Essentials 101 #2 Spices & Well-being for 2021 with Kanchan Koya
Kanchan Koya @chiefspicemama, the cookbook author of Spice Spice Baby, Podcast Host of Radical Vitality and rockstar on the gram takes us through the essentials of spices to create global flavors full of tips to live your best healthy vibrant life!
Takeaways from the conversation, see IG Live video below for the full interview.
Favorite 5 spices:
Power house spice Turmeric (add to fat source to make it more bio available), black pepper (will activate beneficial compounds in turmeric, red chilli pepper (anti-inflammatory compounds) - paprika least spicy of red chillies, smoked a great way of adding meaty flavor, ceylon cinnamon sticks (little curcumin) great for smoothies, cakes, oatmeal, its great for blood sugar & cardamom (great substitute to sugar and good for digestion, nausea, breath freshener), Sumac, Cloves, Ginger Best brands: organic, small batch, fair trade @burlapandbarrel @diasparaco @resilience : store in air tight container because sensitive to heat and light.
Favorite oils for cooking:
Avocado Oil great for high heat, olive oil good for medium heat, extra virgin olive oil great for drizzling. Coconut oil is not a health food, good for pancakes. Stay away from industrially processed & refined oils like canola & soybean oil. Sesame oil good for low heat, jury out on mustard oil (use cold / expeller pressed) Important to eat for your body type through ayurveda and look at food to reduce cholesterol (raw garlic worth trying nutrient dense, plant forward, whole foods, less saturated fats).
Favorite teas:
Pique teas, Rishi, Serendipity, Pukka - ayurvedic inspired combos for herbal tea
Favorite cook books on Indian Cooking:
Madhur Jaffrey, Tara Dalal, Chitra Aggarwal, Meera Sodha, Five Morsels of Love & Dishoom