Nutmeg
The warm, sweet seed of a tropical tree, always used in a grating or a pinch. A trace of jaiphal is what makes haldi doodh and kheer smell like home.
- Settles Kapha
- Settles Vata
- Can raise Pitta
How Ayurveda reads nutmeg
- Rasa · taste
- Pungent, bitter (kaṭu, tikta)
- Guṇa · nature
- Light, sharp, unctuous (laghu, tīkṣṇa, snigdha)
- Vīrya · potency
- Heating (uṣṇa)
- Vipāka · after digestion
- Pungent (kaṭu)
- Part used
- Seed (kernel)
Reviewed by the Vapika team.
In the tradition
Nutmeg came to India from the Banda islands by sea, and grows today in Kerala, often in the same gardens as cloves and pepper. The same fruit gives mace, javitri, the red lace around the seed. The texts list jātīphala among the aromatic substances, beside camphor and clove.
Folk use gives a tiny rub of jaiphal on a stone, in milk, to settle a child at night. It is always a tiny amount.
How Ayurveda reads it
Nutmeg is pungent and bitter, light, sharp and unctuous, and heating. It is described as settling Kapha and Vata.
In the Indian kitchen
A grating in kheer, sevaiyan and halwa; in garam masala for Mughlai and Lucknowi dishes; and in haldi doodh. Mace goes into biryani and korma.
How we use it
We use a trace of ground nutmeg in our Lakadong Haldi Doodh Mix. It is the smallest ingredient in the pack, by design.
Nutmeg in our blends
From the texts: Bhāvaprakāśa Nighaṇṭu, Karpūrādi varga (jātīphala).
For learning, not diagnosis. If you are pregnant, nursing or on medication, please speak to your doctor first.