Cumin seeds

Cumin seeds are a dried spice commonly found in North African, Indian, and Middle Eastern recipes. It can be sold either as a powder or whole. Whole cumin seeds can be toasted to enhance the flavour before cooking.

Cumin has an earthy almost nutty taste. It’s great in curry powders spice mixes like garam masala which also contains spices like coriander seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg.

Cumin is a common flavouring for cauliflower rice because it takes on the flavour really well. It can also be used in marinades for meat like chicken and lamb.

Cumin is even used as a flavouring for cheese! Leyden is a Dutch cheese flavoured with cumin and caraway seeds!

Nutritional information

Not only does cumin have many culinary uses, but it also has been proven to have several health benefits!

Cumin is incredibly rich in iron. Iron prevents your body from developing anaemia (one of the most common vitamin deficiencies), by promoting the production of red blood cells.

There are about 375 calories per 100g of ground cumin seeds. This may seem like a lot but as it is consumed in such small amounts it’s not really that calorific!

Some studies have suggested that upping your cumin consumption can improve blood sugar levels.

Another interesting benefit you can get from adding cumin to your diet is that it can help improve digestion. Cumin increases the activity of digestive proteins thus helping indigestion, a symptom of irritable bowel syndrome.

Upping your cumin intake is simple – you can either start adding more in your cooking or you could try drinking Jeera water. Jeera water (or cumin water) is water that has been infused with cumin seeds. Jeera water has been consumed in India for years and is said to have all the same benefits as using cumin in cooking.