People often think that spicy food means 'hot' food. This is not necessarily true. There are four 'hot' spices; chilli pepper (including cayenne, bell peppers etc.), black pepper, ginger and garlic. Of the four, chilli is the only one which imparts a really serious spicy heat to the dishes it is added to. All the other spices only add flavour unless used in excess. If you don't like hot food, just leave out the chillies. You can add any other spice you want to a dish and it won't make it very hot.
Here's my list of favourite herbs and spices. I've tried to give an indication of what vegetables or other spices they go particularly well with but remember, they are only suggestions, there are no rules about this. The best thing about cooking is being creative and everybody likes different things. Experiment!
which herbs go with which vegetables? freezing fresh herbs home
black pepper
Black
pepper
Probably the spice that most people (including myself) use most often. I
prefer to use whole pepper corns and crush them before use with a pestle
and mortar
or even between two spoons. I also like to add black pepper near the end
of cooking in most recipes. That way all the tasty volatile oils
remain in your food rather than wafting around the kitchen.
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Cumin
Maybe my favourite spice. Whole and powdered. If you want to keep just one,
keep a jar of whole seeds. The seeds will retain their flavour for longer
and you can easily knock off a fresh batch of powder if you have a pestle
and mortar. Dry roast the seeds in a frying pan first. Heat the pan till it's
really hot, fire in a teaspoonful of seeds, lift the pan and swirl the seeds
about for a few seconds until you can smell them, pour into the mortar and
grind immediately. You'll actually see the vapour as the seeds release their
oils - get your head over the mortar as your grinding and inhale deeply. It's
magic. Throw the powder into your dish as soon as possible after grinding.
Goes well with potatoes.
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Black mustard seed
Whole. Yellow will do if you can't find black, but make the effort and you
should be able to track them down. Most commonly used whole - chucked into
hot oil at the beginning of a recipe - but they're also nice dry roasted and
ground up with cumin (try adding this mixture to yoghurt with fresh mint leaves).
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Coriander
Fresh, whole and powdered - you need them all. At present I don't have any
powdered in the cupboard but I find it easy enough to whack a spoonful of
whole seeds into the pestle and mortar and grind them. It takes ten seconds
and you get the advantage of being present when the seeds release their essential
oils, the lightest of which has a smell reminiscent of oranges or tangerines
but has usually disappeared by the time the stuff powdered in the factory
reaches you via the supermarket.
The
whole seeds can be added to hot oil at the beginning of cooking and they give
a nice surprise when you bite into one, releasing the same orangey taste.
Fresh coriander tastes very different from the seeds and if you haven't tried it you might not like it at first. It grows on you, though. After a while you'll love it. It also grows on the window ledge with very little attention and this is a good way to ensure a regular supply, although it seems to be getting more common in supermarkets in Europe. It can, however, be expensive so if you want to try growing it, put a little soil (or compost) in a shallow container, sprinkle seeds on thickly, cover with a thin layer of soil, water and leave for a week or so. After the leaves start to show you can use it anytime though the longer you leave it the more you'll have.
Everybody's heard of carrot and corriander
soup but the whole seeds are also great with aubergines and the fresh
leaves go with almost anything vaguely 'Indianish'.
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Ginger
Undoubtedly, fresh is best, but you can't always get it. If you do get it,
wrap it in newspaper and keep it in the fridge. Peel it before use (a potato
peeler is good for this) and slice and chop it with a sharp knife. If you
want to grate it, peel and freeze it first. In fact, if it looks as if fresh
ginger is going to be scarce, you can peel and freeze some to store. An alternative
way of preserving it is to peel some and cut it into centimetre thick slices.
Leave them to dry out (putting them in the fridge and forgetting about them
works). The dried pieces will be rock hard but you can grate them or shave
them with a knife. If you choose to do the latter, watch you don't cut your
fingers. The last resort is buying powdered ginger. It doesn't have the lemony
taste and tends to pick up the smell of other spices stored nearby, but it's
worth keeping some for emergencies.
Nice with cabbage and cauliflower.
cabbage Al Khafji
ginger milk tea
ginger lemon
tea
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Red
chilli
I like to keep both powdered and crushed (or whole) dried red chillies. Frying
the crushed ones gives a slightly sweet, toffee flavour as well as the heat
normally associated with chillies. When you make a big pot of winter soup,
fling in a whole dried chilli (red or green). It will add just a hint of spice
without making the soup too hot. When you have friends round you can all laugh
at the person who gets the chilli and sinks their teeth into it. Tell them
it's good luck or something.
red-hot chilli
sauce
red chilli
condiment
special pertsovka
more chilli recipes
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Green chilli
If you like real ass-burning food, the small skinny Indian green chillies
can't be beaten. They don't just deliver a punch, though. If you can step
back a bit from the sweating and pain and taste what you're eating, they do
actually have a lovely perfumed taste. It's a taste that reminds you of a
fragrance, if you can work that one out.
Green chillies come fresh, not dried. What I've discovered, however, is that
you can chuck them into the vegetable box in your fridge - no wrapping required
- and they will keep for ever, slowly drying out. If you find yourself short
of a fresh green chilli, just crumble one of your home dried ones. What ever
you do, don't stick your finger in your eye or up your nose after doing this.
green chilli
and coriander ketchup
green chilli
preserve
more chilli recipes
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Turmeric
Powdered. Gives things a nice yellow colour and has a delicate, perfumed taste.
Be careful when using it - it stains everything it comes into contact with.
Wear an apron or something yellow.
Goes with almost any vegetables.
cauliflower coconut
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Garam masala
Powder. Some garam massalas are definitely better than others. Try a few and
keep the one you like most. Don't be tempted to save the others for a rainy
day. You'll never use them - or even worse, you might. Add garam massala near
the end of cooking to preserve the taste.
Great with fried aubergines and nice sprinkled on dhal just before serving.
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Nutmeg
I don't use this a lot but it's nice on cheese dishes and with spinach so
I like to keep it handy. Whole nutmegs are best. They keep for ages and when
you grate a little bit off the smell is very pungent and fresh - a zillion
times better than the powdered stuff. By the way, contrary to what anybody
else tells you, don't bother trying to smoke or eat nutmeg to get stoned.
It's not worth it. Either nothing will happen or you'll get really sick. If
you want to get stoned there are much better things around.
Cinnamon
Like nutmeg, I don't use it often but I like to keep some. The whole bark
(or 'cinnamon sticks') keeps better and has a better flavour. It's best used
very sparingly in combination with other spices, unless you're making sweet
cakes in which case you can bung in as much as you like.
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Cloves
Another spice I don't use often but a couple of cloves with a little bit of
cinnamon and a cardamom or two impart a lovely spicy taste to North Indian
food. Cloves are also good with beetroot.
beetroot and
apple
Kashmiri dum aloo
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Anise/caroway/fennel
Although, botanically speaking, all these seeds come from umbiliferious plants
and they all look superficially similar, these are actually quite different
spices. They all have an 'aniseed' taste and at a push they can be interchanged
in recipes. Anise is the strongest and caroway the most delicate. I like to
throw a few whole seeds into spicy dishes. You don't notice them until you
bite into one and the powerful flavour is released.
Caroway is nice cooked with beans, carrots and celery. Anise helps the digestion, freshens your breath and is very relaxing. It makes good tea - nice after dinner if you've stuffed your face. Fennel can also be used instead.
Anise tea
cabbage and pine nut bake (with carroway)
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Star anise
This kind of anise has a similar taste to the previous but grows on a completely
different kind of plant. The 'star' is the ripe pod which has split open and
there is a round seed in each point. The best way I have found of using this
spice is to throw the whole star into the pan at the beginning of cooking, say
when you're frying onions. It goes particularly well with lightly spiced Chinese
style dishes. On the whole I prefer the taste of star anise to the previously
mentioned type.
Stir fried mushrooms, bean sprouts
and green peppers
laghman
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Methi (fenugreek leaves)
Another one to add near the end of cooking otherwise the taste will be spoiled
(it can go bitter) Crush a large pinch of the leaves in your hand and use
on dhal, chick-pea or spiced potato dishes. Be warned though - like garlic,
this is another stinky-hand-inducing herb. Even after washing with soap and
water the smell will reappear.
dhal recipes
potato chat
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Garlic
Keep fresh cloves in the fridge - it's the only way. You can stick a few cloves
in the garden in autumn and they will grow into fresh bulbs by the spring.
If you plant them in spring they'll be ready in autumn. They will probably
be small but will taste better than those bought from the shop. You don't
need to dry them - use them fresh while the leaves are still green.
Chopping garlic leaves you with stinky finger syndrome which lasts for days and can spread all over your body. To avoid this, lay unpeeled cloves on the chopping board, place the flat of a broad bladed knife on top and crush with your thumb. Chuck the squashed clove, skin and all, into the cooking pan.
Lebanese garlic
sauce
garlic bread
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Bayleaves
These usually come dried. I've never used them fresh, even when I've picked
them myself. They grow wild in Medeterranean regions and it's nice to collect
your own suppy if you get the opportunity. My wife and I picked a lot near
Istanbul and dried them. We were still using them a year later and they will
keep for a lot longer than that. Recently, I noticed neatly trimmed bay trees
growing in pots outside a couple of the more upmarket hotels in London and
Glasgow. I'm sure no one would notice if you picked a few leaves. Bay leaves
are great in almost any soup. Chuck them in once all the ingredients are boiling
away.
soup recipes
a short story about
bayleaves
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Oregano/marjoram
I don't know exactly what the difference is. I think marjoram is the garden
version of the wild herb and is a little sweeter, but the difference is slight.
This herb keeps its taste well when dried so there's no need to go around
hunting for it fresh. Saying that - if you come across some, grab it. It's
a very powerful herb. Be careful not to overdo it. A pinch is usually enough.
The classic pizza herb. Great with tomato dishes and combines well with basil.
Pasta with
fresh tomatoes and oregano
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Green herbs which are best used fresh
The best way to chop any fresh herbs is to wash them, stuff in a cup or glass and cut up with scissors. This releases the flavours better than cutting with a knife, it's quicker and there's less chance of accidents.
Green
coriander
One of my favourite herbs. See under 'coriander'
in the list above.
Mint
You can use dried mint and it keeps well, but use fresh if you can get it.
It grows fairly easily - if you know anybody with mint in their garden or
if you see any growing close enough to the road to nick a bit, get a few sprigs
and leave them in a jar of water on the window-sill. They'll sprout roots
in no time and you can pot them up in a yoghurt or margarine tub with some
garden soil. If you live near a river or lake, you might be lucky enough to
find some water mint. It usually grows in the water near the bank, amongst
reeds and stuff. Sometimes it's a maroonish purple colour. It is one of the
best sorts of mint - use the fresh leaves to make great mint tea. You can
collect some and dry it at home or do the windowsill thing with it. It sprouts
roots easily and doesn't need much looking after. There are other kinds of
wild mint you might come across but I've found that with most of them the
minty taste and smell disappears quickly after picking, leaving a cat-pissy
smell. Fine if you like that kind of thing.
Try mint with cucumbers and yoghurt dishes.
lentil and vegetable
soup with mint
raitas with mint
onion salad
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Green onions/syboes/chives
No excuse for not having these around in some form. When the onions in the
vegetable cupboard start sprouting, put them in cups of water on the window
ledge next to your coriander and mint. This will work even in the dead of
winter.
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Basil
This is a herb with a history for sure. It's popular in India but most people
don't realise that because it's not normally used as a food seasoning there.
Growing the herb near your house is believed to bring benefits and tea is
made from the fresh leaves and drunk to strengthen the system both spiritually
and physically. The Romans also held the herb in high esteem and used it both
as a medicine and a seasoning. The tea is very good for headaches - even migraine.
Just chop the fresh leaves and pour boiling water over them. Don't over-infuse
them - a minute is enough - as it's a very delicate herb. This should also
be borne in mind when cooking with basil. Always add it at the very end of
the cooking process to preserve the taste. Fresh basil is best but it's not
always around and it's harder to grow on the window ledge than some of the
other green herbs. Nowadays you can sometimes buy 'window-sill pots' in supermarkets
- they're worth getting, though remember you do have to water them and give
them light. Use fresh basil when you can get it and save some dried for back-up.
Basil is great with tomato soup, pasta dishes, cheesy things and beans. It is also used with coconut and spices in Thai cooking.
butter-beans with carrots
and basil
pasta with tomato and basil
Thai-style courgette curry
pesto
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Parsley
Must be fresh. I don't know why anybody would want to use the dried stuff.
If you ever get a spice rack as a present, throw out the parsley.
garlic bread with
fresh parsley
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Savory
I've only ever used this fresh. It might be good dried too - I don't know.
This herb is great with beans and is used a lot in Georgian cooking.
red
beans with walnuts
Georgian
red beans
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Celery
The fresh green leaves are best if you can find them. They look a bit like
parsley. I've seen them in shops and markets in Eastern Europe, the Middle
East and Asia, but I'm not sure how available they are in Western Europe or
America. You often find some on the end of a bunch of celery stalks when you
buy it. If all else fails chop some celery stem finely - it will do the trick.
This is another herb used a lot in dishes from the Caucuses.