Ocimum santum is an ancient aromatic herb with Sanskrit name , thulasi, that may even be of aboriginal origin. The small shrub with ash green leaves is sacred to Vishnu and is grown on a square brick pedestal-urn in almost every hindu courtyard and worshipped daily. decoctions of the leaves are used against common colds and skin complaints.

The astringent barks of trees like the kapittha, mesasshringi and kadamba were employed historically to flavour wines and distilled liruors. cinnamon and cassia barks constitute condiments.

Drawing, without doubt, on ayruvedic practice, kautilya in his artshastra recommends that ‘ a gentlemen meal’ should consists of one prastha of pure unbroken rice, one fourth quantity of pulses, one-sixth of a prastha of ghee or oil and one sixth-fourth of a prastha of salt. For everyday consumption, sushrutha recommended the shali ( winter) rice, shastika, barley, mung, venison, butter, amla, rock salt, honey, and rainwater, these food were considered least likely to upset the equilibrium of the body doshas.

Derived from the Sanskrit word bagharna, this cooking operation connotes the intial shallow frying in fat of spieces or flavourants, not usually together, but one after the other. Sometimes baghar is performed separately and poured hot over the finished dish, say, of dal.

Ceremony at which a child about a six month old is given a first solid food on an auspicious day. This food is taken in the form of a paramanna of boiled rice, milk, sugar and honey, a little of which was gently placed in the childs mouth. In an early Vedic times some flesh was also included and the Grhya sutras were in the opinion that the kind of meat is given to child would influence the child’s nature. ram’s meat  would confer physical strength , partridge meat saintliness , fish a gentle disposition , and rice and ghee glory.

Saunf , pinepinella anisum is native to Mediterranean region, but is now cultivated in northen and eastern india, perhaps since muslim times. The slender green aromatic seeds are often served after meal as a mouth freshener and digestive and are a component of panchphoron , the five spice mixture of Bengal. the French traveller francois bernier ( C.AD 1665 ) mentions carrying sweet biscuits flavoured with aniseed during his travel in India.