The Unusual Suspects

What, no nigella in your kitchen? No ajwain? No fenugreek? You’re missing out on some exciting seasonings.

We’re not suggesting you throw out old reliables like pepper and garlic salt. And you don’t have to scrap meat loaf and stew for new, exotic cuisines, either. After all, these spices season everyday food in the countries where they are popular. There’s no reason they can’t cross over into everyday cooking here.

The problem is that most of us just don’t know about them. So along with history and lore, we include tips on how to incorporate them into dishes. For recipes, we turn to cooks who have grown up with spicy cuisines for an expert’s approach.

Green Cardamom

You’ve experienced the heady, resinous, faintly citrus-like aroma of cardamom if you’ve eaten curry. It flavors a lot of Scandinavian pastries, too, but doesn’t show up much in American cookery.

Still, a lot of people love it. It’s the third most expensive spice, right after saffron and vanilla.

The best cardamom grows in the rain forests of southwestern India (the botanical name, Elettaria, comes from the local word for cardamom seeds, e^lattari). The chickpea-sized seed pods are harvested just before they’re ripe and then dried. The green pods are often exposed to sulfur fumes to make them white. This is just cosmetic; the flavor doesn’t change.

Cardamom can be bought in the pod, “decorticated” (removed from the pod) or ground. The pod form may seem unnecessarily troublesome, but it keeps better and, after all, this is an expensive spice. Often cardamom measurements are given in the number of pods, rather than in teaspoon measurements, one pod being roughly 1/6 teaspoon.

Apart from its use in curries, Indian puddings and Scandinavian pastries, cardamom has a special affinity with coffee. The Bedouins always flavor their coffee with a little cardamom. In fact, they say that the deeper you go into the desert, the more cardamom they use.

It was a favorite spice in the spice-mad Middle Ages. An African relative of cardamom, korerima, is the main spice in Ethiopian food.

--CHARLES PERRY

Fenugreek

This may be the only spice that’s a legume, which means two things: It can be used as a fodder plant for animals, just like alfalfa, and its seeds are starchy and full of protein.

Their aroma, which has been compared to that of celery seed, sweet hay and burnt sugar, is familiar from commercial curry powders, and many people (though not in India) think of it as the essential curry flavor. Fenugreek is also used here and there in the Middle East. Chemen, a mixture of fenugreek, garlic and red pepper, flavors the Armenian spiced beef bastirma. Fenugreek goes into the Egyptian cornmeal flat bread betau and the Ethiopian spice mixture berbere.

Because it’s a legume, it can actually serve as a food in itself, though it’s a little too bitter for most tastes. And a pretty rich food at that: in Central Asia, it’s considered an appropriately rich food for pregnant women. The biggest fenugreek-eaters of all are the Yemenis, who use it in a spicy condiment called zhug or saha^wig and like to put a sweetish froth of ground fenugreek and leeks on top of spicy stews.

The greens, which have an even more pronounced sweet-hay fragrance than the seeds, are used as an herb, especially in India and Iran. The name means “Greek hay” in Latin, and fenugreek has often been planted as a food for grazing animals. But not for milk cows: The milk will taste like fenugreek, and there’s no market for curried milk.

--C.P.

Galangal

Galangal (sometimes spelled galingale) belongs to the same family as ginger and turmeric, as you can easily tell by looking at a galangal root--or by smelling it. It’s like ginger root crossed with nutmeg, perhaps with a little mustard aroma, and some people detect roses. Like ginger, it’s indescribably more aromatic fresh than dried.

Its home is Indonesia and Southeast Asia, where it perfumes many a soup and stew (in this country Southeast Asian markets are the places to find the fresh root), but elsewhere it has become a forgotten spice. During the Middle Ages, it was highly prized in Europe and the Middle East, but it’s all but unknown there now.

It used to be one of the major exports of Hong Kong, and the name “galangal,” from the Arabic khaulanja^n, is assumed to come ultimately from Chinese liangjiang, but the spice rarely figures in modern Chinese cookery. In some Chinese cookbooks written in English, “galingale” apparently refers to dried ginger, as against ginger root.

There are other galangals around. Technically, ordinary galangal is greater galangal; lesser galangal, Alpinia officinarum, is known as kencur in Indonesian cookery. (Botanists have changed their minds a lot about the galangals, and you may see the names as Alpinia, Kaempferia or Languas.) In England, the name “galingale” used to be applied to the root of a totally different plant related to the Egyptian papyrus plant.

--C.P.

Nigella

This is a spice that grows in many people’s gardens without their knowing it. It’s the tiny, angular, jet-black seeds of Nigella sativa, a dainty plant known as love-in-a-mist (actually, commercial nigella comes from a particular variety of love-in-a-mist).

As a spice, it has an elusive flavor, faintly peppery, something like charcoal and oregano, but not really like anything we’re familiar with in American cookery. It goes particularly well with the smell of fresh bread, and that’s its main use from India to North Africa. Its Turkish name actually means “corek spice,” because it’s always sprinkled on the rich bread called corek, which is served at the end of Ramadan.

In India and Iran, nigella is often used in pickling spice mixtures, even for pickled fruits. It can be sprinkled on salads or mixed with cumin, coriander and saffron for fish.

During the Middle Ages, it was often sprinkled on yogurt because of the dramatic contrast of black and white. A ninth century Baghdad poet compared a dish of yogurt and nigella to a bridegroom “swaggering in a robe embroidered with calligraphy.” The black seeds would actually look a bit like the angular Arabic calligraphy of the poet’s time.

--C.P.

Long Pepper

This is a first cousin to black pepper, but it looks quite different, like an elongated miniature pine cone of tiny gray seeds. Actually, there are two kinds, the Indonesian being hotter than the Indian and distinctly hotter than black pepper.

It was the original pepper, before the West knew of black pepper. Our word “pepper” comes from the Sanskrit name for it, pippali. However, long pepper is less aromatic than black pepper and its taste includes an odd resinous, turpentine-like note, so black pepper was already more popular for most purposes by Roman times.

Still, until the spread of chile peppers, it was the hottest spice available, and that was enough to keep it on spice merchants’ shelves throughout the Middle Ages. The spread of hot chiles has turned it into a rarity, even in its Indonesian home. The Indonesian word for long pepper, cabe, nearly always means hot chiles today.

However, long pepper survives here and there. It’s traditional in some Moroccan spice blends and still has a place in Indian cookery, especially in breads and lentil dishes. In China and Southeast Asia, it figures in pickling spice blends.

--C.P.

Sumac

This is a spice that tests the definition of the word, because you might as well call it a dried fruit. It has a dried-fruit aroma like that of raisins and prunes, though with a certain briary, woody quality of its own. Unlike most spices, which tend to be bitter, its taste is sharply sour. (Some North American members of the same family have names like vinegar tree and lemonade berry for the same reason.)

But the dried purplish berries are ground like a spice and put on foods like a spice. Iranians sprinkle sumac in rice pilaf, particularly when it is served with grilled meat. Arabs mix it with wild thyme to make zaatar, which they put on fried eggs. In Turkey, a mixture of sumac, thyme and sesame seeds flavors shish kebab.

On the other hand, sumac is used where you might use fruit juice for a jolt of sour flavor, though without the added liquid. It can replace lemon juice or vinegar in Lebanese salads. In the little pyramidal pie-like appetizers called fatayir, Lebanese cooks sprinkle the spinach filling with ground sumac. Turkish cooks use the juice of fresh sumac berries as a marinade for fish or chicken.

Yes, it is related to poison sumac, and therefore to poison oak and poison ivy, but it’s completely harmless. Botanists often put the poison cousins in their own family, Toxicodendron, to underscore this. And anyway, cashews are also related, and nobody worries about cashews.

--C.P.

*Spice Mix

A culinary profile of novelist Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of “The Mistress of Spices,” H6

Plus, Bengali Pineapple Chutney, left, and other recipes for cooking in the spice kitchen. H7

* The Kitchen Table

Real Cooks profiles South African-born Indian cook Logam Naidoo Penry. Spices are her passion. H8

FENUGREEK:

CHICKEN CURRY WITH METHI LEAVES

Like most Indian curries, this dish employs turmeric for rich, golden color. Seasoned in classic north Indian style, it is rich in flavor too. Methi means fenugreek. You can buy the dried leaves, and occasionally fresh ones, at Indian markets.

1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken

2 onions, sliced

2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger root

2 tablespoons clarified butter or oil

1 cup yogurt

1 tablespoon canned tomato puree

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon coriander

Dash cayenne

Salt

1/3 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup water

2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves

Cut chicken into small (about 2-inch) pieces. Remove and discard skin, if desired.

Cook onions, garlic and ginger in butter in large, heavy skillet until onions are golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add yogurt, chicken, tomato puree, turmeric, coriander, cayenne and salt to taste. Mix well and fry, turning chicken, until mixture starts to dry, about 10 minutes. Add cream, water and fenugreek leaves and cook slowly until chicken is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Add more water if necessary.

4 servings. Each serving:

605 calories; 338 mg sodium; 180 mg cholesterol; 42 grams fat; 18 grams carbohydrates; 39 grams protein; 1.22 grams fiber.

GREEN CARDAMOM

CARDAMOM CHICKEN (Murgh Elaichi)

The first time a friend of mine made this wonderfully perfumed dish, the chicken slipped out of her hands as she was removing it from the pot, so in her house the dish was always known as “chicken on the floor.” Dropping is not recommended, but just in case, in Urdu “chicken on the floor” would be farshpar ka murgh. Recipe from Time-Life’s “Food of India” (1969).

MASALA

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds

1 tablespoon minced ginger root

1/2 tablespoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

CHICKEN

1 (2 1/2- to 3-pound) chicken

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon saffron threads

1 1/2 tablespoons boiling water

1/4 cup clarified butter

1 (1 1/2-inch piece) cinnamon stick

1 whole clove

1 cup finely chopped onions

1/4 cup cold water

MASALA

Puree yogurt, cardamom, ginger, garlic, fennel and cayenne in food processor.

CHICKEN

Pat chicken dry inside and out with paper towels and truss securely. Rub with salt and set in large baking dish. Spread skin with Masala and reserve remainder in refrigerator until ready to use. Marinate at room temperature at least 1 hour or in refrigerator 2 hours to overnight.

Place saffron threads in cup, pour in boiling water and let steep at least 10 minutes.

Heat clarified butter over medium heat in heavy covered casserole just large enough to hold chicken until drop of water splutters instantly. Add cinnamon and clove and cook, stirring, until they are evenly coated with butter. Add onions and saute, stirring constantly, until they are softened and light gold, 7 to 8 minutes.

Place chicken in casserole, pour in remaining Masala and add saffron liquid. Cook over moderate heat, turning frequently, until lightly colored but not browned and butter separates from Masala and rises to surface. Stir in 1/4 cup cold water and bring to boil over high heat.

Immediately reduce heat to low. Cover casserole with piece of foil, crimping at edges to hold securely, and set lid firmly in place over foil. Simmer until chicken is tender but not falling apart, 30 to 35 minutes, turning after 15 minutes.

Remove casserole from heat. Pour liquid in casserole into bowl and degrease. Let chicken rest, covered, in casserole 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Serve with rice and cooking liquid.

6 to 8 servings. Each of 8 servings:

229 calories; 713 mg sodium; 72 mg cholesterol; 17 grams fat; 3 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams protein; 0.19 gram fiber.

GALANGAL

CHICKEN IN AROMATIC COCONUT BROTH (Tom Kha Gai)

Recipe from Anya von Bremzen, “Terrific Pacific Cookbook” (Workman, 1995).

3 stalks lemon grass

1/4 cup finely chopped, peeled galangal root

1/4 cup chopped cilantro roots and/or stems

4 serrano chiles, seeded, stemmed and chopped

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

3 tablespoons chopped red onion

Water

4 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk, well stirred

2 cups chicken broth

1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 2x2 1/2-inch strips

5 tablespoons lime juice

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons fish sauce

5 double Thai (kaffir) lime leaves

Salt

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

1/4 cup red bell pepper strips

Remove tough outer leaves of lemon grass stalks and discard all but lowest 3 inches of stems. In blender, puree lemon grass, galangal, cilantro roots, 2 chiles, white pepper, garlic and onion. Add 2 to 3 teaspoons water if needed to form paste. Scrape into small bowl.

Combine 1/2 galangal paste with 3 cups coconut milk in saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer 10 minutes. Strain through fine strainer into large, heavy pot, pressing on solids with back of spoon to extract liquid.

Return soup to heat, add broth and remaining coconut milk and bring to simmer. Add remaining galangal paste and chicken. Simmer until chicken is cooked, about 7 minutes.

Stir in lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, remaining chiles and kaffir lime leaves. Season with salt if necessary. Heat 1 minute. Serve garnished with cilantro leaves and bell pepper strips.

6 servings. Each serving:

466 calories; 748 mg sodium; 17 mg cholesterol; 39 grams fat; 22 grams carbohydrates; 14 grams protein; 4.60 grams fiber.

SUMAC

SUMAC SALAD WITH PITA CROUTONS (Fattoush)

Sumac stands in for vinegar in this recipe from “Lebanese Cuisine,” by Anissa Helou (Grubb Street, 1994). Fattoush is a great way of using stale pita; in fact, most Lebanese cooks would use two pitas for this quantity of salad. It’s essential to dress the salad and add the pita croutons at the very last minute so they stay crunchy.

4 heads butter lettuce or 1 large head romaine

1 bunch green onions

3 small cucumbers

1 1/2 bunches flat-leaf parsley

3 firm tomatoes, about 3/4 pound, chopped

1 bunch mint, leaves only, coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons sumac

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Salt

1 medium pita bread, split open, toasted and broken into bite-sized pieces

Strip and discard any damaged outer leaves of lettuce. Wash and dry rest, then cut across in 1/2-inch strips.

Trim roots and greens from green onions and slice thinly. Slice cucumbers in half lengthwise and slice medium thin. Wash and dry parsley, cut off most stalks and chop coarsely.

Put lettuce in bowl and add green onions, cucumbers, parsley, tomatoes and mint. Sprinkle with sumac. Pour in oil and toss lightly. Taste, add salt if needed, and mix in toasted bread. Serve immediately.

4 servings. Each serving:

283 calories; 178 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 22 grams fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 2.13 grams fiber.

FENUGREEK

SPICY SPLIT PEAS (Ye-Kik Wat’)

Adapted from “Exotic Ethiopian Cooking,” by Daniel Jote Mesfin (Ethiopian Cookbook Enterprise, 1987). The peas, which turn a dark, impressive red from the ground peppers, taste like a vegetarian chili with a sweet hay aroma of fenugreek.

2 cups red or yellow split peas

8 cups water

2 cups chopped red onions

1 1/2 tablespoons fenugreek

1 cup ground guajillo chiles

1 cup oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup red wine

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Rinse split peas and boil in water until soft, about 35 minutes. Drain peas and reserve cooking water.

In nonstick pan, saute onion and fenugreek without oil over medium-low heat until softened, about 12 minutes, stirring constantly. Add up to 3/4 cup cooking water as needed to prevent burning. Add ground chiles and stir. Add 1 1/2 cups reserved cooking water, oil and salt and stir well. Add split peas, wine and ginger. Add remaining cooking water and simmer 15 minutes. Serve hot or cold as side dish.

8 servings. Each serving:

484 calories; 310 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 31 grams fat; 43 grams carbohydrates; 15 grams protein; 5.63 grams fiber.

NIGELLA

EGGPLANT AND CARROT RELISH (Torshi Liteh)

This vinegary relish showcases the exotic herb-like flavor of nigella. A little of this would be served with, say, shish kebab and rice.

2 eggplants

2 carrots, peeled and diced

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped mint or 1 tablespoon dried mint

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1 1/2 cups vinegar

1 tablespoon nigella

Peel eggplants and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes. Put with carrots, parsley, mint, turmeric, salt, pepper, marjoram, vinegar and nigella in pot, bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Cook over medium heat 25 minutes, stirring from time to time. Mash with potato masher and cool. Keep refrigerated.

12 to 15 servings. Each of 15 servings:

13 calories; 163 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 0 fat; 4 grams carbohydrates; 0 protein; 0.31 gram fiber.

LONG PEPPER

INDONESIAN SHRIMP PASTE RELISH (Sambal Terasi)

5 to 10 long peppers

1 shallot, chopped

1 teaspoon crumbled shrimp paste

1 clove garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon lime juice

In modern Indonesia, this pungent relish is made with hot chiles, but in earlier times, long pepper would have been used. Terasi is a dried shrimp paste available in Southeast Asian markets. It’s very strong-smelling, so use cautiously.

Grind long peppers, shallot, shrimp paste, garlic, salt and sugar in mortar to rough paste. Add lime juice and mix well.

4 to 6 servings. Each of 6 servings:

23 calories; 116 mg sodium; 1 mg cholesterol; 0 fat; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.29 gram fiber.

* On the cover: Burmese sterling silver boxes from Susanne Hollis Antiques, South Pasadena; typecase from Hodgson’s Antiques, South Pasadena.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

What Do You Call Them?

Annatto

Caribbean: annatto, bija

Mexico: achiote

Botanical name: Bixa orellana

Ajwain

India: ajwain, ajowan, omam

Ethiopia: netch azmud

Botanical name: Carum copticum, Trachyspermum copticum

Brown and black mustard

Europe: various names meaning “black mustard,” such as moutard noire and schwarzer Senf

India: rai, katuku, sasawe

Botanical name: Brassica nigra, B. juncea

Brown cardamom

India: bara elaichi, moto elaichi

Botanical name: Amomum subulatum

Green Cardamom

India: elaichi, elam

Middle East: hel, hal

Botanical name: Elettaria cardamomum. Ethiopian cardamom is Amomum (or Aframomum) korerima.

Coriander

Spanish-speaking countries: cilantro

Arabic-speaking countries: kuzbara

Iran: gashniz

India: dhania

Botanical name: Coriandrum sativum

Fenugreek

India: methi, menti, ventayam

Iran: shambalileh

Arab countries, hilbeh

Botanical name: Trigonella foenum-graecum

Galangal

Malaysia: lengkuas

Indonesia: laos

Thailand: kha

Botanical name: Alpinia galanga

Long pepper

Middle East: darfilfil

India: pipal

Indonesia: cabe (pronounced chah-beh).

Botanical names: Piper longum or sylvaticum (India) and P. retroflexum (Indonesia)

Nigella

Arabic-speaking countries: habbeh sauda (“black seed”), habbet baraka (“seed of blessing”)

Iran: shambalileh

Turkey: coreotu

India: kalonji (“black onion seeds”), kala jira (“black cumin”)

Botanical name: Nigella sativa

Sumac

Arabic-speaking countries: summa^q

Iran: soma^gh

Botanical name: Rhus coriaria (literally, “tanner’s sumac,” because the leaves have been used in tanning leather)

Turmeric

India: haldi, manjal

Iran: zardchubeh (“yellow root”)

Botanical name: Curcuma longa

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

SOURCES

Most supermarkets carry annatto, green cardamom (usually ground), coriander (whole and ground), ground fenugreek and turmeric.

For other spices, and particularly if you’re buying in quantity, it pays to go to a specialist. Indian markets usually carry all the spices mentioned in this article except annatto, galangal and sumac. For fresh galangal, try a Thai market such as one of the Banglucks. For nigella and particularly for sumac, try a Middle Eastern market such as Bezjian or Miller’s. If you have trouble finding long pepper, try an Ethiopian market.

*Bangluck Market, 5170 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (213) 660-8000; also at 12980 Sherman Way, North Hollywood, (818) 765-1088, and 7235 Reseda Blvd., Reseda, (818) 708-0333.

*Bezjian Grocery, 4725 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles (near Santa Monica Boulevard and Vermont Avenue), (213) 663-1503.

*Bharat Bazaar, 11510 W. Washington Blvd., Los Angeles, (310) 398-6766.

*Bombay Spiceland, 8650 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, (818) 701-9381.

*Grand Central Public Market, 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (213) 624-2378.

*India Spices & Groceries, 5891 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 931-4871.

*India Sweets and Spices, 72011 Sherman Way, Canoga Park, (818) 887-0868.

*Merkato Ethiopian Market, 1036 1/2 S. Fairfax Ave., L.A., (213) 935-1175; fax 935-1796. (Note: ajwain is called bishop’s weed here.)

*Miller’s Marketplace, 18248 Sherman Way, Reseda, (818) 345-9222.

*New India Sweets & Spices, 1245-47 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (213) 936-6736.

*Sunshine Groceries, 7530 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Canoga Park, (818) 887-6917.

*Patel Brothers, 18636 S. Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, (310) 402-2953.

*The Geetanjali, 2960-F W. Lincoln, Anaheim, (714) 828-2960.

*Kajala Imports, 23 E. Main St., Alhambra, (818) 576-2455.

*

Spice Mix

A culinary profile of novelist Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, author of “The Mistress of Spices,” H6

Plus, Bengali Pineapple Chutney, left, and other recipes for cooking in the spice kitchen. H7

* The Kitchen Table

Real Cooks profiles South African-born Indian cook Logam Naidoo Penry. Spices are her passion. H8