Cloves are the unopened flower buds of a tree, known for their strong and sweet pepper taste. These buds are a key ingredient in many Indian spice blends.
What are cloves?
Cloves are fragrant flower buds of the clove tree (Syzygium aromaticum) and are widely used as a spice in different global cuisines. These are famous for their robust, sweet, and spicy taste, along with their warm and slightly woody scent.
Home cooks often incorporate this spice along with other spices into their homemade spice blends to add personalized and unique flavours to dishes. A wide variety of dishes can be enhanced with the rich and distinctive flavour of cloves, making them a versatile spice.
Culinary Uses
Thi spice is used to flavour hot beverages such as kashayam and spiced teas such as masala chai to provide a warm and aromatic touch.
Whole cloves are commonly used in curry dishes such as paneer korma, kadai paneer, black eyed peas curry, green moong dal and rice dishes such as vegetable biryani, vegetable pulao, kashmiri pulao and tomato bath.
They add depth and complexity to the dishes, perfectly complementing spices like bay leaf, cassia bark, cardamom, and cumin.
They are a key ingredient in many spice blends in Indian cuisine, such as garam masala, Chettinad masala, sambar masala, biryani masala powder, bisi bele bath masala and instant sambar mix.
FAQ
Keep them in an airtight container, preferably in a cool and dark place to preserve their quality. The potency of whole cloves lasts longer than that of ground cloves.
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