Oh! The Things We’ve Seen

Guess the Mystery Ingredient?

LFC Ahmedabad | November 2025

How many of these dried ingredients can you identify? Photo by Kanupriya.
Members trace a curious winter ingredient back to Kashmir, unlocking its many culinary and medicinal stories along the way.

Kanupriya: Can anyone identify what is the 1st item on the top right? 

Akash: It is fried fryums? 

Hiral: Is it Ganthoda (piparmul)?

Bhavna: Google shows its Kashmiri garlic. 

Hiral: Oh yes that’s Kashmiri garlic!! One-pod garlic.

Kashmiri one-pod garlic is a single-clove variety prized for its intense flavour and use in traditional health remedies. Photo by Kanupriya.

Himani: Ganthoda is on the bottom right, below dried singhada, in the first picture.

Hiral: Yes, that! 

Kanupriya: Ohh I wonder how Kashmiri garlic finds a place in old city markets. But I checked too—it is dried garlic pods. 

Hiral:That’s the original one! We have one-pod garlic everyday, early in the morning!

Kanupriya: Not sure what this is used for. Wondering if it has medicinal use.

Hiral: It is used especially in winter! Can be used in winter sweets like Adadiya Pak and Kaatlu. Good for overall health overall, but best for respiratory issues and for the digestive system, as per my knowledge.

Kanupriya: Ah thanks. Good to know!

Explore

To learn more about diverse vegetables and other indigenous ingredients across India, visit our Know Your Desi Ingredients (KYDI) archive. 

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