Degchi
Zeera
Also written: jeera, cumin seeds
- Urduزیرہ
- Hindiज़ीरा
- Banglaজিরা
- Arabicكمون
Zeera, also written jeera, is cumin. It is a small, ridged, brown-yellow seed with an earthy, warm, slightly bitter smell, and it is among the most used spices in our recipe library.
Whole seeds go into hot ghee or oil at the very start of a dish, or into a final tadka. They should crackle and darken a shade within seconds, and our Dal Tadka lets them sizzle for up to a minute. If they turn dark brown or smell acrid, they have burnt, so tip them out and start over.
Ground cumin goes in with the other ground spices once the onion and tomato have softened, with a splash of water to protect it from scorching. For a deeper flavour you can dry-roast the whole seeds in a pan over medium heat until fragrant, then crush or grind them. Roasted cumin powder is a common finisher over raita, chaat and lassi.
Do not mix it up with kalonji, which is nigella seed. It is black, teardrop-shaped and sharper, and it belongs in different dishes. Store whole zeera in a sealed jar away from light and grind small amounts at a time, because the ground form loses its aroma sooner.
Recipes that use it
49 of our 247 recipes call for zeera. Here are a few to start with.
- Dal Tadka
- Split Chickpea Lentils
- Potato and Cauliflower Curry
- Spiced Chickpeas
- Aloo Matar (Potato and Pea Curry)
- Anday ka Khagina (Spiced Scrambled Eggs)
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