Kaempferia galanga

Kaempferia galanga L., Sp. Pl. 3 1753. (Syn: Alpinia sessilis J.König; Kaempferia galanga var. latifolia (Donn ex Hornem.) Donn; Kaempferia humilis Salisb.; Kaempferia latifolia Donn ex Hornem.; Kaempferia plantaginifolia Salisb.; Kaempferia procumbens Noronha; Kaempferia rotunda Blanco [Illegitimate]);

Common name: Aromatic Ginger, Resurrection lily, Lesser galangal, Sand ginger • Hindi: चँद्रमूला Chandramula, Sidhoul • Marathi: कचरी Kachri, कपूर कचरी Kapur kachri • Tamil: கசோலம் Kacholum, Pulankilanku • Malayalam: Kachhuram, Katjulam • Kannada: Kachchura, Kachhoora • Bengali: ekangi, bhui champa • Assamese: চংদ্ৰমূলা Chandramula • Sanskrit: चँद्रमूलिका Chandramoolika, corakah, karcurah, Sathi, Sati, सुगंधमूला Sugandhamula

Kaempferia galanga, commonly known as kencur, aromatic ginger, sand ginger, cutcherry or resurrection lily, is a monocotyledonous plant in the ginger family, and one of four plants called galangal.

It is found primarily in open areas in Indonesia, southern China, Taiwan, Cambodia and India, but is also widely cultivated throughout Southeast Asia.

The plant is used as a herb in cooking in Indonesia, where it is called kencur, and especially in Javanese cuisine and Balinese cuisine. Beras kencur, which combines dried K. galanga powder with rice flour, is a particularly popular jamu herbal drink used to treat rheumatism and abdominal pain.^[1] Its leaves are also used in the Malay rice dish, nasi ulam.

Unlike the similar Boesenbergia rotunda (Thai กระชาย krachai), K. galanga is not commonly used in Thai cuisine, but can be bought as a dried rhizome or in powder form at herbal medicine stalls. It is known in Thai as proh horm (เปราะหอม) or waan horm (ว่านหอม). It is also used in Chinese cooking and Chinese medicine, and is sold in Chinese groceries under the name sha jiang (Chinese: 沙姜; pinyin: shajiang),^[2] while the plant itself is referred to as shan nai (Chinese: 山柰; pinyin: shannai).^[3] Kaempferia galanga has a peppery camphorous taste.^[2]

K. galanga is differentiated from other galangals by the absence of stem and dark brown, rounded rhizomes, while the other varieties all have stems and pale rosebrown rhizomes.^{[citation needed]} It is also sometimes called Lesser galangal, which properly refers to Alpinia officinarum. K. galanga is also erroneously called zedoary.^{[citation needed]}

(From Wikipedia on 30.8.13)