Valentine with Cloves

The month of February outshines in the calendar for those in love. 14th February, The Valentine’s Day brings in the colors pink and red in various hues, the decadent chocolates, roses, some fully bloomed and some not yet depending upon the stage of love one might be in, among the things the lovers might take fancy to woo their partners off their feet. Young and old celebrate it with equal vigor with a proactive attitude relying heavily on consumer products.

This year I would suggest to my readers to bring in something different yet exotic for their special someone. How about the whole spices, a small muslin bag full of small green cardamoms, cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cloves? You may want to ask why. Well, to begin with they are all powerful natural aphrodisiacs. Individually, they hold their forte among spices and give their unique character and flavor to the food. The cinnamon, cardamom and cloves can be natural mouth fresheners too. And grind them together and you have a perfectly good garam masala, the must have spice in Indian Cuisine of any region. Together their fragrance is awesome. Cook with it that fabulous dinner you were planning for that day and see the evening unfold most magically. Since my profession includes everything related to spices, how much farther did you think I would take my thoughts, if not my spice cabinet? My philosophy is, why spend on obvious gifts when you have something right in your pantry which can have a better effect for the desired result.

I have already written about benefits and the uses of cumin and cinnamon among the ones mentioned above. This month is dedicated to cloves, not because it has higher content of aphrodisiac (at least not known to me, you may think differently after 14th Feb) but simply because it is a "flower spice." Valentines and flowers kind of go together….my justification. Hence let me indulge you with Cloves.

Clove has been in use since centuries because of its powerful usefulness being an antiseptic, anesthetic, anti-oxidant and aphrodisiac besides adding the aroma to rice dish and flavor to meat dishes. It was then one of the most valuable spices; even now its value stays much higher than most spices available for good reason. The clove clusters are picked by hand before the buds open and dried on palm mats. On an average, a single tree can only produce about 7 pounds of clove in one season. Despite its low and tedious production, the spice has become an essential ingredient in our daily use products. You may know them as toothpaste, mouthwash, the body oil, perfumes, incense sticks, candles and many other such products which are related only vaguely to romance but has a direct effect on the outcome of the tryst. Why forget the good food while we are at it. All these components together play an important part in seducing the other half. If done with the right ones with true feelings, the effects are most memorable. The common ingredient, clove, seems to win hands down in this regard.

There are various ways of cooking with cloves. Both vegetarian and non vegetarian food of any culture can be cooked to perfection with cloves as the secret ingredient. Blend Ground Cloves with maple syrup and drizzle over cooked sweet potatos and winter squash. Add a few whole cloves to bean and split pea soups (remove before serving). Or simply add ground cloves to give spicy depth to gingerbread, cookies, applesauce, muffins, cakes, and other sweets. However, if you choose to cook delicious Indian dinner with cloves, you have got to come to my kitchen to learn the technique and recipe for a foolproof Chicken Vindaloo, Murg Korma and Mughali Mushrooms. A perfect dinner menu for your special someone.