Mustard Seeds (Pale Yellow, Brown & Black),India ABC Global price supplier

Black mustard is more important as a spice and oil plant,especially in India.Indian mustard oil is really essential for the authentic Flavours of several Indian regional cuisines, particularly those of Bengal, Kashmir, Maharashtra and neighbouring Goa.

In India, it is common to heat mustard oil initially to high temperature, up to the smoking point, and let it then cool down to regular cooking temperature, or even to room temperature, before the cooking proceeds.

In both the Indian union state West Bengal and in Bangladesh, mustard oil is very widespread. It is the preferred cooking medium and contributes a characteristic flavour which is particularly noticeable as intensive spices are used with moderation in Bengali cooking. Mustard oil produced in Bengal often contains enough isothiocynates to have a pungent mustard flavour and is often used as a flavouring, e.g., by dribbling the oil over boiled vegetables before serving.It is also used in pickled raw vegetables, where it contributes pungency and acts as a preservative. Such oil is difficult to obtain outside of India, and people in the West will have to substitute it by mustard paste or mustard powder; I wonder whether freshly grated might also work.Black mustard seeds are also much used as a spice directly. Their pungency is completely destroyed by cooking, and therefore the ground seeds should be added as late as possible if some pungency is desired. In India, black mustard seeds are commonly toasted, or fried in a little oil, until they acquire a grayish hue. This frying procedure changes the character of black mustard seeds completely: They are no longer pungent, but display an interesting nutty taste hardly comparable to anything else on the spice shelf.This flavour is particularly loved in South India,where mustard seeds are often fried in butter fat to give perfumed butter.

Black mustardseeds are also a component in the Bengali spice mixture panch phoron and the SouthIndian composition sambar podi.