30/05/2024
“Jesus loves you."
I span around, wondering if I had been teleported to Sunday mass by a space-time mishap. The captivating aromas of cinnamon and turmeric around me reminded me that I was still at my station at Parkway Parade. I bit my tongue and decided to play nice.
“It’s mutual”, I replied.
Okay fine, I really could not help it. However, this young woman did not give up. She went on about spiritual healing and medical miracles and just as I was about to make a point, she said Jesus talks about mustard seeds.
Wait a minute, surely she was making stuff up now, if she hadn’t already. Why would Jesus mention mustard seed of all spices, something which was a mainstay in mostly Indian cooking?
Out of curiosity I looked it up, and true to testament, I had my mind BLOWN.
Mustard Seed
கடுகு
Biji Sawi
芥菜籽
“𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑎𝑑 𝑓𝑎𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑑, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑎𝑦 𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑏𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑦 𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑒, “𝐵𝑒 𝑢𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑒𝑎, 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑜𝑏𝑒𝑦 𝑦𝑜𝑢” (𝐿𝑢𝑘𝑒 17:6)
Mustard seeds come in primarily three different colours – yellow, brown and black (SG??) and they are really tiny. With the exception of Jesus himself, we could all probably fit a few thousands of these into our palms. To produce just 100g of yellow mustard (condiment) you will need just over 2000 of these seeds.
So wait, size is not everything right? (Right??) However, mustard seeds also fall short in the looks department, perhaps hanging amongst the envious onlookers like Candlenut and Ajwain in spice pageants. In its rawest form, they smell like a boatload of... nothing. Now take a bite into these raw seeds and they will repay you by engulfing your mouth with an overwhelming bitterness you will never forget.
Enough of the slander gentlemen, it is time for its redemption arc in the kitchen.
Black mustard seeds are the bread and butter of Indian cooking. Play any Bollywood song at top volume – (Thaiya Thaiya because Chinese folks love it.) Heat a pan to medium-high. Pour a tablespoon of mustard seeds in and wait patiently. A couple of minutes in, these converted party animals are going to vibe HARD on the pan. Take a whiff and be invited to the nuttiest aromas characteristic to Indian cuisine. Dancing spices smelling great? Shah Rukh Khan also lose lah.
It gets even better. Mustard seeds have very high oil content, which explains how any kind of remote pressure or excitement sends it to a frenzy like Man U fans (so many recently!) or simply exploding with flavour. Pair it with fenugreek seeds to infuse your fish curries with a warm, piquant finish. Watch it cling on to the strands as you stir-fry cabbage with turmeric powder. Add it to Achar along with vinegar and salt for a punchier tang. Crush yellow mustard seeds with all your might in a mortar, and process them with water, salt, vinegar and flour for a healthy homemade mustard.
While Jesus was immensely influential, he could not share his secrets of his long, flowing hair in time with us mere mortals. To our rescue comes mustard oil. Here are some tips, verified by myself, who has had a fair share of hair loss woes. There are tons of ways to use these, but these are my personal favourites.
1) Moisturiser : Mix 1 tbsp of mustard oil with 2 tbsp of yoghurt. Apply on hair thoroughly and leave it on for an hour before washing it off. Do it weekly.
2) Hair Loss : Mix 1 tsp of mustard oil with 2 tsp of fresh aloe vera. Apply thoroughly and leave it on for an hour before washing off. Do it weekly.
3) Quick Fix : Gently massage a tiny bit of oil onto your scalp before leaving it for an hour. Wash as per normal.
Mustard oil can be quite irritating to certain sensitive skin or scalp types, so use with caution. It is also much thicker than other oils like coconut or olive and it can take several rounds of washing to rinse it off. Personally, acquainted with a healthy balanced diet, mustard oil worked a gem on me after months of consistent usage.
Jeya Spices has both mustard oil and mustard seeds at very reasonable prices, and as I always reiterate, do not get bamboozled by exorbitant prices elsewhere. They are gimmicks by big players to force your hand.
All you need in me is faith the size of a mustard seed.
-Spiceman
