Must Have Indian Ingredient: Cumin or Jeera

Derived from the Cuminum cyminum plant, Cumin is a widely used spice in the whole world.

This spice is used to add flavour to dishes and is a staple in Indian, Mexican, African, and Asian cuisine. Cumin is the dried seed of the herb and comes under the parsley family. Cumin is used because of its distinguishing flavour and aroma. People of France use this spice in making different loaves of bread. Purchase cumin and other Indian groceries in Germany from Spice Village store. Spice Village is an online Indian groceries store in Germany and is a one stop destination for all your Indian and Asian grocery needs.

India is the world’s largest producer of cumin. Followed by Syria, Turkey, UAE, and Iran. India produced about 856,000 tons of cumin seed in the fiscal year of 2020-2021.

As good as this spice enhances the flavours of your dish, cumin is also widely used for its medical purposes, especially in Asia and Iran.

Some of the Health Benefits that you will get by adding Cumin to your food: -

1.     Cumin Seeds Helps in lowering Bad Cholesterol - Adding 3 grams of Cumin seed to food has been shown to reduce bad cholesterol, lower density Lipoprotein in overweight women. Also, Improved High-Density lipoprotein, or good cholesterol.

2.     Helps Control Type 2 Diabetes – A study involving 100 mg of cumin oil per day, showed reduced blood sugar and insulin levels.

3.     Weight Control - When used on a group of overweight people, It helped reduce weight and even control insulin levels.

4.     Stress management – The body has shown less stress response before performing a stressful task when you have consumed cumin.

5.     Memory – Cumin helps improve memory and will help you get a faster recall.

With all these health benefits and the added flavours, cumin is a must-have spice. But eating dried-up cumin can be boring, and really the real fun of cumin is when it is added to the perfect tasty dish. Many different cuisines offer different uses of cumin. Some use cumin in a paste for a dish, some for topping, and in some, to add distinguishing flavour and hot taste.

Spice Village is a genuine and authentic store to get all your must haves and necessary Indian and Asian groceries in Germany. Simply search for Indian grocery store near me when in Berlin and you will be directed to the online store of Spice Village.

Some tasty health boosting recipes including cumin: -

1.     Cumin or Jeera Chicken – This is your perfect Appetizer, as this tasty dish is very easy and fast to make. Chicken is pan fried with adding pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, Garlic, and Cumin. Usually served with Mint Chutney and Onion Rings for the perfect all around meal.

2.     Spice Crusted Salmon with citrus sauce – Salmon is baked, and a mixture of cumin, coriander, and panko seeds are used as flavourful spice toppings.
 

3.     Moroccan vegetable stew – Eggplant, cauliflower, zucchini, onion, tomatoes, currants, chickpeas, and almonds are slow cooked with added cumin and other spices to perfection. The flavours and nutrition are just amazing.

4.     Barbecue Rubbed Pork chops – Ground cumin is used as an ingredient in the coat of the pork chops. Adds flavour and taste to the cumin used dish.

5.     Aloo Jeera or Potato Cumin – This is a very quintessential lunch dish, as Indians love this potato cumin dish with tasty parathas. This is very simple to make a dish, but it is very delicious.

6.     Cumin Rice – This dish is extremely easy, simple, and yes, very tasty and flavourful. Made with selected ingredients such as Seeds, salt, line, and oil with long grain rice, making this is a perfect meal to eat at home. The cumin rice is generally used as a side dish with Dal but can be enjoyed alone too.

7.     Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Cumin – This is a chef’s special soup that uses cumin seeds to intensify the flavour, then simmer with onion and water to make this spice inflicted puree.

8.     Lamb Meatballs with cumin, mint, and Tomato sauce – The flavourful spices add the edge to this tasty and healthy dish. Using Cumin, Mint, and almonds, this dish is middle eastern inspired and yes, it tastes amazing.
 

9.     Tomato Beetroot Cumin soup – This Unexpected mix of beetroot, tomato, and cumin makes a flavourful, spice-induced soup that is nothing like you have ever tasted.

10. Roasted Chicken with garlic and cumin – Garlic paste, with whole garlic head is roasted along with this tasty chicken recipe, then chopped and added to the pan to make a tasty light but very rich tasty sauce. The chicken serves as the main course.

 

Cumin Seeds have many health benefits, many tasty recipes. But sometimes, people often get confused about cumin with other spices like Caraway. But the main distinguisher between is that cumin is hotter to taste and is lighter in colour, and is bigger. Both of the spices come from the Parsley family.