The Pantry / Mustard seed
Mustard seed
Brassica · rai · shorshe
A seed with two tempers — nutty in the pan, fierce in the paste.
What it is
Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of the mustard plant, in black, brown and yellow types. They have a curious double nature: popped whole in hot oil they turn nutty and mild, but ground with water they release a sharp, sinus-clearing pungency — the same chemistry behind the fierceness of Bengali mustard cooking.
Where it comes from
Mustard is grown and used across the subcontinent, but the seed and its oil are the very signature of the River Delta, where mustard-paste fish dishes and the tempering of dals and vegetables define the daily table. In the south the same seed is popped for tempering.
What it's called
Mustard seed · rai / sarson (Hindi) · shorshe (Bengali). Various species of Brassica.
In the kitchen
Two techniques, two results: whole seeds spluttered in hot oil to start a tempering (nutty, gentle), or seeds ground to a paste with a little water and chilli for the pungent mustard sauces of Bengal. It is also one of the five seeds of panch phoron. Grind just before use — the pungency fades.
What we know about the claims
Mustard seeds bring some minerals and the compounds behind their heat; used as a seasoning, they are a flavour rather than a health input. No real caution in culinary amounts.
Choosing and buying
Black and yellow seeds are in every South Asian grocer and most supermarkets (UK and US). Keep a jar whole; grind fresh for paste.