I’m Indian, although I was born in the US. My family has been using it since I was born, and we mainly put it in Indian curry dishes, and we fry it for a few seconds and oil with the rest of the spices. It’s not supposed to have a taste or odor if you just use half a teaspoon or a full teaspoon for a huge quantity of lentils, or something else like chickpeas.

We put it in all are Indian cooked food, but just half teaspoon or so. Unless you use too much of it, it’s not supposed to have much of an odor or taste. Be careful by the way, it stains very heavily so you don’t want it anywhere near white clothes!

I think people go overboard you don’t need to use more than a teaspoon or two throughout the day which you can put in various dishes like eggs or something else. Or even half a teaspoon every day will work if you use it consistently over the years.

I think new fads come and go and People go a bit overboard. But I can vouch for the fact that it has medicinal properties and has been a basic part of Indian cooking for centuries.