Barley is high in fiber, especially beta-glucan, which may reduce cholesterol and blood sugar levels. It may also aid weight loss and improve digestion. Whole-grain, hulled barley is more nutritious than refined, pearled barley. It can be substituted for any whole grain and easily added to your diet.
Flaxseeds
Sunflower seeds are rich in oleic and linoleic acid and low in saturated fats and sodium. They also contain magnesium, potassium and fibre. They help to lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels.
Fiber in chia seeds is mainly soluble fiber and mucilage, the substance responsible for the gluey texture of moistened chia seeds. These fibers may help to lower LDL cholesterol and slow down digestion, which can prevent blood sugar spikes after eating a meal and promote a feeling of fullness.
Cumin (jeera) can be identified by its distinct ridged brown seeds and intense fragrance. Cumin is used to add a distinct smoky note and a robust flavour to most Indian curries. So, it is often used as a whole, to flavour rice, stuffed vegetables, curries and many savoury dishes, and as a powder for puddings and buttermilk.
White pepper retains the full pungency of black pepper, it tastes different due to partial loss of aroma. White pepper is used in white sauces, pasta, salads, seafood dishes, etc.
Star Anise is famed for its strong and distinct flavour. As goes its name, this star-shaped, reddish-brown pod consists of 6-8 carpels arranged in a coil. The carpel is 10 mm, boat-shaped and hard and wrinkled containing a seed. It is used as a condiment to flavour curries, confectionaries.
Saffron (Kesar) is the most expensive spice and it is a colour too. Saffron has a very subtle flavour and aroma. It is used as a culinary seasoning for chicken and meat, biriyani, pulao, etc. It adds taste, colour, and aroma to Indian sweets like Rasmalai, Kesar Pista etc. and flavours kheer, badam milk, saffron milk, etc.
While nutmeg is a shelled dried seed of a plant, mace is a dried netlike covering of the shell of the seed. While nutmeg has a distinctive pungent fragrance and a warm slightly sweet taste, mace has a more delicate flavour and gives a saffron-like hue to dishes. Both are used as a condiment for sweet products such as baked items, custards, puddings, jellies, etc.
Commonly known as Methi, fenugreek seeds are hot in nature, with a bitter, nutty taste. It is a common condiment in spice blends in Indian cuisine over a variety of dishes like gravies, curries, parathas, beverages, etc. Fenugreek seeds have been used to enhance the sensory quality of food.
A sweet-tasting spice with a warm and woody aroma, cinnamon chips are rough non-peelable barks scraped off from the thicker stems. Cinnamon is a wonderful spice with a pleasant taste that makes it a great ingredient to be used in cakes and desserts. It is widely used in Hyderabadi Biriyani, gravies and curry dishes in India.
Pleasantly aromatic, the Bay leaf/ tejpata has a clove-like taste and a faint pepper-like odour. The glossy, dark-green Bay leaf is oval, pointed and smooth, 2.5 â?? 8 cm (1 to 3 inches) long. Bay leaves give off a pleasing and sweet aroma that makes it a great flavouring condiment for soups, sauces, stews and pickles.
Chew a spoonful of raw Ajwain seeds every day in the morning. Maintain a gap of half an hour between eating Ajwain and having your breakfast. If you have these seeds the first thing in the morning, they help your body release digestive juices which can make digestion better.
Coriander, also known as cilantro or Chinese parsley, is a widely used spice native to the Mediterranean. Coriander plants are entirely edible, but their leaves and their seeds are most commonly used as herbs and spices.
Dry coconuts are just that; dry. The milk within the coconut hardens as it matures and becomes the copra, or meat, of the coconut. After a coconut is first cracked the moisture content of the meat is roughly 50 percent and it contains around 30-40% oil. After being dried by heat or the sun, the moisture content dips down to 4 or 5% and the oil content jumps to 36-70%. The resulting Dry coconut is off-white to white in color with a mild coconut flavor.
These are fully matured coconuts but while dehusking the husk is left intact over the eyes of the coconut This is a sensitive area and by protecting it we can increase the shelf life of the coconut as the area susceptible to decay is protected
Water coconuts are also called young, green or immature coconuts. Cracked open, the liquid found inside is called coconut water which is not to be. confused with coconut milk. Coconut water has long been a popular drink in the tropics.
The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit,[2] since they contain seeds and develop from the ovary of a (pea) flower. The name is also used to describe other edible seeds from the Fabaceae such as the pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), and the seeds from several species of Lathyrus.
Lettuce is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, such as soups, sandwiches and wraps; it can also be grilled.
Dark-brownish in colour, cloves are the dried aromatic flower buds of the clove tree. They have elongated bodies with a flowery head and look like small nails. They have a strong taste and sweet pungent smell that gives spicy warmth to soups, sauces, curries, meat, pickles and also to flavour sweet dishes like cookies, cakes and fruit pies. Cloves act as antioxidants, cure mild toothaches, aid digestion and help control blood pressure, etc.
