Garlic

lasan · rosun

Sharp raw, sweet cooked — the base's second half.

What it is

Garlic is the pungent bulb of cloves used, almost always alongside ginger, to build the savoury base of a dish. Raw it is sharp and hot; cooked in oil it mellows, sweetens and deepens, losing its bite and lending roundness.

Where it comes from

Grown and used across the whole subcontinent and beyond. Its constant partnership with ginger — ground together into a paste — is one of the region's defining flavour foundations.

What it's called

Garlic · lasan (Hindi) · rosun (Bengali). Ground with ginger it becomes ginger-garlic paste.

In the kitchen

Crushed or paste, it goes into the base early to cook out its rawness; used raw it sharpens chutneys and pickles. It is rarely a solo act — ginger is its near-constant companion. As with onion, some Jain and temple cooking leaves it out entirely.

What we know about the claims

Garlic carries a long folk-reputation for heart and immune benefit, with some preliminary study behind it; in cooking amounts it is a flavour, so read the health talk lightly. An everyday food.

Choosing and buying

Everywhere. Choose firm heads with tight, papery skins; pre-peeled and jarred paste are common conveniences.