Do you have a preference for type of olive oil, you use for it? There’s so much variance in olive oil flavor profiles, and I tend to like more peppery varieties. But I imagine that might not be the best here, though with the anise and cinnamon… maybe it would.
Thanks! It’s a really interesting topic and I was excited to learn more. But I’m not sure the writer offered much to support their explanation for why these tropical spices are so closely associated with winter time in the north.
For example, I was underwhelmed by the “cinnamon is an antidiabetic, so it’ll help process all those sugary treats you’re eating over the holidays” fact. Does that really explain why cinnamon is associated with this season from a historical perspective? I can’t say for sure that past generations weren’t adding cinnamon to holiday foods because they knew it was an antidiabetic. But I’m going to continue doubting it until I see something persuasive.
The author could have supported their statements a little better, but scattered throughout the articles are reasons like:
Ginger is harvested in winter and will decline in quality over time, so it may be best to harvest and use sooner rather than later. It will help with the side effects of meat stored for harsh and long times
Nutmeg is harvested in August and then proceeds through processing routes that may take enough time to complete and be ready for use by winter
Cinnamon is largely harvested after monsoon season June-December, so will be available for use in time for fall and winter time
I don’t think the author was trying to say that these spices are harvested in the fall and enjoyed in the winter. In fact, I think they are clearly saying the opposite.
Just as cranberries’ fall harvest makes them a natural choice for Thanksgiving, I thought that perhaps the seasonality of spice harvest had something to do with their use during the winter months. However, this doesn’t appear to be the case.
And
Take ginger…The plants can be harvested at any time of year if they are mature and haven’t been exposed to cold or wind.
Or, if they are trying to make that point, they are doing so in a way that includes contradictory details.
Get as many different kinds of curry-powder as you can find,
& then simply try whichever of those smell good for you.
You choose the ingredients, otherwise.
It may well be that cumin’s bad for your Ayurvedic type, your specific metabolism.
Whatever metabolism I’m in now, I hate seafood, yet I have kombu, and can’t stand Japanese Soy Sauce ( too seafood-like ),
yet I loved Japanese Soy Sauce on lots of stuff, until a couple of years ago.
1 time my metabolism changes such that orange-juice went from being wonderful to being aweful, in about 2 days.
Read Frawley’s “Ayurvedic Healing”, & do the experiment of trying alternate-pairs of dishes, where 1 of each pair is
ingredients that are pacifying for your metabolism-type
& the other of the pair is
ingredients that are aggravating for your metabolism-type
The ingredients-lists in that book are the ONLY all-correct lists I’ve ever encountered.
( all those who claim that the existence of charlatains in Ayurveda “proves” that Ayurveda, itself, is bogus, …
… well, notice that they SIMULTANEOUSLY say that the existence of mega-Ivermectin-for-Covid charlatain M.D.'s do not falsify the validity of Western Medicine.
The “logic” that “the existence of some charlatains” somehow falsifies a system they don’t honestly represent, is, itself, false, in BOTH cases, equally.
WHEN one sticks to the objectively-validatable ingredients-lists in Frawley’s “Ayurvedic Healing”, THEN one gets consistently correct results.
Evidence-based knowing.
To understand the different metabolisms better, add & read Frawley & Kozak’s “Yoga For Your TYPE” book.
Vasant Lad seems trustworthy, too,
and “PaleoVedic Diet” is generally right, but that damn Ajwain, I won’t ever put more than 1 single seed in any person’s food, because the terpenes in 'em are too strong.
For terpenes, instead of Ajwain, now I use a couple of pine-needles per day.
A bit odd, but they do seem to help my health.
& if terpenes, in the right dosage, are good for one’s health, then this should be good.
Some American Indians used to prevent scurvy with eating 'em or brewing 'em as a drink, apparently. )
PS: Indian cooking is insanely diverse.
You could probably cook a different recipe every day, for the next 500 years, without repeating one of 'em.
Look at the cookbooks…
PPS: the best cookbooks in the world are usually the America’s Test Kitchen cookbooks, but they won’t do the experiment for Ayurvedically-appropriate-ingredients-for-a-specific-person’s-metabolism, and they don’t have an Indian cookbook, that I know-of.
Anyways, you do the experiments, & you discover what you discover!
Pakora are fried veggies, samosa is pastry, paneer is cheese, naan is bread. You can eat any of those with rice and sauce, but you can also have them without. Indian food has a lot of variation on flavours, texture, visuals, as expected from any cuisine with such a rich history.
Can you recommend something from Indian culture that isn’t what I have described above?
No because “overkill on spices, sauce and rice” is subjective. If “it’s always the same flavor” then either 1) you’re keep ordering the same stuff 2) the restaurants you’ve been to do lowest cost easy menus 3) it’s not the same flavor but it looks like so to you because you’re not used to it.
Next time ask the server for “solid food, no liquids” instead.
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