Essential Spices for Healthy Cooking

Healthy living starts with healthy eating. Eating healthy means eating nutritious that includes all the six different tastes(sweet, sour, pungent, astringent, salt and bitter) in each of your meal. It is challenging in this fast moving world to fix 3 meals with 6 tastes. We can achieve some percentage of this by using some of the  important spices in our cooking.

In order cinnamon, cumin, fennel, cloves, coriander, black pepper and  mustard in the center

In order ginger, fenugreek, turmeric, cardamom and garlic

1. Mustard seeds - Mustard seed is widely used in Indian cooking for seasoning.  Mustard when spluttered in heated oil expels its pungent taste and ingredients that stimulates the intestinal juices required for digestion, hence increasing the metabolism in our body.  Even a small quantity as much as 1/2 tsp goes a long way to benefit our body and is used in almost 80% of Indian dishes. Mustard is used in comparisons for its small size yet, its pungency.
2. Ginger -  Ginger with its pungent taste stimulates the digestive enzymes. Having ginger tea in the morning starts your day with good metabolism.  I use ginger either grated or as paste(for rich dishes like biriyani or non-vegetarian) in my cooking not just for the taste but for the property of ginger which aids digestion of  fatty food and meat. Ginger is also a good medicine as it relieves cold, cough and sore throat. Whenever my kids or I have cold we try the "ginger-turmeric milk" or "golden milk" (boil milk with grated ginger,  a pinch of turmeric, some crushed pepper and add a tsp of honey)which has worked amazingly well.
3. Cumin seeds(Jeera) - Cumin seeds like mustard are used for seasoning in Indian cooking.  The pungent smell and taste in cumin seed increases saliva secretion which helps in proper digestion of food that we eat. In my school days I have seen some of my friends bring water boiled with cumin seeds. This water cools your body and eases any stomach related issues.
4. Turmeric - Turmeric is a natural anti-biotic and except for a very few dishes, all the meals that I prepare will have turmeric in it.  My 4 year old is so much used to the "golden milk" that when he has cold or cough he asks me for it :).  When used externally turmeric treats skin infections which was the reason why women in India apply it all over their body when taking bath.
5. Fenugreek(Methi) seeds - Methi seeds have a bitter taste and is said to cool body and regulate blood glucose level. Soaking methi seeds overnight in water and drinking it along with the mashed methi seeds not only helps cure diabetics but also increases milk secretion in lactating moms.  Methi is also said to absorb fat in the food, may be that was one reason why it was added in fatty foods(like curries made with coconut milk).
6. Fennel(Somph) seeds - Fennel seeds have a sweet taste and is commonly used as mouth freshner after heavy meals in India as it serves as a good digestive juice stimulator. It is one of the key ingredient in gripe water that helps relieve stomach gas and pains in babies. In cooking, it is mainly used to enable easy digestion.
7.  Black pepper seeds - Pepper has pungent taste. It is a healthy substitute for green and red dried chillies used to make spicy food.  I am not a big fan of black pepper but after knowing its benefits I have been using it wherever possible(like soups, egg omlets, pepper chicken etc). It works well for cold, cough and sore throat. I use pepper-garlic rasam and "golden milk" to treat cold and cough.
8. Garlic - Garlic has 5 of 6 tastes(sweet, salt, bitter, pungent, astringent) which is very rare. Frying garlic in ghee and eating it cures cold and flu .  Raw garlic juice is a good medicine against insect bites. Expecting women and lactating moms can add garlic to their food so that the baby gains good weight. Garlic also removes toxins from the body so having at least 2 - 3 cloves of garlic a day is good for health.
9. Coriander(Dhania) - Coriander seeds has a bland taste but the smell is so sharp that it secretes the saliva when you munch the seeds. Coriander seeds chewed along with palm jaggery is said to ease stomach pains. I use coriander(slightly roasted and coarsely powdered ) in dry curries for the aroma, taste and its nutrients.
10. Cinnamon - Cinnamon is more known for its smell and taste. Since it is mostly used in dishes made with sugar we think that its taste is sweet. People have been using cinnamon for fatty dishes because it helps reduce the fat in the food. The very smell of it boost the brain nerves which could be true. Mostly I'm in good mood when being around cinnamon air freshener or cinna bun :)
11. Cloves - It has a pungent and astringent taste. My dad had asked me to bite a clove when I had a tooth ache. Surprisingly biting the clove creates a numbness and eases the tooth ache. No wonder some of the tooth pastes had clove as its main ingredient. It is used in rich Indian dishes during  seasoning to aid digestion. With the nice aroma it is used as a mouth freshener also.
12. Cardamom(Elaichi) - Its called the "queen of spices" and the most expensive among the spices. I usually start my days with energy having a cup of elaichi tea because it not only stimulates digestive tissues but also the brain to have good clarity. Elaichi powder is usually used in desserts for its nice aroma, may be it stimulates the brain after a heavy holiday meal so we don't feel lazy after the heavy meal.

Although the spices have all the good qualities to have a good metabolism in our body, its good to have moderate amount of the spices in daily cooking. Even if it is nectar it should be eaten in moderate amount otherwise it turns against you. Enjoy all the different spices in day to day cooking for a healthy living.

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