Cinnamon is probably the favourite spice of many people all over the world: Its sweet note with an undercurrent of spiciness and its warm, aromatic fragrance has made it an instant favourite in kitchens and coffee bars, with chewing gum manufacturers, mouth-freshener brands and patisseries. And, in recent years, cinnamon has crossed the boundaries of the kitchen into the most unlikely of places: spas, hand-made soap stores, perfumeries, boutique candle stores, etc.(...)
Curiously, even though the spice is ubiquitous, the use of cinnamon is very different in the two hemispheres. In the West, you will almost always find it in bakery products, puddings, cakes and spiced sweet beverages like hot chocolate and cappuccinos. In the East, it forms a part of a set of spices that is added to meaty curries but seldom, if ever, to sweets.
China connect
One possible reason for this marked difference in usage of cinnamon is because the spice has a twin brother (or sister, if you prefer). Depending on whom you ask, and where you are from, cinnamon gets mistaken for its twin more often than you'd think. Confused? Let me explain. We are talking about two spices that are so similar that most people have no idea that they are different from each other. One is the thick outer bark of the evergreen tree Cinnamomum cassia. It is what most of us in India get when we ask the spice seller for dalchini. The flavour is sweet but there is an undertone of heat to it that goes superbly well with rich (or 'hot') ingredients, whether sweet or savoury. Thus, spice blends that include this type of cinnamon are usually used to cook red meats like lamb or beef. But here's the thing: it's not cinnamon at all, it's cassia bark.
At one point in history, most of the world's cassia came from China, although today cassia bark is also grown in Indonesia and Vietnam, and in a modest amount in Kerala. In fact, that's why we refer to it as dal-Chini or bark of China! (We often don't realise how origins play a vital role in the naming of a food: The Arab world's reference to tamarind as Lamar-al-Hind or 'dates from India', for instance, has now slipped into common usage without many of us being none the wiser.) True cinnamon is grown only on the island of Sri Lanka. (...)
Though true cinnamon grows nowhere else in the world but Sri Lanka, cassia grows in China, Kerala, Indonesia and Vietnam and each variety is different, depending on the provenance. Vietnamese cassia is slightly less coarse in texture, a bit thinner and has less heat than its Indian counterpart. As a very general rule, cassia is used in eastern cuisines for curries and savouries while cinnamon makes it to the western world which uses it in sweets, baking and in coffee. (...)
While true cinnamon is mostly used in the West to flavour sweets and breads, in countries like India, Mexico, the Middle East and South East-Asia, cassia is absolutely vital in biryani, kormas, rendang curries, pilafs and mole.
Varied flavours
In India, in particular, although cassia is used mostly in conjunction with meats, there are a few examples of it being combined with vegetarian tea-time snacks. Gujarati bhakarwadi, for instance, features a sheet of dough made from wheat-flour layered with a spicy mixture strongly flavoured with cinnamon and cloves, rolled over, cut into slices and deep-fried in ghee. It is available in virtually every snack shop in Gujarat and it is a bit disconcerting to encounter the flavours at first. But then, all that ghee has to be made digestible, and what could be a more expeditious - and tasty - way of doing that, than to add ground cassia and cloves into the mix. Bhakarwadi has found its way to neighbouring Maharashtra as well, especially in Pune where it is available at every corner shop selling savouries.
However, bhakarwadi is the rare exception of a tea- time snack to use aromatic spices. For the most part, cinnamon is used in tandem with cloves and green and/ or black cardamom and pepper in kebabs or main-course preparations that involve meats such as lamb, chicken and beef. In addition, cinnamon is ground into spice mixes such as garam masala, potli masala, even chana masala, wherever a hit of aroma is required. In Indian cuisine, it would be difficult to find cinnamon on its own, without the support of its companions, just as it would be challenging to find only cumin or only coriander in the vast panoply of Indian preparations.
From curries of lamb and beef to buns, breads and pudding, cinnamon seems to appeal to all kinds of palates, but that is only a fraction of what the spice can be used for. My grandmother's favourite remedy for a cold was a warm cup of water with honey, lemon and cinnamon. She even recommended oiling hair every week with a touch of powdered cinnamon and honey added to the oil. But that's not all. Because of its anti-fungal properties, it is used everywhere from room fresheners to spa treatments. Because it promotes the production of collagen, it is used in rejuvenating creams, and in lip-balms for its warm, rich fragrance. Diabetologists often advise patients to consume cinnamon powder first thing in the morning, along with their medicine, since it has properties that lower triglycerides and cholesterol.
(An excerpt from 'The Flavour of Spice', Hachette India)