparingly I mean that in the finished dish the spice does not shout, but rather compliments the overall taste harmony. If you can tell that this soup tastes like cumin, it probably means there is too much cumin. Spices used in excess are particularly problematic for Pitta people. Only paying attention to your senses and experimenting will help you find the spices that your taste buds and body both agree on.

Bright yellow turmeric root, fresh or dried and ground is slightly bitter and astringent. It is quick to color other ingredients (as well as your fingers and dress if you get carried away easily). It is the color that gets turmeric the fame of “saffron for the poor”. Turmeric might not have a royal aroma or taste, however when it comes to medicinal properties it rivals saffron. Turmeric is a strong antioxidant and antibacterial plant; it purifies blood, makes skin healthy, keeps glucose level in your blood stable and soothes inflammation in joints. No wonder turmeric is a indispensable in many cuisines of the Middle East where cooks often use it along with cumin, coriander and cinnamon. I include ground turmeric it in almost every dish, however I particularly like how it boosts the color of the ingredients with “pale complexion” (eg. celery root or cauliflower) or deepens the orange color of the carrot and pumpkin dishes.

Cumin is a signature spice of the Middle East. When traveling in the south-east of Turkey or Morocco I often saw a container of cumin next to salt and black pepper on the tables at the eateries and homes although I must admit that its flavor may come too harsh when added to the finished dish. Cumin’s warm oily earthy aroma combines well with beans and pulses, a lucky arrangement as cumin helps us digest those heavy foods. For instance, seeds of caraway, cumin’s relative with similar properties, sprinkled over pumpernickel bread reflect the ancient wisdom of calling for spices when we eat heavy foods. Cumin combines well with other spices such as turmeric, coriander, fennel, ginger and cinnamon. Ground cumin gives a smoother taste that spreads over your palate more evenly while the whole seeds punctuate food with more vivid sensations.

Coriander is a cumin’s frequent companion as they work so well together. Just like cumin it enkindles digestion while soothing and cooling digestive tract. Warm nutty and citrus aroma of coriander brings to the mind Indian and Georgian cooking as well as pickling tradition of the Eastern Europe. Try to use only freshly ground coriander; I keep mine in a pepper mill to have its incredibly bright aroma always within reach. Coriander combines well with vegetables and beans; it happily cooperates with turmeric, cumin, fennel, ginger and cinnamon.

Fennel seeds taste like licorice Scandinavian toffees, sweet and cooling. In India when dining out you get a bowl of roasted fennel seeds to chew at the end of your meal as fennel aids digestion and freshens your breath. Also fennel pacifies mind and clears conscious. I throw in some fennel when I cook bitter ingredients such as leafy greens (chard, collard greens, nettles) and crucifies (broccoli, cauliflower) as well as astringent beans. Fennel is friends with cumin, coriander, ginger,cardamon and black pepper, although it feels just as comfortable solo given the chance - I often sprinkle sweet and savory baked goods with fennel.

Cinnamon enjoys reputation of the ultimate dessert spice thanks to its cozy sweet taste. The very thought of anything cinnamon makes you feel warm. Indeed the spice stimulates circulation and brings warmth to the limbs, kidneys and lungs. Also cinnamon supports reproductive function in women and men. However, don’t limit the use of cinnamon to the sweet dishes. I love how Moroccan cooks add cinnamon to the savory preparations making sweet and savory mingle on the same plate. Cinnamon is a kind neighbor to ginger, clove, black pepper and nutmeg; I use exactly this bunch of spices to perfume my stewed apples I eat for breakfast in winter.

Ginger keeps warm, stimulates digestion, burns toxins and soothers joints. Dry ginger is rather strong in its taste and effect, so use it sparingly: a tiny bit on the tip of a pairing knife would suffice for a medium pot of soup or stew. You can add fresh ginger to your cooking by mincing it and adding early as you fry your onion and garlic. Sometimes you might care for more subtle effect; in that case I grate about 2 cm (1 inch) of the ginger root and vigorously squeeze the juice into the pan. This creates pleasant comfortable heat that your eaters would register, but would not be able to trace back. In sweet dishes ginger combines well with cinnamon and nutmeg, while in the savory preparations it compliments turmeric, cumin, coriander and fennel.

Mustard seeds often come in yellow or black color. These innocent looking guys don’t reveal their nature until you take a spoonful and chew: their hot bitter taste comes out as you crack them. I prefer the blacks seeds. They do taste more pungent, but I love the look of a vegetable stew punctuated with the black dots. Mustard seeds help flash toxins and address digestive issues. Plus everyone who had mustard patches is well familiar with the heating, antivirus and antibacterial effect of the spice. I love mustard seeds because unlike with the anonymous appearance of ground ginger or black pepper you always know where the heat is coming from.

Nutmeg is a loud guy who has no problem hashing down others, so give him the floor only when sure. But don’t be wary of him: nutmeg will get talking such bashful chaps as apples, pumpkin, cabbage, celery, pasta, potato as well as bitter meanies as cauliflower and spinach. And of course avocado. Thinking of avocado and nutmeg I could not help quoting Niki Segnit of the Flavor Thesaurus, “Together they transform the mildest-mannered mama’s boy into Javier Badem. Grind a little nutmeg over cold avocado soup.. then stand back“. Freshly ground nutmeg is a pretty fairy-tailish matter. I buy whole nuts and keep a tiny grater or a Mircoplane handy. When I cook, I grate some nutmeg right in the bubbling pot and sensational aroma spreads around my kitchen. Nutmeg is slightly sedative so I love adding a tiny bit to the warm milk I drink at bedtime. When combined with black pepper and bay leaf nutmeg makes an exquisite trio to perfume rice pilaf fit for a sultan.

Cardamon is reminiscent of the cold winter nights in Delhi, long waits on the bus stations and warm welcomes in the houses of aunties in India. Sweet thick resin-like aroma of the spice evokes appetite and kindles digestion. It is a no coincidence that in India tea with milk and lassi are often flavored with cardamon; the spice counterbalances heavy and dump nature of dairy, balances Kapha and removes excess mucus from lungs and stomach. In addition, cardamon relaxes muscle tension. I recommend buying cardamon in pods to preserve its aroma. You can use whole pods or small quantity of the freshly ground spice in desserts and fruit salads. Cardamon also pairs well with rice and many delicious Middle Eastern rice puddings are a proof. Cardamon can be friends with other sweet spices such as fennel as well as the bitter ones such as clove.

Clove comes from Latin word meaning “nail” pointing to the shape of this dried unopened flower of an evergreen shrub, but also to the taste that pierces your palate. Clove is a plain straightforward guy. Bitter and astringent it rarely plays alone - it longs for the company of any other spices. Secretly in love with cinnamon and ginger, humble clove will be happy to join any other spices you’ve already added in the dish. Clove improves circulation and aids digestive disorders. It also maintains tooth health, fresh breath, numbs toothache and kills infection.

Some might say that black pepper paths the way to the culinary boredom. When was the last time you noted the the citrus, woody and floral scent of the freshly ground peppercorns falling from the pepper mill on your plate? Besides the black peppercorns, green, white and pink ones are always available at the market. Green pepper is unripe fruit of the same tree while the white one is ripe, but shelled fruit. Pink peppers is a fruit of a completely different tree (growing in abundance in Alaçatı). Similar to cinnamon and cardamon, black pepper carries useful properties of other spices to the various parts of the body, no wonder we add black pepper to almost every dish and it combines well with any other spice. Black pepper boosts circulation, gets blood to the brain and destroys mucus in the digestive and respiratory system.

You will find bay leaf in almost every dish I cook and not because I am Russian. In fact I used to show little respect to the dull leave lacking character until in Turkey I found myself living next to the laurel forest and discovered the pleasure of cooking with the fresh leaves smelling of the meadow flowers, no less. I admit, bay leave’s aroma is stronger that its bittersweet taste, but then the taste varies greatly depending on the country of origin. For instance, Turkish bay leaf is milder, while the ones you will find in India are sweeter. Most of the time we discard the leave after cooking, but you can enhance its flavor if you dry roast it with the rest of the spices, grind into a fine powder and add the mixture to the soup or stew. Bay leaf is effective in addressing digestive, respiratory and skin issues.

Thyme smells careless countryside living in the South of France. Indeed thyme is an indispensable seasoning in many Mediterranean cuisines: think of French bouquet garni, Lebaneese zahtaar or Egyptian dukkah. Turkish cooks use thyme as much as they use black pepper; and in one of my favorite places in Istanbul they serve a complimentary tiny glass of thyme tea after meal. Thyme is a known for its antiseptic and antibacterial properties. It aids digestion, cures flue and headaches. If using fresh add closer to the end of cooking, while dry thyme needs more time to reconstitute its potent aroma so it is a good idea to add it at the beginning. Not surprisingly, thyme is friends with all the Mediterranean products such as tomatoes, olives, pasta, citrus fruit and such.

I had never come across dried mint until I moved to Turkey and now I can’t imagine cooking without it. “Why dry and not fresh?” my cooking class students often wonder. Well, you can always keep the dried herb handy irrespective to the season. Also, once dried its sweetness and pungency get stronger. Mint’s cooling properties are favorable for digestion and respiratory system. I often add mint when cooking beans and pulses, in particular red lentils. And don’t forget the trick many Turkish cooks use to finish soup or pasta-like dishes: melt some butter in a small copper pan and cook red pepper flakes and dry mint until they color the butter into scarlet and green hues. Try once, but promise not to blame me for getting you addicted.