* (cuminum cyminum) seeds are native
to the Mediterranean region and eastward into India. Cumin is a member of the
parsley family. The ancient Egyptians who called it “tpnn” used cumin a lot.
Ancient Egyptian king Rameses III offered gifts of cumin to the god Ra at
Heliopolis.
Several grains of ancient cumin are available for inspection at the
Agricultural Museum in Dokki, Cairo and in the museum of Florence, Italy.
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| Cumin Seeds |
The ancient Egyptians used cumin
to treat gastro-intestinal disease, to expel intestinal parasites, and cumin
was included in different medicinal recipes for mouth rinses, suppositories,
and ear instillations. Cumin seed is listed in Biblical texts in both the Old
and New Testaments. It was said in ancient Greece that if one planted coriander,
during the sowing process it must be cursed – if the crop was to be abundant.
Medieval healers recommended cumin seeds mixed with barley then boiled in wine
as a general cure-all.
According to Keimer, Egyptian
cumin (Cuminum cyminum) is different from the European cumin, Carum carvi, From
the fact that the Egyptian name “tpjin”, preserved in Coptic “tapen”, is
different from the Semitic names of the plant, one could conclude that the
Arabs introduced the Semitic appellation kammoun when they invaded Egypt.
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| Cumin Plantation |
The Roman epicurean Apicius
reported that the Egyptians of his time used cumin when they cooked marrows and
grilled fish. The Roman writer Pliny highly recommended cumin and wrote: Yet of
all the seasonings that gratify a fastidious taste, cumin is the most
agreeable. Pliny also mentioned that cumin mixed with water commonly was used
to treat stomachache. In modern Egypt crushed cumin added to water and
medicinal teas is used to treat colic and indigestion, and may be offered to
pregnant and recently delivered women.
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| The Cumin Plant |
Ancient Indian Ayurvedic medical
texts report that cumin seeds are crushed and prepared as decoctions, sometimes
fermented, and may be prepared as pills and mixed with ghee (clarified butter).
Such preparations are used to enhance appetite, digestion, lactation, and taste
perception. The medicinal use of these cumin-based pills is extended to treat
conditions such as appetite loss, diarrhea, and fever. Several recent Indian
medical journal reports claim that cumin contains anti-diabetic properties and
that consumption improves secretion of saliva.
The Gerarde herbal reports says: cumin
seeds scattereth and breaketh all the windiness of the stomachs, belly, guts,
and matrix [uterus]; prepared as a broth cumin seeds are good for the chest and
cold lungs; when mixed with vinegar and smelled, will stop nosebleeds.
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| Cumin Flowers |
In the Mediterranean and Near
Eastern countries, sweetening agents, jams, sweet jellies, or fruits, are not
generally eaten with meats or cooked dishes, as they are in northern Europe or
America. But spices are used more freely. Speaking in a rather schematic way,
mint, oregano, thyme and laurel prevail in Greece; fennel, laurel, tarragon in
Southern France; coriander, cumin and black pepper in Egypt; hot peppers in the
Sudan and Congo; cardamom and saffron in the Arabian Peninsula; while pine
seeds, raisins, pistachio nuts and almonds are often added to rice or to
stuffing in Syria and the Lebanon.
A mixture of spices coriander and
cumin, along with toasted nuts, salt and garlic was used to sweeten the coarse
bread of daily life in ancient Egypt. That tradition lives on today in the Dukkah,
a popular spice blend that modern Egyptians enjoy just as their ancestors did
thousands of years ago.
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| The Plant & Seeds |
Follow the recipe for Dukkah below
to bring a taste of ancient Egypt into your own kitchen. It can be used as a
condiment for roasted meat, as a topping for hummus or as a dip with crusty
bread.
Ingredients
1-cup whole shelled hazelnuts
1-cup whole shelled almonds
1-tablespoon whole coriander seeds
1-tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1/4-cup whole sesame seeds
1/4-teaspoon salt
Preparation
1.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2.
On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spread
the sesame seeds out in a single layer.
3.
Roast in the oven for about 2 to 3
minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
4.
Place the hazelnuts and almonds on the
same baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 5 minutes.
5.
Remove and combine with the toasted
sesame seeds.
6.
Combine the sesame seeds, hazelnuts,
almonds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and salt, in a food processor and grind
for 2 to 4 minutes.
7.
Store in an airtight container.
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| Dokka on Crust |
