Cumin (jeera) is a staple in the spice box of any traditional Indian kitchen. The seeds much-loved while tempering, and its powdered form is equally loved in adding a punch to say, a beverage like buttermilk.
It’s widely used across the length and breadth of our country with good reason. Jeera is rich in potassium, manganese, iron and fibre. “When the body receives a nutrient dense food such as jeera, it absorbs the nutrients better and does not store food to process it later. A good example to understand this is chyawanprash – a single serving of chyawanprash is enough to keep the body full and running for a considerable period of time for the same reason,” says Mahesh Jayaraman, co-founder, sepalika.com (a healthcare platform). As a result of better processing of food, the body does not bloat and does not retain food unnecessarily.