Cumin Seeds
Common Name:- Jeera, Cumin, Acre
Cumin or Jeera as is commonly called India’s one of the important spices & condiments, widely used for culinary as well as medicinal purpose Cumin is the dried seed of the herb cuminum, cyminum a member of the parsley family, native from the east Mediterranean to South Asia.
Cumin is a common ingredient in many savory dishes from around the world. It adds a warm flavor and works especially well in soups, stews and curries. People can also use this spices to season vegetables or meats before roasting. In South Asian cooking it is often combined with coriander seeds in powdered mixture called “Dhana Jeera”.
The main producer and consumer of cumin is India. It produces 70% of the world supply and consumes 90% of that (which means that India consumed 63%of the world’s cumin) others producers are Syria (7%), Iran (5%) and Turkey (6%) the remaining 11% comes from other countries. In India cumin is sown from October until the beginning of December, and harvesting starts in February.
BENEFITS-NUTRITION
According to the United States Department of Agriculture’s food central database, One teaspoon of whole cumin seeds contains 7.88 calories, 0.37 g of protein, 0.47 g of fat, 0.93 g of carbohydrate.
The same amount of cumin seeds also provides 19.6 mg of calcium, 1.39 mg of iron and 7.69 mg of magnesium, Cumin also contain Antioxidants. Besides being used for medicinal purposes like for proper digestion and nutrient assimilation, consuming cumin powder with yogurt decreases body weight, waist size, body fat and cholesterol.
