Brief, referenced notes on the spices that show up in our kitchen every week, what they are, how we use them, and why.
Curcuma longa has been ground into South Asian cooking for thousands of years, valued as much for its warmth and colour as for its long-studied anti-inflammatory properties. In our kitchen it goes into the pot at the very start, bloomed in hot oil before anything else joins it.
Elettaria cardamomum is sold whole in green pods because the oils inside fade fast once ground, which is also why it ranks among the most expensive spices by weight. In our kitchen the pods go whole into rice and chai, cracked just enough to release their perfume without scattering seeds through the dish.
Cuminum cyminum has carried the base note of South Asian cooking for centuries, usually the first thing to hit hot oil in whatever we're making. In our kitchen we toast the whole seeds until they darken and turn nutty, the smell that tells you a dish is truly underway.
Coriandrum sativum is unusual in giving two separate spices from one plant: the dried seed, warm and citrusy, and the fresh leaf, bright and polarising. In our kitchen the ground seed goes into the base of a curry, while the fresh leaf is always the last thing scattered on top.
Crocus sativus is harvested by hand, three tiny stigmas pulled from each flower, which is why true saffron costs more than almost any other spice we use. In our kitchen a small pinch is bloomed in warm milk or water before going into the biryani, enough to colour and perfume the whole pot.