Turmeric and ginger are must-haves in any Indian household, right? I don’t have to write so much for these two as we all are aware of the benefits, uses and much more. We consider both of them more than a spice/culinary ingredient for any Indian. Turmeric is used as medicinal, therapeutic, cosmetic, dyeing agent, pest control, perfumery, for rituals and many more. Ginger is one of the first spices to have been exported from Asia, arriving in Europe with the spice trade, and was used by ancient Greeks and Romans.

I’m pretty certain that prior the internet, or more specifically, before the social media era, no one cared about the curcumin content of turmeric or was aware of the different kinds. There were no massive companies ruling the markets. Now, the market is swamped with turmeric powders that claim to be higher in curcumin, organic, and ethically prepared, while others sell only yellow powder.

Do you know that curcumin content in turmeric does not absorb by itself in our bodies? Curcumin’s limited absorption in humans results in low bioavailability, since only a little amount reaches the bloodstream for usage by the body. For improved absorption, it is consumed with a fat content (therefore we add it to curries/sabjis).

I was fascinated to learn about ginger history here. Have you heard it before?

If you live at lower altitudes and purchase turmeric rhizomes with a high curcumin content to grow in your garden, please be aware that the amount of curcumin also varies depending on the high altitude at which it is grown, soil pH and temperature. Using home/own grown turmeric are definitely superior than the store bought ones.

Gingers varieties

While turmeric also comes under ginger family only, I thought of separating it as per the common names. There are definitely many which are edible or used as medicinal around us, I thought of sharing the major ones.

Botanical Name	Common Name	Uses	More details
Zingiber officinale	Ginger/Adrak/Inji	Cooking, Medicinal	Kerala – Maran, Mananthodi, Wayanadan, Kuruppam paadi, Ernad, Kozhikaalan Meghalaya – Ing Makhir(Zingiber rubens), Ing Bah(Nadia) Mizo, Thingpui – Mizoram Karbi Anglong – Assam Adi Kekir – Arunachal Pradesh Rio-de-Janeiro – Exotic variety from South America
Curcuma amada	Mango ginger	Cooking	The (raw)mango flavored ginger!
Kaempferia parviflora	Black ginger/Thai black ginger/Thai ginseng/ krachai dum	Medicinal	Native to Thailand
Kaempferia rotunda	Indian crocus/Bhuchampaka/ Chengazhineer kizhangu	Medicinal
Kaempferia galanga	kencur/aromatic ginger/sand ginger/cutcherry/ Kacholam/	Medicinal
Alpinia galanga	Greater Galangal/lengkuas/ Siamese ginger/laos/Thai ginger	Cooking esp. Thai dishes
Alpinia calcarata	Lesser Galangal/Chittaratha/ Rasna/Kulainjan	Medicinal
Etlingera elatior	Torch ginger	Only flowers are edible & ornamental	The roots are
Hedychium coronarium	Butterfly ginger	Cooking, ornamental, medicinal	Northeast Indian state of Manipur, butterfly ginger rhizomes are used in a traditional dish called eromba

There are high-yielding and resistive varieties of gingers like Varada, Rejatha, Mahima, Vajra released by IISR. Similarly, Prabha, Parthibha, Pragati, Kedaram, Suguna, Suvarna, Allepey Supreme etc in turmeric.

Not all varieties of ginger are used for preparing dry ginger or the sukku/chukku. Do you use chukku at home? Share the ways too.

Recipes

• Inji Curry – There is a saying which goes like this ‘നൂറ് കറിക്കു പകരം ഒന്ന്, ഇഞ്ചി കറി ‘. Meaning it is equivalent to one hundred curries(in Sadhya).
• Home brewed blue ginger ale
• Puli inji
• Jiangzhuangnai, ginger milk puddings
• Fermented jamun and ginger spice cake
• Inji thayiru
• Inji marabba/Ginger candy
• Pickled ginger
• Ginger Ale
• Ginger Chutney/ Alle – Konkani special and one of my fav
• Alle piyava ghashi – Konkani dish with fish/prawns
• Gingerbread cookies
• Mango ginger thokku

Turmeric

For us Indians, it is more than a spice isn’t it?

Botanical Name	Common Name	Uses	More details
Curcuma longa	Turmeric/Haldi/Manjal	Cooking, Medicinal	Maharashtra- Waigaon,Sangli, Vasmat Tamil Nadu – Erode manjal Meghalaya- Lakadong
Curcuma aromatica	Kasturi manjal/van haridra/Musk turmeric	Cosmetic & Medicinal	Read more about it here

Recipes

• Raw turmeric pickle
• Fresh turmeric curry
• Rajastani kacchhi haldi ki sabji

A.