Fennel seeds
Sweet, anise-scented seeds — the taste of Italian sausage and of the saunf offered after an Indian meal.
anise · sweet
What to do with it
Classics built on it
GoanXacutiChicken or mutton in a dark, complex sauce of grated coconut and a long list of whole spices, all roasted until brown and ground together.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniPyaaz kachoriA flaky, deep-fried pastry filled with onion cooked down with fennel, coriander seed and chilli, eaten with tamarind and mint chutneys.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniMirchi badaBig, mild green chillies stuffed with spiced potato, dipped in gram-flour batter and deep-fried.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianChettinad chickenChicken in a dark, fiery masala of freshly roasted spices — pepper, dried chilli, fennel, star anise — with coconut and curry leaves.No one here has made it yetSri LankanJaffna crab curryLagoon crabs cooked in the shell in a fiery sauce of roasted Jaffna curry powder, tamarind and coconut milk, with moringa leaves.No one here has made it yet Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Anywhere; South Asian grocers for the small, sweet Lucknowi kind.
- Worth knowing
- Crush lightly before using so it gives up its flavour.