Coriander
Round, ridged and gently citrus-sweet. Dhaniya seed is in every Indian masala dabba, and the fresh green leaves go on top of almost every dish — two flavours from one plant.
- Settles Pitta
- Settles Vata
- Settles Kapha
How Ayurveda reads coriander
- Rasa · taste
- Astringent, bitter, sweet, pungent (kaṣāya, tikta, madhura, kaṭu)
- Guṇa · nature
- Light, unctuous (laghu, snigdha)
- Vīrya · potency
- Heating, mildly (uṣṇa)
- Vipāka · after digestion
- Sweet (madhura)
- Part used
- Seed (fruit)
Reviewed by the Vapika team.
In the tradition
The texts describe both the dried seed (dhānyaka) and the fresh green plant (ārdra dhānyaka), and they read them a little differently — the fresh leaf is more cooling.
Coriander-seed water — the seeds soaked overnight, or simmered and cooled — is an old summer drink across India.
How Ayurveda reads it
Dhaniya seed is astringent, bitter, sweet and a little pungent, light and unctuous, with a sweet after-digestion effect. The texts give its potency as mildly heating, though in practice it is treated as one of the gentlest, most cooling of the kitchen seeds. It is described as balancing all three doshas, and as especially kind to Pitta.
It is classed as dīpana and pācana.
In the Indian kitchen
Ground coriander is the base of most North Indian masalas, with cumin and turmeric. Whole seeds go into pickles and garam masala; roasted seeds coated in sugar (dhana dal) are an after-meal mouth freshener in Gujarat.
How we use it
We use whole and crushed coriander seed in our churnas and summer teas, for its soft, citrus warmth.
From the texts: Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu, Harītakyādi varga; Caraka Saṃhitā, Sūtrasthāna 27 (among the harita).
For learning, not diagnosis. If you are pregnant, nursing or on medication, please speak to your doctor first.