Winter is all about coldness, shorter days, chilled breeze, and hot soup or teas beating out the shivers. Indeed, when the season transition itself to the colder month, we naturally gravitate toward warmer and heavier foods. Moving on, we will also notice changes in our bodies inside out as they keep searching for the warm sensation.
Hence, which time can be more perfect than the winter for the reveal of warm spices? It is the way to add flavor and aroma to your dish as you add spice to your life. Not only will it make your everyday goodies more tasteful, but it also satisfies your internal system. It is ultimately promoting your immune system and health.
At times, how refreshing winter may be, it might keep your body in the weird zone of uneasiness in joints, muscles, slower digestion, and many more. This is one of the crucial reasons why you should explore winter spices. If you do not have any information on the spices, then do not worry about it, as we will reveal the top five winter spices with all there is to know about them.
The Top Five Masalas To Try This Winter
For sure, we do have multiple ways to keep ourselves like broths, soups, tease, and many more, but spices keep everything intact from the internal system itself. Winter spices are one of the healthiest ways to keep your body energetic during the cold days of winter. The best part? You do not have to wander around to get these spices as they are readily available in our everyday kitchen.
Cloves (Lwaang)
They are one of the treasure spices and are perfect for your body during winters. Rich in antioxidants, cloves offer taste as well as cold and flu-fighting properties. For those unknown, cloves are dried, unopened buds with a strong aroma and bitter taste.
Consuming cloves improves your blood circulation and body weight and even assists sore throat, cough, cold, and sinusitis. Not to mention, it speeds up the metabolism, which makes digestion pretty quick.
Serving Ideas
- Take a whole clove and chew them before going to bed. It will give internal benefits to your skin.
- You can also opt to soak it in water overnight and drink the water in the morning.
- Make a clove tea. In boiling water, add the ground cloves alongside the other spices such as cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon for a warm drink.
- Add 4-5 cloves to your curry recipes, puddings, rice, veggies, and even tea for flavor and aroma.
- Furthermore, you can also opt for the cloves oil to clear your blocked nasal passages or when you have a toothache.
Cumin (Jeera)
They are warm spices made from the dried seeds of the plant and are similar to anise seeds in appearance but darker brownish-yellow in color. Cumin seeds are the perfect homemade remedy with their anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
The compounds in cumins seeds are heat enticing components that provide you relief from cough and cold. In addition, it also promotes healthy digestion and breastmilk production while supporting comfortable menstruation.
Serving Ideas
- To support your digestion issues, chew on raw cumin seeds after every meal.
- In hot boiling water, add the cumin seeds and salt, then let it sit for a while until it releases light yellow water. Drink it all every night before sleep to help you from cold.
- Use cumin powder while you prepare your curry, veggies, or meat, and even use it to season your rice for rich flavors and aroma.
- Sautee these cumin seeds in ghee to bring their flavor out in the best possible way.
- For menstruation and coughs, use cumin seeds alongside gingers in either tea or warm water.
Cinnamon (Daalchini)
With a slightly sweet and bitter taste, cinnamon is a wonderfully aromatic spice that is made from the inner bark of the trees. It is a beneficial ingredient with soothing properties and warm nature.
Not only does it supports the body’s digestive system but also the circulatory, urinary, nervous, and reproductive systems. Cinnamons are enriched with antioxidants and have the ability to relieve the cold from the body. Furthermore, they also hold antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties.
Serving Ideas
- To get relief from sore throat and cold, use cinnamon sticks with a few drops of honey in the water about two times a day.
- You can also use cinnamon powder with dried ginger and honey to turn it into a warm tea. It will soothe the respiratory tract and clear excess mucus.
- To add flavors, you can add cinnamon to your dishes, baked good, veggies, rice pudding, and oatmeal.
- If you have discomfort in your teeth, gum, and joints, opt for cinnamon oil, as it helps you get relief from the pain.
Cardamom (Elaichi)
It is a flavored spice with a sweet and intense aroma. They are prized spices with pod-like forms and come in two forms – black and green. Both of its appearances are known for their traditional benefits to aid colds and coughs and certain respiratory problems.
Additionally, they also help with digestive problems such as unsettled stomach, bloating, gas, and indigestion. It is also one of the best solutions to opt for to soothe coronary circulation and mild hiccups and to have a fresh breath.
Serving Ideas
- To solve respiratory discomfort, add cardamom pods in warm water or tea alongside ginger and cloves. You can also use it with almond milk.
- For fresh breath, chew on the raw cardamom pods.
- You can also add cardamom powder to your dishes like oatmeal, rice pudding, sweet sauces, and so on. Apart from it, you can also crack open it a little and add them.
- Likewise, you can also find cardamom oil that helps you with soft and supple skin. It also assists in keeping you warm and immune.
Black Pepper (Marich)
It is a hotly pungent spice made out of its fruit and is a staple for winter delicacies. They are known for their warming, drying, and stimulating qualities. They are also enriched with nutrients and hold antioxidants and anti-bacterial properties.
Moving on, their warm characteristics aid in circulatory, digestive, and respiratory systems. It is a form of immunity for your cough and cold.
Serving Ideas
- Take a cup of pepper tea with honey every morning to stay away from winter chills.
- Add black pepper powder to your dishes as broths, soups, and even warm water.
- To soothe a hoarse voice, add a pinch of black pepper to a spoonful of ghee.