Dalchini (cinnamon): true cinnamon vs cassia, and warming ways to use it
Cinnamon warms up chai, biryani and winter desserts, and is often talked about for blood-sugar balance. What most shops in India sell as dalchini is actually cassia, which is fine in cooking but not in large daily doses. Here's how to tell them apart and use each well.
The Ayurvedic view
Tvak, as Ayurveda calls cinnamon bark, is sweet, pungent and warming, kindling digestion, clearing kapha congestion and improving circulation. True cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum, from Sri Lanka and South India) has thin, papery, many-layered quills and a delicate flavour. Cassia (Cinnamomum cassia) has thick, hard, single-layer bark and a stronger taste — and contains much more coumarin, a compound that can harm the liver in large, regular amounts. Studies on cinnamon and blood sugar give mixed results, so it's best enjoyed as a spice, not a treatment.
Ingredients
- A 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick (preferably true cinnamon for daily use)
- Cinnamon–clove tea: 1 cup water, 2 cloves, a slice of ginger, a few tulsi leaves
How to prepare
- Simmer the cinnamon, cloves and ginger in water for 5 minutes, add tulsi at the end, cover and steep for 2 minutes. Strain.
- For cooking, fry whole cinnamon in ghee at the start of pulao, biryani or garam-masala gravies.
How to use
- Drink the spiced tea on cold, damp days or with a stuffy nose, up to once a day.
- Sprinkle a small pinch of ground cinnamon on oats, fruit, dalia or coffee instead of extra sugar.
- Use it as part of garam masala in everyday cooking.
Helpful habits
- Buy ‘Ceylon’ or ‘true’ cinnamon if you use it daily in larger amounts.
- Whole sticks keep their flavour for a year; ground cinnamon fades within months.
Precautions
- Keep cassia to cooking amounts, especially for children and people with liver disease; don't take cinnamon powder by the spoonful.
- Cinnamon supplements may lower blood sugar — people on diabetes medicines should check with their doctor and continue prescribed treatment.
- Avoid medicinal amounts during pregnancy. Cinnamon oil can burn the skin and mouth; never swallow it.
- Some people develop mouth sores or allergy from cinnamon-flavoured gums and sweets.
