Let's Spice it Up - Glossary of Spices
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| LET'S SPICE IT UP - GLOSSARY OF SPICES |
Maybe I was good enough to remember & identify the name of most of the Spices in both Malayalam & Tamil and few in English, even as a kid. I have never ever confused myself with the names. And when I started watching Hindi TV Shows in Doordarshan in 80's the cooking shows came with a new set of names for all these spices in an all-new language (for me, I was just learning Hindi then) for those spices & ingredients. And later and in the flow of learning, I came to understand and identify the English names of most of the Spices used in our kitchen. That took maybe, 20-25 years of my life. And once we started living in Malaysia, I learnt at least a few of the ingredient names from the packages which also helped me buy few items from the Market naming them in the local language. To be true I was awed when I wrote the glossary that I knew most of the names in Malay even without reference. Thanks to the printed packages through which I had learnt it.
My idea of writing this set of Glossary came into my mind, when I found my daughter fiddling with Cumin, Fennel, Mustard, Fenugreek, she even gets confused with Okra & Eggplant(Vendakka & Kathirikkai). My husband always has a doubt whether the Cabbage is Cabbage/Muttakose(both being the same) and confuses Mint & Coriander Leaves. But never forgets to buy what I ask him from the grocery(never missing the list) way back from his Office, a dedicated Husband he is. But the terms mostly in English seemed to be easy for my daughter & my husband and what they get confused is with the Tamil/Malayalam names of the ingredient.
Most of us would also be sailing in the same boat when it comes with such an identification parade. And with the technology in hand, we can Google it right away within no time. So, I have tried to give few names of those Spices regularly used in our Pantry along with the translation in 7 languages - Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Telugu, Hindi, Marathi and Bahasa Melayu.
I may be wrong in colloquial terms or would have just gone wrong with the names in Kannada, Telugu & Marathi. Though I have researched a little and got some translated from Google. In the set of languages which I am not fluent with and of course when it comes to glossary list even some names in Tamil, Malayalam & Hindi seemed new to me. So please do feel free to correct me, if I am wrong and help me develop this Glossary with the correct translation.
If you happen to know a spice that is not mentioned in the list, you can help me add it by commenting through the comment section. I will be glad to add your entry to the Glossary List.
GLOSSARY OF SPICES & HERBS
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