Spices

Sender: StarrySky
In one of the Colour RR's group, we had to send cards befitting the tastes the participants chose. In response to my request for "spicy", StarrySky sent this card. I simply love it!!

Spices can be grouped by plant part such as seeds, barks, dried flower buds, stigmas, roots, amongst others. But it is easier to group them simply into dry spices and wet spices. In my daily soups or curries there are four kinds of dried spices I normally use: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and star anise. But I also use other dry spices in my cooking like chili powder, cumin, coriander, candlenut, mustard seeds, black pepper, fennel, fenugreek and turmeric. Certain dishes call for wet or fresh spices like fresh chilies, fresh ginger, fresh galangal, onion, shallots and garlic. They smell heavenly when pounded finely & tossed in hot oil for cooking. By the way, my simplest dish is to coat fish or chicken in fresh pounded turmeric with rock salt (or powdered tumeric and fine salt if I'm in a lazy mood) & deep fried. Best eaten with steaming hot rice plus a vege dish. But I grumble when the turmeric stains my fingers yellow! Or my clothes!

Spices! I can't live without them!! ;)