Read about the best Indian Herbs for cooking flavorful cuisines with detailed information on their uses and benefits.
Indian herbs are popular for their rich aroma, taste, and benefits. Explore how these herbs are used in traditional Indian cuisines and what advantages they offer.
Best Indian Herbs
1. Mint
Botanical Name: Mentha
Also popular as Pudina in India, this fragrant, tender herb is known for its cooling effects. You can use mint in food and beverages in both dried and fresh forms. This herb also has several health benefits. Learn growing mint in water indoors.
2. Lemongrass
Botanical Name: Cymbopogon citratus
The lemon-scented leaves of this herb offer many health benefits. They are used to flavor food items and make herbal teas. The herb is also used in cosmetics, soaps, and deodorants.
3. Dill
Botanical Name: Anethum graveolens
This renowned Indian herb produces green frond-like leaves and spreads a licorice-like aroma. It is used both as a spice and an herb. The fresh leaves can be used to make salads, sauces, seafood, and meat dishes.
4. Holy Basil
Botanical Name: Ocimum tenuiflorum
This popular Indian herb has several medicinal properties and culinary uses. The serrated-edged green leaves have an anise-like fragrance and peppery flavor. It is used in stir-fry dishes, soups, salads, and beverages.
5. Cilantro
Botanical Name: Coriandrum sativum
Indian herb garden is incomplete without cilantro or coriander. This aromatic herb boosts the taste and improves the appearance of cuisines in Mexico, India, and South-East Asia. Learn how to grow cilantro in pots here.
6. Fennel
Botanical Name: Foeniculum vulgare
Fennel is admired for its scented, sweet, dill-like leaves, seeds, and bulbs. Indians are fond of this herb and use it in a variety of dishes and herbal teas. Sow fennel seeds in the ground or large pot in multi-purpose compost from mid-spring.
7. Fenugreek
Botanical Name: Trigonella foenum-graecum
This legume can be grown as a sprout and added to salads and sandwiches; seeds germinate in 3-6 days. Fenugreek is cultivated in India; the small hard seeds are used to flavor dishes and pickles. It is quite nutritious and used in weight loss and diabetes control.
8. Curry Leaves
Botanical Name: Murraya koenigii
If you live in zone 10 or above, curry leaves can be grown in your Indian herb garden. The fragrant leaves give a sweet, pungent flavor. You can fry or toast it and add the leaves to curries.
9. Betel
Botanical Name: Piper betel
Betel, or ‘Paan,’ is a very famous Indian herb that you can also grow in your herb garden. You can chew its leaves with betel nuts as a mouth freshener. Follow this post to grow betel leaf.
10. Carom
Botanical Name: Trachyspermum ammi
Also known as Bishop’s weed, this herb has a strong, pungent smell and taste. The round green leaves contain thymol, an essential oil that gives it a strong flavor. This effective appetizer is used to flavor dishes, soups, and curries.
Note: Grow carom from seeds or cutting in loamy, compost-rich soil in partial sun, and regularly water the plant.