Cumin Cooking Ideas
(For cumin re-fills click here)
Cooking Tips
- Cumin has a distinct but not overpowering flavour. It is used in many cuisines so is a good one to experiment with.
- Grind & add to tomato based sauces for pasta or to soups.
- Grind cumin seeds and stir into yoghurt with a squeeze of lemon to make a dip or dressing for roasted vegetables.
- Add whole seeds to rice or chickpeas.
- Toasting cumin seeds, brings out delicious nutty, roasted flavours before adding to your dish. To do this, dry fry cumin seeds in a pan on medium heat for 2-3 mins. Be careful not to burn or they will taste bitter.
Recipe ideas using cumin
- Chickpea, butternut squash & harissa tagine
- Shakshuka
- Thai red curry
- Butternut squash and aubergine bhuna
Cumin Flavour Pairings
- Spice flavour profile
Cumin is a savoury spice meaning it is slightly salty. It has an earthy, pine-like flavour with a slight spiciness. It is also often described as having almost a meat like flavour so is a useful spice for maintaining meat like qualities in vegetarian or vegan cooking. It goes really well with with aubergine & root vegetables like potatoes. It is also often used to add flavour to staples like rice and chickpeas.
- Spice Pairings
Cumin is a friend to many other spices. It pairs particularly well with coriander seed (the base of many curry blends), as well any capsicum such as paprika or chilli flakes.
Click here for cumin ingredient profile and more flavour information.