Gardening is even more fulfilling when you can enjoy some “fresh from the earth” taste at your dinner table, and you can make any kind of food taste better by adding herbs and spices. They are also an incredible source of antioxidants and improve your metabolism at the same time. So why not grown a herb garden?

Herb-gardening requires a lot of passion but minimal skills. You can create your own herb garden in your backyard, balcony or even your kitchen window sill.

I prefer using similar-looking, bright ceramic or earthen pots. However, to create a fun element, you can also grow them in cups, teapots, old pots and pans and in even wooden boxes for that matter and jump right on to the recycling bandwagon.

Since most Indian households do not cook pizzas, pastas or Thai food on a daily basis, I would like to start with our basic Indian herbs and then move on to the likes of basil and lemongrass.

Coriander, cilantro or dhaniya: This totally depends on which part of the world you are in. Having lived many years in Singapore, I realised the value and taste of the humble coriander or the good old dhaniya patta. Left with no choice, I had to make do with cilantro for our Indian cooking but the chutneys never tasted the same. That’s when my affair with herbs began and I decided to grow them. Believe me, the joy of growing it was immense and you just can’t beat the taste and fragrance of home-grown fresh coriander.

♦ Soak the seeds overnight in warm water.

♦ Take a flat pot or container (I prefer a slightly large container) but you choose the size as per your space.

♦ Fill the container with three-fourth soil.

♦ Sprinkle the seeds on the soil. 

♦ Cover the seeds by sprinkling some soil over them.

♦ Spray water and put in partial sun. 

♦ Give yourself a pat on the back once you see the baby greens appear within a week.

♦ You can harvest anytime after 20 days.

♦ You can either pluck it from the roots or cut from the stem and leave them to grow back.

Ajwain: This is a subtropical herb with its origin in India. It is also known as Bishop’s weed or Carom seed. Both the leaves and seeds are used for cooking. It’s very low on maintenance — you just require a good fertile soil and you are ready to plant. Then follow the procedure as we have done for coriander. It’s a beautiful ornamental plant. It’s thick velvety  foliage works as an excellent centrepiece for your Sunday brunches. 

Add it to your buttermilk, chutneys, chapatti dough, raitas. You can also make ajwain leaf fritters to go with your evening cup of tea as you enjoy the rains.

Mint or pudina: It grows with abandon, so if you’re planning to grow it in your garden bed, be careful. The best way to grow it would be in a container. You could also hang these plants in baskets.

♦ To grow from the cutting, simply put the stem in water to let the root grow and then plant it.

♦ It can tolerate shade but don’t forget to water it.

♦ It is an aggressive plant, so you need not worry about harming it; you can just chop it and make it into something delicious.

♦ Apart from adding it to your salad, chutney or ice tea, you can add pudina to wine, infuse it with honey or oil or make a mint pesto.

♦ It also repels houseflies, so it’s not a bad bet for your kitchen window.

The smell of an oven-baked dark chocolate cake with fresh mint from your garden would surely make your effort worth it.

Curry leaves: The leaves of the plant are called curry leaves or sweet neem leaves. It is native to India and Sri Lanka and is extensively used in our cooking. The leaves are aromatic, and being a native plant, it’s easy to grow even for a beginner.

♦ It is a balcony plant, perfect to grow in a container.

♦ It requires moderate watering and a lot of sunlight. It can be in a partial indoor or fully outdoor setting.

♦ It is a slow grower but a hardy plant. However, you will need to keep changing the pot in proportion to its growth.

♦ Regular plucking of the leaves promotes fresh foliage.

♦ It takes one to two years for the seedling to become established.

♦ Add a few fresh curry leaves to South Indian dishes or your buttermilk and you will love yourself for growing it.

The less adventurous ones may start off by buying the herbs from the local plant shop and experience the pleasure of your home-grown flavours. 

Monika Poddar owns plant boutique Chlorofyl. Reach her on Facebook @ChlorofylKol