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The Joy of Cumin.

MRX

By MRX
in Cooking

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mongo_jones

mongo_jones

Posted
Posted (edited)

i will accept monetary compensation from all lovers of cumin for this incredibly simple north indian dish featuring it:

1 lb potatoes, peeled and diced

2 tblspns cumin seeds

salt to taste

1/2 tspn turmeric

1/4 tspn red chilli powder

heat oil in a pan and add all the cumin seeds. fry till seeds become fragrant and begin to pop. add all the potatoes. stir to coat potatoes with seeds. add spices and salt. stir some more. reduce heat to low and cook, covered till potatoes are done. eat hot (as a side-dish) with rice or chapatis or cold as a snack.

optional: before removing from heat sprinkle some chaat masala (go to an indian store).

(edited for anal retentive reasons--nothing to do with the digestion thread)

Edited by mongo_jones (log)
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bloviatrix

bloviatrix

Posted
Posted

In honor of this thread, I'm making a curry tonight with cumin seed.

"Some people see a sheet of seaweed and want to be wrapped in it. I want to see it around a piece of fish."-- William Grimes

"People are bastard-coated bastards, with bastard filling." - Dr. Cox on Scrubs

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ronnie_suburban

ronnie_suburban

Posted
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if i eat a bowl of daal / lentil soup without cumin, it just tastes wrong...

I'm the same way with chili--if there's no cumin in it, it really isn't chili IMO.

Also, it's become my favorite (and definitive) spice on roasted cauliflower--for which the basic recipe is floating around this site in a bunch of different threads, including this one.

=R=

"Hey, hey, careful man! There's a beverage here!" --The Dude, The Big Lebowski

LTHForum.com -- The definitive Chicago-based culinary chat site

ronnie_suburban 'at' yahoo.com

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MRX

MRX

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Posted (edited)

and i don't want to hijack the cumin thread, but i feel it's worth mentioning here that cardamom is a pretty awesome smell/taste too.  :biggrin:

MRX declares NO RULES! I would not have thought about saba (mackeral scad)with cardamom if you hadn't mentioned it. A friend of mine just got a windfall of scad and I think the cardamon will be running.

I am pleased to see so many people joining in singing the praises of cumin. Just adding it makes you appear to be a better cook - the tastes seem to become totally enhanced and the mouth dances...pork, fish, LEYDEN cheese (yes I am shouting), curries, chillies, and even bread (I have made cumin nhan) is so so so much better with this super spice!

Add it to your burgers, your stews, your tired and poor...rejoice that in God's great earth he felt it right to give us cumin...now I am intrigued by two things:

A. what does unpowdered on processed cumin look like (i will be getting some)?

and

B. can anyone imagine if the Mars Rover brings us back a new spice? (Yes I know it's not coming back...but I want to imagine spices from other planets...if you can't eat it, why explore it??!??!?!?!

Edited by MRX (log)
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Suzanne F

Suzanne F

Posted
Posted
And frankly, I love the smell of a good Indian spice store.

me too.

and i don't want to hijack the cumin thread, but i feel it's worth mentioning here that cardamom is a pretty awesome smell/taste too. :biggrin:

MMMMMMMMMMMM, caraway, cardamom, chiles, cinnamon (or cassia), coriander, cumin, curry (okay, so this is cheating a little :raz: ) and just a hint of clove.

:wub::wub::wub::wub::wub:

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fifi

fifi

Posted
Posted
Clickety here for probably more than you want to know about cumin. The list of names is pretty impressive. Scroll down for a picture of the seeds. They are actually about the size of caraway seeds.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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MRX

MRX

Posted
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Posted
Clickety here for probably more than you want to know about cumin. The list of names is pretty impressive. Scroll down for a picture of the seeds. They are actually about the size of caraway seeds.

DAMN GOOD LINK ALERT. Sorry for shouting, but thanks for this link!

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fifi

fifi

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Posted

Please use the site with reverence. The guy that put it together has made the supreme sacrifice... his sanity... and he does NOT have a life. :laugh:

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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Susan in FL

Susan in FL

Posted
Posted

Count me in among the lovers of cumin.

If you use too much of it, it makes your food and your kitchen smell like the locker room of the Green Bay Packers.
I guess I have never used too much of it. Whew. :unsure:

I just had it in two dishes tonight, "Border-Style Shrimp, and Potatoes Bravas." We like it in pork preparations, chili, and potatoes as you described mongo jones. I have a real good cumin viniagrette recipe, and I could go on and on.

Life is short; eat the cheese course first.

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edsel

edsel

Posted
Posted
Please use the site with reverence. The guy that put it together has made the supreme sacrifice... his sanity... and he does NOT have a life. :laugh:

Hey! I resemble that remark! :laugh:

OK, I don't have a web site devoted to the world of spices, but I have to confess to having many of the spices in his list in my pantry.

List of all spices:

Are you sure that's all of them :unsure:

Years ago when I shared a house with several roommates I had to purchase a separate 'fridge to store the asafoetida(hing), blachan/terasi, smelly cheese, etc. Domestic tranquility has it's price. Noone seemed to understand that the reeking fermented shrimp paste is absolutely necessary for the peanut sauce. They all loved the sate though. :smile:

As for the two types of cumin, they're both worth having. The larger, more common cumin has that fennel-ish perfume and a certain "bite" needed for the perfect chile-con-carne and pork mojo. The dark cumin is subtler and has a richer, nuttier quality. You can find it in south asian groceries.

My Photo Sets (mostly food!) :: Heartland Gathering Photos

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MRX

MRX

Posted
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Posted (edited)
As for the two types of cumin, they're both worth having. The larger, more common cumin has that fennel-ish perfume and a certain "bite" needed for the perfect chile-con-carne and pork mojo. The dark cumin is subtler and has a richer, nuttier quality.

YEEEEEESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

< jumps off of couch, pumps fist in the air and does that damn, i am so friggin' happy dance like football players do after a touchdown, complete with the duck-ass-wiggle, one knee, kneel move, at the discovery that there are two types of cumins!!!>

A truly positive result of this thread!!!

Thank you for mentioning cumin at the party yesterday, pie tasters!!!! PIE IS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (a shout out to weebl).

Edited by MRX (log)
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fifi

fifi

Posted
Posted

:laugh::laugh::laugh:

The mental image of the duck-ass-wiggle got me. You get 10 points on the eGullet secret scorecard for ethusiasm. :raz:

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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MRX

MRX

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I get points!!???!?!? Man, this website just keeps getting better. I already found out that there are prizes. I got to eat a whole bunch of them yesterday and I met a whole bunch of great people, had french wine, homemade sherbert, an increddddddible coconut cream pie (complete with macadaima nuts - i looove Maui), the biggest cheese burger on the planet, a serious discussion on french pastries - (payard sucks on so many levels, but its still worth dealing with just for the bombe - right bond girl?

I am having so much fun, I mean jeez, I ate at Peter Luger today, and I have only been on this site for three days. Can I be rookie of the week?

Oh and now it's time to suggest a balsamic vinegar thread!balsamic

Edited by MRX (log)
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Adam Balic

Adam Balic

Posted
Posted
I like cumin, but in small doses.

If you use too much of it, it makes your food and your kitchen smell like the locker room of the Green Bay Packers. Its one of the reasons why I don't usually eat at Indian restaurants, many of them lack finesse in their use of this and other spices.

Would this be Indian restuarants in that you have known in the locally or all Indian restuarants?

The Art and Mystery of Food

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