Masala - Description, Types, Properties

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Masala

Masala is the Indian name for a mixture of aromatic spices, which, in addition to giving a spicy taste to dishes, have a beneficial effect on the human body and the processes taking place in it. Each region of India cultivates its own version of masala, but all combinations are based on the same ingredients.

Masala varieties and their properties

Masala is a very popular type of spice due to its unique ability to enhance the nutritional value of any dish. In addition, masala helps the digestive tract, improves digestion and assimilation of food, and has a disinfecting effect.

In our country, the most widespread are several popular varieties of masala, which include tandoori masala, panch masala, garam masala, chaat masala and a combination of spices for tea.

One of the most famous and popular varieties of masala in the world is garam masala. Its various variations include black and white pepper, cloves and cinnamon, curry and laurel leaves, long pippali and star anise, cumin (Indian cumin) and black cumin, coriander and black, green and brown cardamom, as well as nutmeg. All these components of masala have a number of beneficial properties. For example, cloves are used medicinally as a carminative and bactericidal agent, helping to relieve toothaches, and eliminating oral infections. In addition, it is a calming and restorative remedy used after nervous and physical fatigue, and also activates memory. An equally useful component of this type of masala is the so-called Roman cumin (cumin or cumin). This spice is rich in healing essential oils,protein and calcium, contains sugar and resinous substances. Including it in your daily diet, you can help the body cleanse itself of toxins. It is believed that cumin helps cleanse the respiratory organs and also stimulates the nervous system, which allows a person to feel a surge of lightness.

Chaat masala is distinguished by the combination of a large number of spicy components. It may contain tung bean powder, asafoetida (hing, ferula) and mango (amchur), powdered black and red (cayenne) peppers and ginger, cumin and fennel seeds, as well as black salt of volcanic origin (kala namak) and ready-made mixture of garam masala. Each of the components of this masala has a healing effect on the human body. For example, asafoetida, despite its sharp taste and smell, serves as a fairly effective remedy in the fight against osteochondrosis, polyarthritis and radiculitis, it helps to restore the hormonal functions of the gonads and adrenal glands, is an excellent antispasmodic, sedative and laxative, helps to get rid of ear pain, intestinal and skin parasites. Fennel contains carotene,ascorbic acid and many vitamins. This spice is an antioxidant, an excellent blood purifier and detoxifier, and an ideal remedy for weak stomach, pancreatitis and gallstone disease. Doctors recommend including fennel in the treatment of neuroses, depression and insomnia, cancer and radiation exposure, as well as in some other cases.

Tandoori masala is a "bouquet" of spices intended for cooking dishes in tandoor (tandoor) and imparting useful properties to them. The base of tandoori masala is garam masala, and its auxiliary components are all the same cumin, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper and lemon juice. All of these ingredients are widely known for their medicinal properties. A distinctive feature of tandoori masala is the ability to retain all the beneficial properties under significant temperature exposure and even enhance them.

The most “simple” is panch-masala - a spicy mixture consisting of five spices: fennel or anise, shambhala seeds and black mustard, black cumin (kalindzhi) and Indian (cumin). Shambhala seeds, a distinctive component of this masala, have a lot of useful properties and a unique smell. Shambhala is a valuable source of iron, protein and vitamins B and D. It helps to rid the body of mucus, toxins, excess fat, stimulates mental abilities and serves as an effective general tonic.

Masala tea - immunomodulator and energy drink

Particularly noteworthy is masala tea - a mixture of spices saturated with a thick aroma, revered by the inhabitants of southern Asia, and now many other parts of the world. Masala tea is used to prepare a special drink based on strong Indian tea with the addition of fatty milk. This drink is a kind of energy drink with a strong warming, tonic and tonic effect.

There are as many recipes for masala tea as there are options for using other types of masala, but the main components should always be black tea, ginger, fennel, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and milk, without which the beneficial properties of spices are not fully revealed … In addition, in addition to tea, masala can be used in various variations of star anise, shambhala, saffron, pepper, almonds, rose petals and other traditional oriental spices.

The benefits of masala tea lie in the combined effect of all the spices included in it - not without reason that they were used as medicines before the era of chemical pharmacology. Spices provide the inclusion in the drink of a unique vitamin and mineral complex, have an amazing healing effect not only on the body, but also on the psycho-emotional component. Weak masala tea in combination with mint or lemon balm is recommended for use as a natural sedative. In India, masala tea is often used to treat all kinds of ailments, drowsiness, lack of appetite, vascular diseases, metabolic and circulatory disorders, as well as all types of colds and infectious diseases.

The unique taste, beneficial properties and effective healing effect have made masala tea one of the favorites among all hot drinks in India and some other South Asian countries.

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