Friends, here is a spicy tip(wink) of the week.

Coriander powder is one of the very important and essential spices in Indian cooking. In case you are not using it then trust me you are missing a lot, not only in terms of taste and flavour but you are deprived of the amazing nutritional benefits this spice possesses.

It helps control blood sugar, cholesterol and free radical production. Also, it is an excellent source of dietary fibre and minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc and magnesium. Contains Vitamin C and B-complex and the list is quite long (check out the links at the end of post to know more about the nutritional benefits).

• To get amazing flavour and fragrance in usual day to day meals, try grinding coriander seeds at home to prepare coriander powder. Prepare small quantities so that it gets used up in a week or so and the fragrance is not lost. The seeds take just 30 seconds to be crushed in a mixer. The resultant would come out tastier, healthier and cheaper too! The entire grinding and storing will not take more than 5 minutes of your time
• It is also advisable to buy seeds in place of powder as it eliminates chances of buying adulterated powder.
• In case you are making a dish specifically for a special occasion then try roasting the seeds just before preparing the dish and then grind them to get even better fragrance