Cinnamon anyone?

A cup of coffee at a friend’s place last evening gave me an idea for today’s column: cinnamon…sweet and warm, lovely as a light sprinkle on cappuccino. Cinnamon or dalchini is a delight in confectionery and of course, where would our garam masala and chai masala be without it! With strongly flavoured oil, just a bit of cinnamon is enough to flavour up a pulao. Let it fry a little bit in the oil or ghee along with the other whole spices so the essence permeates into the dish. 

Cinnamon has been known since ancient times and was considered a gift fit for monarchs. Roman kings would use up a year’s supply of cinnamon on the funeral pyre of the beloved. Now the world’s best cuinnamon comes from Sri Lanka. But the plantations at Tellicherry in south India, also give excellent dalchini. The Sinhalese cinnamon stands out from the rest as it is very thin bark with a light yellowish brown colour and a highly fragrant aroma. The harvest is not easy. The first harvest is made after 2-3 years but the best harvest starts once the tree is 4-5 years old. The produce grows steadily till the tree is 10-11 years old. The shoots are cut off regularly so that the best quality of bark can be obtained. The bark is stripped off in longitudinal strips and left to dry. The strips curl up into rolls also known as quills. Cinnamon tree is a rich source of cinnamon oil. But the root bark oil differs from both stem bark and leaf oil. 

The principle use of cinnamon (be it honey or sweet variety) is as a spice. Be it a hot chocolate drink in Mexico or a traditional apple pie in America, cinnamon lends its warmth quite generously. Middle Eastern cuisine will also use it in lamb and chicken dishes. Persians will use the powder of cinnamon in a variety of thick soups, drinks and sweets. 

What has been confusing some of us is the difference between cassia and cinnamon. Cassia is from the same family (grows the most in Burma) and is more strongly flavoured than cinnamon. If you are flavouring savoury dishes then reach out for cassia otherwise cinnamon is the best for sweets. And cassia quills and cinnamon quills might look a little similar, just the way cassia leaves look so much like bayleaves. So just in case you would be thinking that your bay leaf is not so right, it could be a cassia! When it comes to cassia and cinnamon sticks, true cinnamon quills will be curled in a telescopic way, whereas cassia quills curl inward from both sides, more like a scroll.

Whatever may be that you are using, store the quills in an air tight jar in a cool dark cupboard. If you have ground cinnamon, know that it becomes stale very quickly, losing flavour and aroma. 

So what’s my cinnamon? I would use it in Alyona’s favourite prawn and brown rice pulao, I would finish dinner with a poached cinnamon apple or this Diwali, maybe make a batch of cinnamon sugar cookies! It’s nice to be different!