Spices Names in English, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Marathi

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1. Hi Dassana, i would like to applaud and congratulate you for your remarkable efforts in put just ‘genuine’ and perfect recipes. there are so many web sites, but the truth is not all depict the true ‘home made’ food recipes. they all have something added to the original recipes to ‘self promote’.

   im truly impressed by your ‘honest’ and so ‘sober’ explanations.

   Dassana, i came across a spice called ‘Kali Jeeri’.. this doesnot look like onion seeds/nigella or the black jeera or Shahjeera. i have heard that it has immense medicinal value. And that it is also used in Punjab for heavy food items like chana,chole, rajma.. would you know about its culinary and medicinal values. any information on its use will be appreciated.

   1. thanks kajal for your kind words. from what i know about kali jeeri or kalo jeero is that the same term is used for nigella seeds and shah jeera. recently in a fb group too there was some confusion over kala jeera and shah jeera. it seems kala jeera is bitter in taste. in our home cooked punjabi food we neither add nigella seeds nor shah jeera nor kala jeera to rajma or chole. all i know is that kala jeera is good for digestion and in boosting immunity.

2. hi dassana,

   i am chetana.

   first of all, hats off! fantastic work and nice virtual place here! keep up the great work.
   i always refer to, try many recipes and have tried many recipes with great results from your space. i read your every inch of your recipe page carefully and follow it to t, of course, with measurements required by me. this is my first comment, remark, till all this time. nevertheless, you are always remembered after my every dish/meal recreated from here. i think and feel your recipes, measurements, are almost accurate, like say, 98%. well, i am sure, you do agree that no recipe can be 100% accurate.

   i would like to provide my list of Kannada names for all the spices you have tabled above. i am a Kannadiga.

   aniseeds / fennel seeds – bade soppu, sompu (u sounds as it does in

   Hindi’s chotu)

   asafoetida – ingu (u sounds as it does in Hindi’s chotu)

   basil seeds, sweet basil – kaama kastoori

   bay leaf – masale ele (e sounds as it does in ‘e’lephant)

   big mustard seeds – dodda saasive kaalu

   black cardamom – kappu elakki or kari elakki

   black cumin seeds – kappu jeerige or kari jeerige

   black mustard seeds – kappu saasive or kari saasive

   black pepper – kappu menasina kaalu or kari menasina kaalu

   black salt – saindhava lavana

   carom seeds – oma kaalu or vaama kaalu

   chilli powder – (kempu – red) menasina pudi

   cinnamon – daalchinni or chakke (chakk as it does in chakkli, e as in

   ‘e’lephant)

   clarified butter – tuppa (tu as it does in Hindi’s ‘tu’m)

   cloves – lavanga

   coconut dessicated – turida tengu or turida tenginkaayi (t in both

   words should be pronounced as in Hindi’s ‘t’il)

   coconut dry – ona kobbari or vana kobbari

   coconut fresh – tenginakaayi or tengu d(t in both words should be

   pronounced as in Hindi’s ‘t’il)

   coriander powder – kotthambari pudi or dhaniya powder

   coriander seeds – kotthambari beeja or kotthambari kaalu

   coriander – kotthambari soppu

   cumin seeds – jeerige

   curry leaves – karibevu

   dry ginger – onagida sunthi or onagida shunthi (da as in Hindi’s ‘du’m

   aloo)

   dry mango powder – mavinkai churu – churu is piece and not powder,

   powder is pudi – it should be maavinkaayi

   fenugreek seeds – menthe kaalu or menthe beeja

   fenugreek – menthe soppu

   garlic – bellulli

   fresh ginger – hasi shunthi

   dry ginger has appeared twice – once after dry kasoori methi and once

   after fresh ginger

   green cardamom – hasiru elakki

   green chilli – hasi menasu or hasi menasanikaayi

   groundnuts – shengaa or kadale beeja

   holy basil – tulasi

   palm jaggery – ole bella or thaati bella

   lime – limbu or limbe hannu

   cocum – kokum or brinda or punarpuli

   lime peel – limbehannina sippe or limbu sippe

   mace – jaapattre or jaakaayi pattre

   mint – pudina soppu or pudina ele

   nutmeg – jaaji kaayi or jaayi kaayi

   poppy seeds – gasa gase

   raisins – ona draakshi or vana draakshi

   red chilli – kempu menasu

   rock salt – kalluppu or kallu uppu

   stone flower – kallu hoovu

   salt – uppu

   sesame seeds – ellu

   saffron – kesari

   szechwan pepper – kamte kaayi or jummina kaayi

   star anise – chakkra moggu

   tamarind – hunase or hunase hannu

   turmeric – haladi or arishina or arishina pudi

   watermelon seeds – kallangadi hannina beeja

   The ones which I have left –
   caraway seeds – ‘may be’ pronounced as shajeera itself – meaning to

   say the vendor might understand or may be seeme sompu which is

   little less known name: I myself haven’t heard this name, prefer to say

   it shahjeera

   dry fenugreek leaves – ‘may be’ pronounced as kasoori methi itself

   onion seeds – ‘may be’ pronunced as kalaunji itself; ormay be eerulli

   beeja which is little less known: I myself haven’t heard this name,

   prefer to say it kalaunji

   pine nuts – ‘may be’ pronounced as pine nuts itself

   dry pomegranate seeds – ‘may be’ as anardaana or onagisida daalimbe

   hannina beeja

   sultanas – ‘may be’ as sultanas

   thank you for all the great recipes.

   god bless us all!

   1. thanks chetana for your feedback and sharing this info in kannada. i will try to update in some days. i do agree that no recipe can be 100% perfect. even if the same recipe is made by the same person with the same ingredients and in the same proportions, the taste is not the same always.

3. corriander powder is known as Dhanajiru in gujarati.
   I really liked your concept.

   1. thanks jalpa

4. hi dasanna, xlnt glossary of cooking overall. Very precise. Though I know Hindi as a language, understand in movies and channels, this is something that is clearing all the doubts. Thanks a lot and God bless you both for such an extraordinary support through the site. DK

   1. Welcome DK ji. Thanks for your blessings and positive feedback. Still we have a lot of work to do in this section.

5. mustard is very nice plant and so gud