Nuts
White Poppy Seed
A tier
White poppy seed is the cream-coloured form preferred in many Indian kitchen pastes—khas khas—for thickening kormas and sweets with mild nutty flavour and less visual flecking than blue seed. Soak and grind for smooth gravies. White seed also appears in some Middle Eastern pastries. Freshness matters equally; bitterness signals age or poor storage.
Track this ingredient
Unit
Characteristics
Preparations
Grind SoakedKorma PasteSweetThickener
Traits
Cream SeedIndian Paste UseMildMild NuttyNuttyPasteThickenerWhite
History
IN
Indian cookery used white poppy seed as a thickener and aromatic.
IN
Khas khas was a standard wet-market spice staple.
Diaspora Indian groceries stocked white poppy seed globally.
Western chefs discovered white poppy for pale sauces.