Asafoetida
It is grown from the Mediterranean region to
Central Asia. In India it is grown in the Northern states of Jammu &
Kashmir and in parts of Punjab. The taste of Asafoetida is acrid and
bitter with a peculiar and offensive smell due to the presence of
sulphur compounds. Asafoetida is used sparingly for flavouring curries,
sauces, and pickles. It is also used in medicines because of its
antibiotic properties.
Bay Leaf
Bay is the leaf of an
evergreen tree native to Mediterranean region. The spice is also known
variously as "sweet bay", "bay laurel", " noble laurel" and "true
laurel."
Today, Bay leaf is one of the most sought after culinary
spices for flavoring soups, casseroles, fish, fish sauces, meat,
poultry, puddings, and marinades. It is an important ingredient of Garam
Masala in the ground form.
Cardamom
This is the fruit of a
reed - like plant. Cardamom is one of the most ancient spices in the
world and one of the most highly valued and expensive. In India it is
known as the queen of spices. The fruit is a small pod and the seeds
within the pods have a strong, sweetish flavour.
The aroma of
cardamom is mellow. Initially the taste has a penetrating note of
camphor. It is sharply bitter and strong, and lingers quite long in the
mouth if you chew a few seeds, but is warming and agreeable.
Rich
vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries are flavoured with cardamom.
Powdered cardamom is a big favorite in cakes, puddings , halwas etc.
Pulaos and Biryanees also depend on this spice for their flavour.
Cardamom can enhance both sweet and savory tastes. All the flavour is
held in the small, but very hard, seeds.
Types of Cardamom:
- Green Cardamom
- White Cardamom
- Black Cardamom
Tincture
of Cardamom is considered a useful medicine for flatulence and stomach
disorders. Chewing a few seeds cleanses the breath.
Chilli
The
universal spice of India. Chilli is nature's wonder with it's fruits
appearing in different sizes, shapes and colours. The fruit size of some
varieties is more than a hundred times that of others. Chilli has two
important commercial qualities. Some varieties are famous for their red
colour because of the pigment capsanthin, others are known for biting
pungency attributed to capsicum. India is the only country rich in many
varieties with different quality factors. Chilli is an essential
ingredient of Indian curry. Tempting colour and titillating pungency,
both are contributed by chilli. In curry, chilli is used as a paste,
powder, broken, split or whole form. It is also used fresh.
The
medium pungent 'Sannam' and mildly pungent 'Mundu' chillies are
internationally recognized as the finest in quality. Products are
available as powder and oleoresins. The use of Dried and roasted chilli
brings out the most intense flavour of a dish. Several varieties of
chillies combined and ground to a fine powder give more complex flavour.
Cinnamon
The
bark of an evergreen tree belonging to the "Laurel" family and is
chiefly cultivated in Ceylon and the East Indies. It has a fragrant
odour and its taste is pleasant and aromatic. It is used in both western
and Indian cookery, in cakes, buns, ketchup, pickles, in pulaos(rice
dish) with cardamom and clove, etc. It is used in the preparation of
garam masalas and curry powders.
Cinnamon's agreably sweet, woody
aroma is quite delicate, yet intense. The taste is well defined,
fragrant and warm. Cinnamon was once commonly used to flavour ale and
wine, and it is still a good spice for mulled wine. It is available as
sticks or ground fomant.
Cloves
A very old and important
spice, the clove was known before the time of the early Egyptians. It is
grown in Tropical regions of the world. Cloves have an assertive, dark
aroma that is warm and rich. Tasted on its own, a clove is bitingly
sharp, hot and bitter and it leaves a lasting numb sensation in the
mouth.
Cloves are used in both western and Indian dishes, both
savory and sweet e.g.. Pulaos, cooked ham, sauces, gravys and meat
dishes. Its effect is tempered by cooking and by other ingredients. The
Oil of cloves is used in dentistry to soothe toothache, and its
antiseptic properties are well known.
Coriander
The leaves
and seeds of a plant called "coriandrum sativum", a member of the
parsley family is extensively used in the preparation of Indian savoury
dishes and forms an essential ingredient of curry powders. The fresh
leaves are used for flavouring curries, in salads and chutneys and also
as a garnish. Seeds are sweet and strongly aromatic with a slightly
bitter edge, rather like orange peel. Fresh leaves produce the best
flavour when added to the dish at the very last minute. A fragrant
spice, coriander is today valued as much as for its medicinal properties
as for as its use as a condiment. It finds extensive application in
several kinds of foods, beverages, liquors and perfumes.
Cumin
An
intensely strong flavour and grows abundantly in mild, equable climatic
conditions where rich, well drained sandy loamy soil is available.
Cumin's distinctive warm flavour is unique and makes a valuable
contribution to many savory dishes. It is a vital flavouring in Indian
recipes. Indian cumin finds worldwide use in foods, beverages, liquors
medicines, toiletries, and perfumery. The spice cumin is an important
ingredient of commercial Indian curry powder.
Fennel
Ancient
Indians used fennel as a condiment and culinary spice. The dried ripe
fruit of an aromatic, herbaceous plant, fennel grows well in most mild
climates. The seeds are green to yellow-brown in colour with prominent
lighter ridges. The whole plant is aromatic and the seeds smell like
anise. The taste is warm, and fragrant but not very sweet.
Fennel
was an important medical plant in the past. It was also believed to help
cure stomach complaints and toothache. The pleasingly warm, sweet smell
and the clean appearance are clear indications of how well Indian
fennel retains its exclusive quality, even-after drying. Well known as
"saunf", Indian fennel is used in food, medicine, liquor and perfume.
Fenugreek
Also
an ancient spice. Traditionally, fenugreek grows best in well-drained
loam with a low rainfall. The ripe, dried fruit of a quick-growing
annual leguminous herb, fenugreek has a strong, pleasant and quite
peculiar odour reminiscent of maple, and dominates in commercial curry
powder. Uncooked fenugreek tastes bitter, astringent and is very
disagreeable. It is often lightly dry roasted before use to mellow the
flavour.
Fenugreek is combined with other spices in many Indian dishes and pickles.
Garlic
Known
and used worldwide. It comes from a bulb which splits into individual
cloves, Garlic is an excellent condiment with a pungent flavour. It has
always been known to have many health giving properties and is taken by
many people in pill and capsule form. It is considered to be very
wholesome and is a stimulant. The entire bulb is almost without odour
but, once cut or bruised, they produce an intensely strong and
characteristic odour. Garlic is used in vegetable, meat and poultry
dishes especially in casseroles stews and marinades. It is also used to
to flavour salads. "Ginger - Garlic" paste is an important ingredient in
most of the Indian meat cookery, where it gives excellent flavour and
aroma to the food.
Ginger
One of the oriental spices well
known in Europe. Ginger has been cultivated in India both as a fresh
vegetable and marketed as a dried spice since time immemorial. The
fresh, dried or powdered rhizome of a slender, perennial herb. Indian
ginger has been acclaimed world wide for its characteristic taste,
flavours and texture. It has a warm aroma, with a fresh woody note.
India
and most other Asian countries use fresh ginger often with garlic. Both
fresh and dried are common in India. Ginger has numerous applications
in sweet and savoury cooking. It is an essential ingredient of every
spice blend, and is found in bread ginger , biscuits, cakes, puddings,
pickles and many Asian vegetable dishes. It is also preserved in syrup
(stem ginger). It is still widely used in Asian medicine as a digestive
aid. Ginger tea is a warming drink thought to improve the circulation.
Mustard
Mustard
has always had a host of uses in condiments and medicines. Mustards
taste is slightly bitter. Black seeds have a strong, pungent flavour.
Unlike other spices, the seeds have virtually no smell.
Brown
seeds are an important flavouring in many dishes from Southern India.
Before they are added to a dish, they are usually heated in hot oil to
bring out their nutty flavour. Mustard pwder mixed into a smooth paste,
is a popular British relish. In traditional medicine, mustard plasters
are a common treatment for arthritis and rheumatism.
Nutmeg & Mace
The
nutmeg is unique among spice plants as it produces two distinct spices
Nutmeg & Mace.Nutmeg is the kernel of the seed; Mace is the lacy
growth, known as the aril, which surrounds the seed.
Mace and
Nutmeg are similar in aroma and taste, but mace is more refined with an
aroma that is rich, fresh and warm and with a slightly bitter taste.
Nutmeg has a warm and sweetish taste and is used in western and Indian
dishes in puddings, for flavouring egg and in some curries. Nutmeg is
also used to relieve bronchial disorders, rheumatism and flatulence.
Pepper
Invaluable
in the kitchen, pepper is quite rightly known as the "king of spices'.
This spice, which plays an important role in cuisine the world over, is
the berry of the plant PIPER NIGRUM. India has always reigned supreme in
the production and export of this most exotic and sought -after spice.
Pepper production accounts for one quarter of the global spice trade.
Indian
pepper had a profound influence on the European economy of the middle
ages. Easily the finest in quality, anywhere Indian pepper is grown in
the monsoon forests along the Malabar Coast in south India. There was
even a time when pepper was worth its weight in gold. Pepper probably
changed the course of history being the single most important factor in
the European search for sea routes to the East. This quest for pepper
dominated the spice trade for centuries, and without it, the colonial
Empires of modern history might not have existed.
Types of Pepper:
- Green pepper
- Black pepper
- White pepper
Green
pepper corns are harvested while still unripe. Their flavour is
somewhat milder and fruitier but not entirely without spice.
Sun dried green peppers are more commonly known as Black pepper, which is flavourful, pungent, and aromatic.
For
white pepper some berries are left on the plant until fully ripe and
red in colour. They are then soaked and peeled to expose the inner white
corns, which are then dried. The flavour is slightly less piquant than
that of black pepper.
Poppy seeds
Poppy is the dried seed
of a particular type of poppy indigenous to the Mediterranean region and
central Asia. Poppy seeds have a slight but pleasantly nutty aroma, and
a similar but more pronounced taste, with an underlying sweet note. In
cookery poppy seeds are mainly sprinkled on breads and cakes or crushed
with honey or sugar to make pastry fillings. They are made into halwas
and desserts.
Turmeric
An aromatic root or rhizome of a
handsome perennial, with large lily like leaves and yellow flowers. It
has been cultivated in India for over 2000 years and is now grown in all
Tropical regions of the world. It adds a warm, mild aroma and gives a
distinctive yellow colour to foods. It is used in curry powders, not
only for imparting colour and flavour to the curries, but also because
of its preservative qualities. Turmeric is used as a mild digestive and
as a remedy for liver ailments. It is used freely in Indian medicines.
India Spice Range
Fresh spices are the basis for every Indian meal, whether used in traditional ways or with a modern twist.
East
End Foods is one of the biggest spice importers in the UK, which means
we can select the best quality ingredients and some we even grow
ourselves in collaboration with approved farmers.
We grind recleaned spices in our U.K. plant thus ensuring the ultimate purity, freshness and aroma.
In New Product Development we have created exclusive spice blends to meet the precise needs of certain customers.
- Tikka Masala
- Balti Masala
- Rogan Josh Masala
- Jalfrezi Masala
- Korma Masala
