Shyam Net Works

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Cinnamon(species Cinnamomum zeylanicum), bushy evergreen tree of the laurel family (Lauraceae) native to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), the neighbouring Malabar Coast of India, and Myanmar (Burma) and also cultivated in South America and the West Indies for the spice consisting of its dried inner bark. The spice is light brown in colour and has a delicately fragrant aroma and warm, sweet flavour. Cinnamon was once more valuable than gold. In Egypt it was sought for embalming and witchcraft; in medieval Europe for religious rites and as a flavouring. Later it was the most profitable spice in the Dutch East India Company trade. In modern times, cinnamon is used to flavour a variety of foods, from confections to curries; in Europe and the United States it is especially popular in bakery goods.The Sri Lanka cultivator harvests his main crop in the wet season, cutting the shoots close to the ground. In processing, the shoots are first scraped with a semicircular blade, then rubbed with a brass rod to loosen the bark, which is split with a knife and peeled. The peels are telescoped one into another forming a quill about 107 cm (42 inches) long and filled with trimmings of the same quality bark to maintain the cylindrical shape. After four or five days of drying, the quills are rolled on a board to tighten the filling and then placed in subdued sunlight for further drying. Finally, they are bleached with sulfur dioxide and sorted into grades.Cinnamon contains from 0.5 to 1 percent essential oil, the principal component of which is cinnamic aldehyde. The oil is distilled from the fragments for use in food, liqueur, perfume, and drugs. The aldehyde can also be synthesized.

Cinnamon bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material, being largely used in the preparation of some kinds of desserts, chocolate and spicy candies and liqueurs. In the Middle East, it is often used in savoury dishes of chicken and lamb. In the United States, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavour cereals, bread-based dishes, and fruits, especially apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is even sold separately for such purposes. Cinnamon can also be used in pickling. In medicine it acts like other volatile oils and once had a reputation as a cure for colds. It has also been used to treat diarrhea and other problems of the digestive system. Cinnamon is high in antioxidant activity (PMID 16190627, PMID 10077878). The essential oil of cinnamon also has antimicrobial properties (PMID 16104824). This property may allow cinnamon to extend the shelf life of foods. In the media, "cinnamon" has been reported to have remarkable pharmacological effects in the treatment of type II diabetes. However, the plant material used in the study (PMID 14633804) was actually cassia, as opposed to true cinnamon. Please refer to cassia's medicinal uses for more information about its health benefits. Cinnamon is also used as an insect repellent. It is widely used when a manufactured insecticide is not wanted or cannot be used because of possible health side effects or allergies.

Curry leaf tree is a small deciduous tree. Most Indian cuisine cannot do without the subtle flavouring of this highly aromatic leafy spice. Curry leaf grows profusely throughout mainland. It is commonly found in forests as a gregarious undergrowth along the foot of the Himalayas, from the Ravi to Sikkim and Assam, besides Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. The trees are also now maintained in homestead gardens, as in Kerala, or on leaf farms as in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa. The western world is fast taking enthusiastically to Indian curry leaf, especially those who prefer their food to be tangy without being too hot. Indigenous to India, galanga shows exuberant growth and fine health along the eastern Himalayas and in south-west India. India exports several varieties of galanga in different forms. However, its volatile oil attracts more international interest because of its high medicinal value.

Its leaves are highly aromatic and are used as a(n) herb. Their form is small and narrow and somewhat resemble the leaves of the Neem tree; therefore they are also referred to as Kari Bevu, translated to Black Neem, in the Kannada language and Karivepaku in Telugu again translating to the same meaning. In Tamil and Malayalam it is known as Karuveppilai, ilai meaning leaves. Other names include Kari Patta (Hindi) and Karapincha (Sinhalese). They are commonly used as seasoning in Indian and Sri Lankan cooking, much like bay leaves and especially in curries with fish or coconut milk. In their fresh form they have a short shelf life and may be stored in a freezer for up to a week; they are also available dried, although the aroma is clearly inferior.

Curry leaves are extensively used in South India and Sri Lanka. They are particularly used in South India cooking to provide a flavouring for curries, vegetable, fish and meat dishes, soups (rasams), pickles, butter milk preparations, chutneys, scrambled eggs and curry powder blends.

They are mainly used fresh, but are also used dried or powdered. For some recipes, the leaves are oven-dried or toasted immediately before use. Another common technique is short frying in butter or oil. Since South Indian cuisine is dominantly vegetarian, curry leaves seldom appear in non-vegetarian food; the main applications are thin lentil or vegetable curries and stuffings for samosas. Because of their soft texture, they are not always removed before serving.

In India the leaves are sold in markets still attached to the stem. In Europe they are generally sold as dried leaves but some are imported fresh.

The curry leaf tree is native to India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Andaman Islands. Later spread by Indian migrants, they now grow in other areas of the world where Indian immigrants settled. Widely cultivated, the leaves are particularly associated with South Indian cuisines.

Curry leaf trees are naturalised in forests and waste land throughout the Indian subcontinent except in the higher parts of the Himalayas. From the Ravi river in Pakistan its distribution extends eastwards towards Assam in India and Chittagong in Bangladesh, and southwards to Tamil Nadu in India. The plants were spread to Malaysia, South Africa and Runion Island with South Asian immigrants.

The use of curry leaves as a flavouring for vegetables is described in early Tamil literature dating back to the 1st to 4th centuries AD. Its use is also mentioned a few centuries later in Kannada literature. Curry leaves are still closely associated with South India where the word 'curry' originates from the Tamil 'kari' for spiced sauces. An alternative name for curry leaf throughout India is kari-pattha. Today curry leaves are cultivated in India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands and in Africa as a food flavouring.

The fruit of a tropical tree, tamarind is an indispensable spice in most south Indian kitchens. Today, India is the only producer of tamarind on a commercial scale. A large part of India's production of tamarind is exported to West Asia, Europe and America, where it is used in such food specialties like Worcestershire sauce. This spice also comes in the forms of pulp andjuice concentrates which mainly go into the preparation of cool drinks, sea foods and a range of sophisticated cuisine.

Tamarind or tamar-i-hind, the 'date of India' as the Arabs described it, is one of the most widespread trees of the Indian subcontinent. It may have originated in Africa, but its history in South Asia is ancient and it is widespread in the region.

The fruit pulp is edible and popular. It is used as a spice in both Asian and Latin American cuisines, and is also an important ingredient in Worcestershire sauce and HP sauce. The pulp of a young fruit is very sour and acidic and is most often used as a component of savory dishes. The ripened fruit is sweeter and can be used in desserts and drinks, or as a snack. In temples especially in Asian countries, the pulp is used to clean brass shrine furniture, removing dulling and the greenish patina that form [1] . The wood is a bold red color. Due to its density and durability, tamarind heartwood can be used in making furniture and wood flooring. A tamarind switch is sometimes used as an implement for corporal punishment. Tamarind trees are very common in South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. They are used as ornamental trees and to provide shade on the country roads and highways. Monkeys love the ripened tamarind fruit. The pulp, leaves, and bark also have medical applications. For example, in the Philippines, the leaves have been traditionally used in herbal tea for reducing malaria fever. Due to its medicinal value, tamarind is used as an Ayurvedic Medicine for gastric and/or digestion problems. Tamarind is a staple in the South Indian diet, where it is used to prepare Kuzambu or Sambhar (spicy lentil soup vegetables and tamarind), a soupy preparation called pulikkuzambu popular in Tamil Nadu, Puliyodarai rice, and various types of chutneys. Tamarind is available in Indian stores worldwide. It is also sold as a candy in Mexico (see for example pulparindo), and in various snack forms in Southeast Asia (dried and salted, dried and candied, as a cold drink). Pad Thai, a dish popular in Thai restaurants in the U.S., uses tamarind as its dominant flavor. It is very difficult to find tamarind sauce but it goes very well with lamb shanks. Native Philippine Tamarind Native Philippine Tamarind In Latin America, especially Mexico, and Latin American immigrant communities in the US, the fruit is wildly popular and is fashioned into many kinds of treat. Many popular Tamarindo concoctions are hard candies and suckers and one of the most popular aguas frescas is flavored with tamarind. Tamarind is a popular food in Mexico and is used in many Mexican candies. Likewise Sino-Peruvian food uses tamarind-based juice for its distinctive sweet flavour. [citations needed]

The dried rhizome of a herbaceous plant, turmeric is closely related to ginger. The spice is also sometimes called 'Indian saffron' thanks to its brilliant yellow colour. Indian turmeric has been known to the world since ancient times. Several unique properties of Indian turmeric make it the ideal choice as a food flavour, an effective ingredient in medicines and cosmetics, and as a natural colourant. With its rich curcumin content, which imparts the distinctive yellow colour, and other inherent qualities, Indian turmeric is considered the best in the world. India is today the largest exporter of turmeric to discerning countries like the Middle East, the UK, USA and Japan. Some of the well-accepted varieties are: 'Alleppey Finger' and 'Erode turmeric' (from Tamil Nadu), 'Rajapore' and 'Sangli turmeric' (from Maharashtra) and 'Nizamabad Bulb' (from Andhra Pradesh). India also exports turmeric in powder form and as oleoresin.

Food additive