दालचीनी

Vapika herb library · No. 03 Cinnamomum verum J.Presl (syn. Cinnamomum zeylanicum) Family Lauraceae · Inner bark

Cinnamon bark

Cinnamon

दालचीनी ਦਾਲਚੀਨੀ Sanskrit: त्वक् (Tvak), दारुसिता (Dārusitā)

Curled quills of inner bark, sweet and warming. Dalchini is the spice that makes a kahwa smell like a kahwa, and one of the oldest traded spices of the Indian Ocean.

Settles Vata
Settles Kapha
Can raise Pitta

Dravyaguṇa · its qualities

How Ayurveda reads cinnamon

Rasa · taste: Pungent, bitter, sweet (kaṭu, tikta, madhura)
Guṇa · nature: Light, dry, sharp (laghu, rūkṣa, tīkṣṇa)
Vīrya · potency: Heating (uṣṇa)
Vipāka · after digestion: Pungent (kaṭu)
Part used: Inner bark

Reviewed by the Vapika team.

In the tradition

In the texts cinnamon is tvak, which simply means "bark". With cardamom and tejpatta (Indian bay leaf) it makes trijātaka, "the three aromatics"; add nāgakeśara and it becomes caturjātaka. These groups appear again and again in classical recipes, often to make a formulation pleasant to take.

How Ayurveda reads it

Dalchini is pungent, bitter and sweet, light, dry and sharp, and heating. It is described as settling Kapha and Vata and able to raise Pitta.

Its sweetness is what sets it apart from the other heating spices: it warms without the bite of pepper or dry ginger.

In the Indian kitchen

A stick of dalchini goes into the oil first for pulao and biryani, and into whole garam masala. In Kashmir it is simmered with green tea, cardamom, saffron and almonds for kahwa.

How we use it

We use cinnamon bark, broken or ground, in our kahwas and chai blends.

Go gently if you run hot — dalchini is warming. Cassia, the bark most often sold as cinnamon, is high in coumarin and best kept to the small amounts used in food. Pregnant, or on medication? Ask your doctor first.