NIGELLA SEED AND CARROT
In this series of produce and spice matches, we discover that nigella seed is a natural match with carrot. Nigella seed is known by a multitude of monikers: kalonji, black cumin, and nigella seed all refer to the same spice.
Learn a little bit more about nigella seed by reading some basics, and how to cook with it, below.
NIGELLA SEED BASICS:
Nigella seed is an earth category spice, which means it contributes weight and texture to a masala blend, as well as helping to control appetite. Learn all about spice categories here.
Nigella seed is bitter, charry, blunt, and reminiscent of a sesame + poppy seed when consumed raw. But when run through heat and fat, nigella’s recessed sweet and sulphuric qualities make it a natural match with carrot in this gajar sabzi recipe.
In terms of Ayurvedic contribution, nigella seed is “windy”. It creates movement in the mouth that mimics the unsettled environmental movements that occur with seasonal change. One of the ways to experience a sensation of being grounded is for the sensory body to mimic the external environment: unsettled sensory oral experience through spice is a window that helps us frame our position within an unsettled external environment.
Ratios with nigella seed are different to cumin seed, and more aligned with a stronger earth spice like fennel seed: around 1 teaspoon in a dish feeding four to six people is sufficient. Using too much will result in bitter and blunt aromatic edges.