May 20 2006
‘Mistress of Spices’ – A showcase of condiments and spices.
No. I am not talking about the Aishwarya starer, which by the way, is faintly lifted from “Chocolat”. But I did borrow the phrase to start a new series for our blogging purposes.
The series is pretty simple. There are plethora of spices and condiments – some we do know of and others that we dont. Even in the ones that we do know – our knowledge about certain properties of the spice might be limited. So this series is to satiate our thirst to know more about the most important part of our cuisine – “spices”.
In this series each one of us can pick one or more favorite spice and do a detailed report on (each one of ) it. Say 15 -20 lines. It should have the following details (and more if the author so wishes). And no not a Colbert Report 
- Name
- Mostly grown in
- Part of the plant
- Physical Appearance along with pictures.
- Uses in kitchen
- One (or more) non kitchen uses
- Like medicinal properties
- Household tips involving cleaning etcÂ
Like so. My favorite spice is “Turmeric”. I will do a round up of turmeric as a starter.
Turmeric         Â
Turmeric – in English, Pasupu in Telugu, Haldi in Hindi, Curcuma Longa/Domestica being the botanical name is perhaps one of the most ancient Indian spices. Nearly 40 species of the genus (Curcuma)that turmerics belongs to are indigenous to India indicating turmeric’s (propable) Indian origin. The antiquity of this spice dates back to the Assyrians of 600 BC .(goes back to nearly 2600 years)
Turmeric is currently grown (primarily)Â in India, China, Indonesia and Srilanka. No prizes for guessing which country is the largest producer of Turmeric.
Turmeric is the rhizome or the root of the plant. The plant is a perennial grown annually. I did see some turmeric farms back in India. The plant looks similar to a ginger plant. Turmeric plant is sterile, in that there is no flower or seed that is produced. It propagates through the root. The turmeric that we use originate as fingers off the root. The crop (fingers) upon maturing is removed from the root, boiled and dried. Turmeric has an earthy gingerish, bitter taste. It has exceptional brgiht orange color while raw and bright yellow color when ground into powder. It was, during the old times, considered as a parallel to saffron except for the flavor and taste. Turmeric has great antibiotic properties and healing abilities.
Dried turmeric is ground into powder and is widely used in Indian cuisine, Medicine, dyes and cosmetic industry. In fact Telugu for “yellow color” is pasupu rangu.
Below is a picture of raw turmeric.
Dried turmeic
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Ground turmeric
Kitchen : Add a pinch or turmeric to your popu/tadka/tempering mix.
Medicine : Apply a little turmeric to small to medium cuts. Add turmeric powder in warm milk and gulp to minimize irritation in throat
Beauty : Raw turmeric can be ground to paste and applied to face for increased radiance and cleansing.
Traditional importance : Turmeric is paramount next only to kumkum in Indian women’s daily life with great traditional significance. A holy thread (pasupu thaadu)embalmed with ground turmeric is always worn by married Indian women (South India) as symbol of marriage hood. Ground turmeric is also applied to face regularly by many Indian women. It has great importance during any wedding cermony for that matter any holy operation. It is used to embalm the bride and groom before the holy bath prior to the wedding. It is mixed with a dissolved lime stone to produce a red colored solution called “paarani” which is used to decorate the feet of the bride and groom(somtimes). This is a very common practice at least in Southern parts of India. Indian women also decorate their doors (gadapalu) with turmeric.
Turmeric is such an important part of Indian household’s day to day life that there is no other spice that lays a precedent. I might have missed quite a few points – Iam sure there are many more uses of turmeric in Indian household.
I found this excellent source of information on turmeric. I encourage you all to read this when get some time.
Finally I would like to invite Sailu, Indira, Shilpa, Vaishali, RP, Vineela, Priya, Priya Bala. , Saffron Hut, Aparna, Vee, Sury, L.G , Lera, Lakshmi, Ashwini, Santhi, Pushpa(Pusiva’s studio), Krishnaarjuna and all the readers to share about spices you guys like the most with the title – Mistress of Spices. Yes I see a Mistress of Spices in all of you – an enchatress who stirs magic in the land of cuisine 
Note: The spice(s) one picks need not be exclusive i.e., one of you can even write more about turmeric. That being said, lets cover as many spices as possible
Nice post & very informative! Mmmm..a vibrant spice chosen by the spice Mistress…:)
very nice idea mythili….
Will definetly do a post on my favourite spice…
Its going to be sooooo very hard to pick one…
Great post, Mythili. Thanks for inviting us to take part, too; that’s a wonderful idea!
I will try to get to it soon. Thanks
Lera – I know that’s cheating. Being the first one, I got to choose the best out there
!! And thank you 
Santhi – You can pick more than one (like I already said). We would love to hear more from each one of us.
Sury – Thanks ! I know you are busy ( no updates after the JFI post). This does not require any cooking so should be easy to write
Oh-ho! How will I pick A spice??? Its a neat idea! I liked the name a lot!
you are funny.
Mythili replies, L.G – Thanks
Hi Mythili,
Great idea and a vibrant name. Thanks for inviting me. I’d love to do a post on a spice. But which one shall I choose? Hmmm…I am gonna have some thinking to do.
Mythili replies, Thanks Vaish. You can write about more than one spice.
Hi Mythili,
This is very nice idea.
Thank you for inviting me to participate in this series.
I will try to come with spicy spice information.
Vineela
Mythili replies, Vineela – Me waits !
That’s a great idea. I am in and thanks for the invitation Mythili.
I will feature ‘ginger and sonti’.
Is there a timeline or when our posts must be ready? Including a date makes it easy for us to post in a timely manner and for you to do the roundup. What do you think of this suggestion?
Thanks!
That is a nice post about turmeric and the photos are beautiful.
I did check the link you posted, very informative. Another good link about turmeric. Thought you’d be interested to know.
Indira,
As per your suggestion I posted an update with deadline information. Ginger and sonti – awesome choice, belongs to same genus as turmeric. That link is cool. Thanks for sharing the infor and participating in MoS (and no I am not talking anout metal oxide semiconductor).
Mythili,
I am going to pick vaamu(ajwain) for my post.
This is a great idea.. all of us get to learn about the spices we use every day. Thankyou for the invite
Thanks for the invite to a cool series..MoS !!
Wonderful theme and look forward to participating..:)
Arjuna – Thanks for participating. Ajwain : that sounds awesome.
Sailu, Looking forward to your favorite spice.
Hi mythili,
as im newbie to blog.Hope that is ok if i can take up Clove..
I came to this part of the event from Indira’s site..Looks very interesting. I would like to come up with the details of clove..And not to forget to mention this will be the first event that i will taking part
Sudha,
. Clove is a nice choice, I must say. Good one 
Thank you for participating.
Of course you are welcome to participate
Hi Mythili,
That is a great idea of show casing our favorite spices. I would like to participate with my favorite spice “garlic”.
Mythili replies, You have a very nice name
Mythili means Sita which is also the meaning of “Pavani”. I am sure you know that Sita went by the name – Lokapavani during her stay in the ashram of great sage Valmikiji. Thank you so much for your participation. I am looking forward to your notes on garlic 
If you don’t currently host a blog I can host your post (rhyming anyone ?) on my blog.
Thank you very much Mythili. I have to show this to my husband. He thought I was a guy when he saw my name for the first time.
BTW I read “Digital Fortress”, to know what ‘without wax’ means, after I saw your post. I thought I read all of Dan Brown’s novels, but I guess I missed it. Thanks for a really intriguing signature.
Mythili replies, That’s nice. Thankooo
Indian Women also apply turmeric daily to hands, feet while taking bath- mainly becos it is a natural way of preventing hair growth.
Very informative post!
Mythili replies, Curry – Thanks and I did visit your blog. I must say we resemble each other a lot
.
Gosh!!! I didn’t realise tat I’ve been invited. Thank u very much. I feel honoured. I’ll do my best.
Mythili replies, Iam waiting for your entry
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I dont know how i missed the invitation. I read your post on ‘mistress of spices’, may be in a hurry. Hope i am not late to add up this entry. Thanks for inviting and great event.. I will summarize on Fenugreek.. wait for meeeeee.. i will be there soon..!!!!!
Mythili replies, You are fine wrt date.
I am waiting for your entry.
hi mythili, here is my link for the event. hope this is ok..
http://mysamayal.blogspot.com/2006/05/mistress-of-spices-clovelavang.html
Mythili, I too found out about this very late. Let me see if I can come up with something. I am going through a very busy time, so please don’t hate me if I couldn’t participate. This is a wonderful subject and I will be looking forward to your roundup. Thank you so much for the invitation.
Hi Mythili,
Sorry for the 11 hour late post.
But here it is.
http://injimanga.blogspot.com/2006/06/onion-stories.html
I am waiting for the round-up!
Mythili replies, L.G – Thanks for participating in MoS. I will do a round up shortly.
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Mythili:
Is this supposed to be a chain rotating sorta event/tag/meme (meaning people who you invited to participate will inturn invite other people?) or is it just once?
Just wondering..
Well actually that’s a good question and anyone who knows about this can participate in this event
The whole idea is to know more about spices. Please feel free to disseminate as much info about Spices/MoS.
Mythili, I couldn’t spend much time, but I tried my best. http://myworksh0p.blogspot.com/2006/06/mistress-of-spices.html
I know I am late…
Can I still do a post on spice of my choice??
Santhi,
Yes, of course you can
nice posting….
Mythili replies, Thanks!Â
That is a lovely idea. Was guided here from vaishali’s happy burp.. I shall give my favourite spice a thought for sure…
Anu
Please go ahead and send in your spice and I will add yours in my roundup. Thanks for dropping by.
Hi Mythili,
Here is my entry … http://www.anu-sachin.com/East2West/?cat=1
My topic was Elaichi…
Anu
[...] Mythili of Vindhu is the host of the event “Mistress of Spice“. This event showcases the spices, their uses, medicianl properties and a whole lot of other valuble information about the spice of your choice. I owe an entry to this which will be done soon. [...]
[...] Mythili of Vindhu is hosting a food-blogging event called ‘Mistress of Spices‘, and we get to write about our favorite spice. I’m choosing Jeera as my favorite spice for this event; I hope it’s not too late to post. Cumin (Jeera) is usually used both as a whole seed or ground powder in virtually any Indian curry dish, which makes it one of the most important of all Indian spices. Cumin seeds can be either white or black. Black cumin seeds have a slightly sweeter and more delicate flavor than the white seeds. It gives that powerful aroma which many people associate with Indian food. Cumin also has a bitter and nutty taste. Cumin is identified with Mexican cuisine as well. Cumin can be found in some Dutch cheeses and in some traditional breads from France. Cumin is an ancient spice and the use of which dates back to ancient Egypt, has been mentioned in the Bible, been used by Greeks, and been referenced in middle age Europe. Cumin is also known to be an appetite stimulant and believed to ease stomach disorders, such as diarrhea. Cumin is the dried fruit of a small herb. Cumin adds flavor to foods, liquors and beverages. The spice is of particular value in the blending of Indian curry powder. It also enlivens pulaos, biryanis and kebabs. Cumin has digestive properties and when boiled in water and drunk, is very refreshing. It is also used in medicines, toiletries and perfumery. [...]
[...] This is my entry to “Mistress of spices” event hosted by Mythili. [...]
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Over the years, the importance of herbs has increased in the cosmetic industry. The main benefit of using herbs over chemicals in cosmetics is that they are natural and they do not have any side-effects. Also the results are permanent. Most herbs do not cost a lot like chemical cosmetics.
[...] be published) (required) Website. Notify me of follow-up comments via email. Notify me of new …Vindu Blog Archive Mistress of Spices' A showcase of …I will feature ginger and sonti'. Is there a timeline or when our posts must be ready? … Ginger [...]