Cumin recipes

Cumin has to be one of the most cosmopolitan spices in the world. It's used ubiquitously in Indian and Mexican recipes, but you'll also cumin recipes in cuisines around the world. Their distinctive aroma - earthy, warm and bitter - is an apt match for a multitude of dishes and ingredients, from chicken kebabs to lentil dhal.

Cumin seeds can be bought whole or ground and possess a distinctive aroma that is all at once warm, earthy and slightly bitter. Ground cumin is a very handy addition to sauces, stews and spice rubs as in Marcus Waring's Turkish lamb flatbreads and Marcello Tully's Moroccan chicken.



Whilst ground cumin is convenient, it's the whole seeds that really pack flavour. Similar in appearance to caraway, cumin seeds come alive when they're dry-roasted in a pan or fried in oil, two processes which release cumin's flavour and take this worldly seed to new heights. A great example is Alfred Prasad's rice pulao recipe, in which he fries the cumin with cardamom, cloves and cinnamon to impart incredible aroma to the rice. Matthew Tomkinson also uses whole cumin seed to create a rich sauce in this scallops recipe.

There is a smaller, darker version of cumin called black cumin, which has an air of smokiness. You can find Alfred Prasad using it in his marinade for grilled paneer.

For a quick hit of cumin, try sprinkling toasted and ground cumin on a salad - it works especially well with carrots and tomatoes.