To get the most from your spices, it is best to heat them, as this activates their nutrients, which are mostly fat- and water-soluble. This is why it’s usually best to cook them into your food, rather than to take them as a supplement. They also need to be broken down, so you will find that most of the spices used here are either freshly ground or, if whole, left to cook for a long period of time to soften up and infuse into the dishes. In order to protect the aroma and infuse flavours into your food, leave the lid on during cooking.
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Such is the power of spices that Ayurveda recommends that if you are having intense treatment of any kind – for instance recovering from illness, diarrhoea, suffering poor digestion or doing a cleanse – no spices should be added to your food which should be as plain and well cooked as possible at this time.
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If you’re slow-cooking a dish with fat in it, you don’t need to fry the spices in ghee before putting the ingredients together. They will naturally cook and release their properties with the available fat.
TIMINGS
There are no set rules regarding when to add the spices in cooking. if you’re cooking them into the dish you can add them before or during the cooking process – the longer they cook for, the more mellow the flavour will be – or if you want to add them at the end for a flavour punch (some churna spice mixes are even added at the table), make sure you toast or fry them first to activate them.
To add spices at the start, toast or fry ground or whole spices for a very mild flavour.
To add during cooking, use whole unground herbs and spices when only a hint of flavour is wanted. If you are simmering food for a long time, add the spices 15 minutes before you remove the dish from the heat. Otherwise, the aromatic oils will slowly evaporate, and the flavour will go with them.
To add just before serving, sprinkle the spices over the top or stir in freshly toasted and ground churna spice mixes. You could also make a tarka, by frying spices in ghee or oil, and then pouring it over the food. Place the lid on the pan, take it off the heat and leave for 5 minutes to infuse.
1 Heat a dry pan on a low heat. Once it’s hot (but too hot) add the whole spices – one type at a time. If you are using ground spices, you can toast them together as they are all the same shape and size.
2 Keeping an eye on the pan, dry-toast the spices until fragrant, stirring frequently (don’t walk away!).
3 Allow to cool completely, then grind in a spice grinder or in a pestle and mortar. Store in an airtight glass jar in a cool, dark place for 6–8 weeks.
FRYING – TO MAKE A TARKA
You can fry ground spices or seeds in a small amount of oil or ghee, known as a ‘tarka’, before adding other ingredients. This releases the oil-soluble components and activates their flavour and effects, making sure their medicinal properties are fully released. This method is good for pouring over foods that won’t be further cooked and for recipes with no fat or oil in them, such as rotis, steamed veggies or salads. Ghee also helps transport the healing properties of spices to the different parts of the body. Spices that especially benefit from being activated in ghee or oil are mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, onion, garlic, asafoetida and whole peppercorns.
1 Heat a dry pan on low-medium heat.
2 Add the ghee and once it’s hot (but not smoking) add the whole or ground spices in the order the recipe recommends, stirring frequently and removing the pan from the heat as soon as they release their aroma. They cook quickly in hot oil, so keep an eye on them.