Siri lankawa Spices - Parsley

Parsley is an herb while leaf, seed, and root are used to make medicine.In foods and beverages, parsley is widely used as a garnish, condiment, food, and flavoring.parsley seed oil is used as a fragrance in soaps, cosmetics, and perfumes.Parsley is mostly used in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking. Curly leaf parsley is normally used as a garnish

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Mustard - Siri lankawa Spices

It is almost always the firstly added ingredient to be used when preparing a curry.

Mustard seeds ground and mixed with vinegar is the base for pickles.Mustard seeds have been highly demand culinary oil-seeds being in use since earlier times. The seeds are fruit pods obtained from mustard plant, but these days mustard cultivated as one of the main commercial crop in Canada, India, China, and temperate climates of European region.

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Saffron - Siri lankawa Spices

Saffron has a distinct floral flavor and fragnance and it also gives foods a bright yellow color.

Saffron is one of the most expensive spices.It comes from the dried stamens of the crocus flower. A tiny amount of saffron is infused in hot milk for 10 minutes and added to rice dishes and desserts.The dried stigmas of saffron are used to make saffron spice.it is largely

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Turmeric - Siri lankawa Spices

Sometimes turmeric is used more for its yellow color than its flavor, turmeric has a unique woodsy flavor. Turmeric, which is often confused with saffron, is used as a condiment in curries mainly for its colour. A little turmeric and salt are all that is necessary to preserving fish and meat.It is an aromatic powdered root of a plant mostly grown in the West Indies and India. It is used mainly for colouring and is also used as an antiseptic material.

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Ginger - Siri lankawa Spices

Ginger is a flowering plant in the ginger root or simply ginger, is widely used as a spice or a medicine.The underground stem of ginger tree is used as a spice and also as a medicine. It can be used fresh, dried and powdered, or as a juice or oil.ginger is used as a flavoring

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Nutmeg & Mace - Siri lankawa Spices

Nutmeg and mace are products from same plant. Nutmeg is the shelled, dried seed of the plant., and mace is the dried covering of the shell of the seed. both the nutmeg and mace are used to make medicine. nutmeg and mace are used as spices and flavorings.

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Cardamon - Siri lankawa Spices

Cardamom gives a very unique flavor to curries, for sauces, and to give fragrance to confectionery, specially wattalapam,and in various puddings.this is

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Cloves - Siri lankawa Spices

People use the oils, dried flower buds, leaves, and stems of the clove to make medicine.
this is used for upset stomach and as an expectorant.Clove oil is widely used for diarrhea, hernia, and bad breath. Clove and clove oil are used for problems such as intestinal gas,nausea, and vomiting.mainly cloves are used in problems related with mouth especially with teeth.

cloves are used in following problems

• Better Digestion
• Antibacterial Properties 
• Chemo-Preventive Properties
• Liver Protection
• Diabetes Control
• Bone Preservation
• Boosts the Immune System
• Vomiting
• Upset stomach
• Nausea
• Gas
• Diarrhea
• Hernia
• Pain and swelling of the mouth and throat
• Cough

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Pepper - Siri lankawa Spices

Pepper is largely produces as black pepper which is the dried . White pepper is produced by removing outer cover. pepper is available in crushed and ground forms. little amount of green and ripened pepper is pickled in brine and dehydrated green pepper and preserved red pepper also traded. Pepper oil and oleo resins are also extracted marketed as value added products.Pepper is mainly used as a spice and flavoring agent. pepper also has an industrial uses in making purfumes and pharmaceutical industries.

pepper is used for following conditions:

• Good for the Stomach
• Weight Loss
• Skin Health
• Respiratory Relief
• Antibacterial Quality
• tooth decay and toothache. 
• vision problems.

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Garlic - Siri lankawa Spices

Garlic is best known as a flavoring for food. garlic has been used as a medicine to prevent or treat a wide range of diseases and conditions. 
Garlic is used for large amount of conditions related to the heart and blood system. These conditions include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, coronary heart disease,heart attack, and hardening of the arteries. Garlic actually may be effective in reducing blood pressure.
Garlic has been tried for treating an enlarged prostate, diabetes, osteoarthritis,fever,diarrhea, high blood pressure late in pregnancy, cold and flu. It is also used for develop the immune system, preventing tick bites, and preventing and treating bacterial and fungal infections.
Other uses of garlic include treatment of fever, coughs, headache, stomach ache, gout, rheumatism, hemorrhoids, asthma, bronchitis, shortness of breath,low blood pressure, low blood sugar, high blood sugar, and snakebites. It is also used for fighting stress and fatigue, and to have a healthy liver 

• Garlic Contains a Compound Called Allicin, Which Has Potent Medicinal Properties
• Garlic Is Highly Nutritious, But Has Very Few Calories
• Garlic Can Combat Sickness, Including the Common Cold
• The Active Compounds in Garlic Can Reduce Blood Pressure
• Garlic Improves Cholesterol Levels, Which May Lower The Risk of Heart Disease
• Garlic Contains Antioxidants That May Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
• Garlic May Help You Live Longer
•  Athletic Performance Can be Improved With Garlic Supplementation
•  Eating Garlic Can Help Detoxify Heavy Metals in the Body
• Garlic May Improve Bone Health
• Garlic Is Easy to Include In Your Diet and Tastes Absolutely Delicious

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Cinnamon(kurundu) - Siri lankawa Spices

Cinnamon is a small tropical evergreen tree which grows 10–15 meters tall, The two main types of cinnamon are cinnamon cassia and cinnamon zeylanicum which is grown widely in Sri Lanka, India, Java, Sumatra, the West Indies, Brazil, Vietnam and Madagascar. Its

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Curry Leaves (Karapincha)done - Siri lankawa Spices

Curry tree is native to Asia and  it is very fragrant.

in order to obtain the  maximum flavour the leaves should be added at the final stage of cooking a curry.Curry leaves are generally used fresh in most rice and curry dishes, giving a very distinctive flavor.  the leaves are known as 'curry leaves,' in general although they are also literally 'sweet neem leaves' in most India.Height of the curry plant ranges from small to medium. The most useful parts of the curry plant are the leaves, root and the bark.Curry leaves gives lots of important health benefits, which makes your food both healthy and tasty along with wondeful aroma.

Curry Leaves is used for many conditions such as:

• mainly as a flavoring agents.
• Also used in various local cuisines 
• They contain various antioxidant properties
• Have the ability to control diarrhea,
• Gastrointestinal problems such as indigestion, excessive acid secretion, peptic ulcers, dysentery, diabetes and 
• It helps to balance cholesterol level
• Have cancer fighting properties
• Help protect the liver.
• The roots are used to treat the body aches 
• bark is used for snake bite relief.

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Garcinia (Goraka) - Siri lankawa Spices

Garcinia normally ground with a little hot water, is used as a souring and thickening agent in curries such as fish and meat and certain vegetable curries.

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Fennel seeds (Maduru) - Siri lankawa Spices

Fennel seeds are lightly sweet in taste and licorice flavored. It's great with meat dishes, or even chewed on its own as a breath freshener and digestion aid.

Used in the preparation of some dishes.fennel seeds are used in the preparation of curry powder along with coriander and cumin,Fennel plant have yellow flowers.Dried fennel seeds are normally used in cooking as an anise-flavored spice.Fennel seeds and oil are used to make medicine.

Fennel seeds  are used for many conditions such as:

• Constipation
•  painful menstruation 
• Sunburn.applying fennel to the skin before ultraviolet (UV) exposure can reduce sunburn
• Stomach upset and indigestion
• Airway swelling
• Bronchitis
• Cough
• visual problems
• Mild spasms of the stomach and intestines
• Intestinal gas (flatulence)
• Bloating
• Upper respiratory tract infection
• Fennel helps in various digestive problems including heartburn,intestinal gas,bloating ,loss of appetite, and colic in infants
• It is also used for upper respiratory tract infections coughs, bronchitis, cholera, backache, bedwetting
•  fennel increasies the flow of breast milk
•  easing the birthing process
• increasing sex drive
• Fennel powder is used as a poultice for snakebites

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cumin seeds(suduru) - Siri lankawa Spices

Cumin seeds have a strong fragrance and a very distinct flavor, flavour and can be used whole or ground. together with coriander it is one of the most important ingredients in preparing curry powder.

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Fenugreek(uluhal) - Siri lankawa Spices

Although Fenugreek smells like maple syrup while cooking, actually it has a rather bitter, burnt sugar flavor.this can be found in a lot of Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.this is used to flavor and give the necessary taste or the thickening effect to curries.

Fenugreek seeds are  rectangular in shape and matt golden brown in colour. 

soaking seeds in water for long time may distroyes the

officinal properties.fenugreek  used to make soaps and cosmetics

In foods, fenugreek is included as an ingredient in spice blends. It is also used 

Fenugreek is used for many conditions such as,

• in digestive problems
• lose motion
• constipation, 
• gastritis
• conditions that affect heart health
• cholesterol
• triglycerides
• kidney ailments
• vitamin deficiency disease called beriberi
• mouth ulcers
• boils 
• bronchitis,
• infection of the tissues beneath the surface of the skin
• tuberculosis
• cancer,
• chronic coughs
• chapped lips
• hair falling problems
• lowering blood sugar level  in people with diabetes.
• Women who are breast-feeding sometimes use fenugreek to promote milk flow.
• as a flavoring agent in imitation foods, beverages, and tobacco.

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Spices used in Ayurveda in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan spices and herbs plays an important role in Ayurvedic medicine. Ayurveda or the Study of  Life is an old type of medicine where much accent is placed on food habits, also it accent the importance of  natural stuff like herbs and ointments.and also Ayurvedic method can be defined as the system of medicine practiced by the ancient people, utilizing very unique and natural remedies to accomplish physical and mental health.

Herbs, spices and their essences play a major role in Ayurvedic therapeutic treatments. Sri Lankan spices are used as scents, cleansers and cosmetics.

There are some herbs and spices which is added when making Ayurvedic toothpaste. One of the main spice of this ayurvedic toothpaste is cloves. cloves has the ability to numb the mouth. so as soon as sri lankan gets a toothache, he starts to chew a couple of clove buds. And this numbs the mouth and  helps to disappear the pain.therefore cloves can be describes as a good home remedy for tooth ache. Those days sri lankans used to have their own home made tooth paste. we cant call this thing exactly a paste but it was a mixture of about 10 spices like clove buds,clove leaves ,cinnamon bark,cinnamon essence... they crushed all the above spices and used it to brush their teeth. This is a one of the main reason to have very stronge teeth in sri lankans who were in those days.This tooth powder they made out of spices and herbs  helps to lower the ability of making tarter in the teeth and sticky substance in gums that produces germs and microbes, likewise helps against pyorrhoea and gingivitis, and keeps the mouth fresh throughout the day.Cloves are prescribed also for sore throats.

Nutmeg and dark pepper improves interest in food.Ginger helps to digest foods and aloe vera mixed with coconut oil makes a wonderful sun cream and the  citronella repulses bugs. These are a some of the many spices used in Ayurveda  

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Benefits of spices

• Spices contain an impressive list of plant-derived chemical compounds that contains disease preventing and health promoting properties.They have been in use since ancient times for their healthy properties such as anti-inflammatory, carminative, anti-flatulent.. 
• The components in the spices have been found to have anti-clotting action (prevent clotting of blood)and also help in easing blood flow, preventing stroke and coronary artery disease.
• The active principles in the spices may help in digestion through develops intestinal tract motility as well as increasing the digestion power by stimulating excessive secretion of gastro-intestinal enzymes inside the bowel.
• Washing throat  with tepid thyme water can help in relieve sore throat and bronchitis symptoms. Thyme is also being considerd as an anti-septic mouthwash in the treatment of caries and gingivitis.
• Decoction of certain healthy spices is taken by mouth for the treatments of colds, influenza,fever, indigestion,stomach upset, and painful menstruation etc..
• Spices are known to have natural anti-helminthes  function in ayuruvedic medicines.
• The essential volatile oils in certain spices (cloves, peppers...) may work as a improver in the local blood circulation, increasing the flow of blood to make the skin feel warmer. They are being applied as a popular home remedy for arthritis and sore muscles..
• Spice's essential oils are being used in the aromatherapy and also as deodorant in the perfume industry.
• Spices contain a required amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium plays an important role in controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is considerd as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme in the body.

• Spices are being used in the preparation of soups,sauces, pickling and as a main ingredient in a variety of curry powders.

• Spices along with some seasonal herbs are being used to increase the flavor and taste of vegetable, chicken, fish and meat dishes.

• Some healthy spices such as cloves, cardamom, coriander.. are used in making drinks.

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List of spices that grown in sri lanka

• Fenugreek
• Cumin seeds
• Fennel-seeds (Maduru)
• Garcinia(Goraka)
• Curry Leaves (Karapincha)
• Garlic
• Cinnamon
• Pepper
• Cloves
• Cardamon
• Nutmeg & Mace
• Ginger
• Turmeric
• Parsley
• Saffron
• Mustard

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The history of sri lankan spices

The History of Sri Lanka and the History of Spice are interconnected to a large extent that it leaves one to wonder whether Sri Lanka was discovered because of spice, or whether Spice was discovered because of Sri Lanka. Whatever the answer, historians generally agree that Sri Lanka is the born place of the ancient spice trade. and if we consider cinnamon, which originated in Sri Lanka, it is certainly the main cradle.

John Keay the famous writter mentions Sri Lankan spices in the book of“The Spice Route – a history”. The traders in arab must have had an even keener olfactory sense than Mr john, for they arrived in Galle on the Southern coast of Sri Lanka. The objective of their expedition was to introduce a trading post dedicated primarily to spices, gems, and ivory. Later many of these traders shifted to Jaffna and starts another flourishing port on the northern coast of sri lanka.

Today spices are mainly used  to flavour food.  however, spices plays a important role as food preserving agents. In the absence of fridges and freezers, people used spices to preserve meat . 
When the Dutch took over from Portuguese, they tried to develops the spice lands of Lanka. One such area was Kurunduwatta or Cinnamon Gardens in Colombo 7. and they  enhands the spice cultivation in sri lanka

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