DALCHINI

Spikeward and saffron, calamus and

cinnamon . . .

Awake, a north wind, and come thou south;

come blow upon my garden,

that the spices thereof may flow out.

~ Song of Solomon, the Old Testament

Ayurveda uses a combination of three aromatics—Indian cassia lignia, cardamom, and cinnamon—to disguise the taste of medicines. But these three aromatics occur as much in Indian cuisine as they do in Indian medicine, and mixed with hot water and honey provide the basis of the hot drink so popular with British colonials, who added rum and lemon find to create their beloved Anglo-Indian “punch.”

On its own, cinnamon, the dried inner bark of the tree is used to add fragrance to such simple village fare as a dish of rice and lentils, and to the elaborate dishes of aristocratic cuisine. It appears in the sweets offered in ritual ceremonies to the gods. Ground cinnamon is used in coastal India to flavor fish, especially when cooking freshwater carp, while in northern India it is often used to lend aroma and color in the making of cottage cheese.

Although all parts of the cinnamon tree are aromatic, Ayurvedic medicines are made only from the cinnamon bark. The oil pressed from this bark is very similar to clove oil, providing an effective liniment which is used for headaches,

rheumatic pains, early morning stiffness, and the body aches which result from winter cold or the rainy season. Like clove oil it is useful for toothaches and painful gums.

The cinnamon bark, so often found in Indian food and used in the three aromatics that flavor medicinal drafts, is also administered by Ayurvedic doctors for anorexia, bladder disorders, and as a tonic for the heart. It’s most common use is as an expectorant and decongestant, and throughout eastern India, where the monsoon rains are particularly heavy and often lead to influent alike infections, cinnamon bark is boiled in water and inhaled as a vapor for coughs, colds, and sore throats.

Excerpted from The Garden of Life by Naveen Patnaik.

Illustration: Photograph of a Cinnamon tree.