Incredible Indian Ingredients
Posted on July 27th, 2017
One of the healthiest diets in the world, Indian food is also abundant with taste, colour, and vibrance. Rich in aromatic herbs and spices, full of nutrients, and creative dishes, Indian food can also be a perfect direction in which to start your vegetarian journey! So what are the health benefits of Indian food? Let’s start with the spices.
Indian food famously makes use of a huge array of spices to flavour dishes, and a lot of these ingredients have some incredible benefits! It’s not widely known, but black pepper actually originates from India, and is prevalent in Indian cooking. Black pepper stimulates digestion, helps with weight loss, and its piperine component can help deal with depression! Black pepper also helps prevent cancer, especially when combined with our next spice; turmeric.
Turmeric and black pepper have a symbiotic relationship, meaning that they help make each other more effective. Black pepper’s cancer-fighting properties are twice as potent when it is mixed with turmeric! Turmeric is also anti-inflammatory, high in antioxidants, lowers the risk of heart disease and can also help treat the symptoms of arthritis.
Turmeric and black pepper are a potent combination! (Credit: The Life Extension Blog)
Another well-know Indian spice is mustard seeds. These tiny black seeds are packed full of Omega-3 fatty acids and are beneficial for asthmatics thanks to large amounts of copper and iron. Mustard seeds are also anti-inflammatory, and can help inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
While used in many cuisines, cumin is a key ingredient in Indian dishes. It is a good source of energy and is a strong stimulant, whilst also being rich in protein and amino acids. Rich in minerals like magnesium, phosphorus, calcium and thiamine, just one teaspoon of cumin seeds a day helps meet your daily nutritional requirements!
Our final spice is saffron, the rich golden spice famous for its high price and strong flavour. But saffron is worth it, thanks to health benefits like promoting memory retention. This is due to its crocin component (which gives saffron its distinctive colour), meaning it can help with diseases like Parkinson’s. Crocin also helps fight against cancer cells.
Tamarind, a tropical fruit mainly used as a paste in Indian cooking. (Credit: Organic Facts)
Aside from spices, Indian food also makes use of some incredible ingredients. Tamarind, a tropical fruit usually used as a paste in Indian cooking, has some amazing benefits. It helps reduce blood pressure and cholesterol and is a good source of iron; which helps improve circulation. It is also high in vitamin C and is a good antioxidant, as well as containing thiamine; which helps improve nerve function.
Paneer, a type of cheese used heavily in Indian cooking, is also a nutritional powerhouse. Its high levels of calcium and vitamin B are good for bone health, and it is also rich in protein. The presence of zinc helps improve biological functions, and paneer is also rich in magnesium and potassium. For vegetarians and vegans, a good alternative to paneer is tofu. Containing all eight amino acids, tofu is a great source of protein for vegetarians and vegans. Soya protein, which tofu is made from, also helps lower bad LDL cholesterol thanks to lecithin and is an excellent source of iron and calcium.
Join me and Tanya for our special Indian Workshop!
We’ll be using all of the ingredients we have mentioned here in our special Indian Cuisine workshop on Thursday 17th August! Joining us will be Tanya Narsinghani, one of my friends. We’ll be making both traditional and vegan paneer, chapattis, an onion marsala bhaji, and much more!
So sign up for our special Indian workshop here! As always, feedback and comments are appreciated!
