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10 Things You Need To Know About Indian Spices And Curry!
Indian curry is over 5,000 years old and the term 'curry' whichis an English word is derived from the South Indian Tamil word'kaikaari' or its shortened version 'kari'meaning vegetablescooked in spices.Basically curry is a gravy dish or a stew likedish with spices and seasonings and flavoured with hot and sourtastes.Today ,curry has become the symbolic British word forIndian dishes that could be eaten with rice or rotis.
Authentic Indian curry,one of the world's fasted growing ethnicfood trends, combines flavours,textures and pungency which areunique. Each region of India has its own distinctive style ofseasoning while preparing a curry and a common factor in all theregional styles of cooking curry is marination and slow cookingwhich ensures the flavor and color of herbs and spices to meat,fish, poultry, and vegetables.
1. Spices : are derived from plants and are aromatic driedbark, roots, buds, seeds, berries or fruits. When spices areheated the aroma and flavour is released. Its advisable not tostore spices in glass jars as they will lose their aroma andpotency before the expiry date. Store in air tightcontainers. 2. Curry : the authentic indian curry oftencombines the following spices, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek,cloves, ginger, red and black pepper as well as other spices.One of the popular spice blends used in Indian curries is called"Garam Masala". 3. Bhuna : bhuna is a Hindi term forcooking the various spices (Masala) in hot oil to release thenatural oils and flavours of the spices and remove the rawtaste.It literally means 'fry in oil' and most important processin cooking a perfect Indian curry. 4. Tadka/Bargar : bargaris a Hindi term for the process of frying whole spices is and isa technique used for the same reasons as Bhuna, to cook out theraw taste from the spices. The oil used should be hot and thespices added whole.It is important to take care to not burn thespices. The spices are cooked the moment they colour and startto float do not let them blacken. This process can be very quickespecially with the small spices like cumin seeds and mustardseeds. 5. Masala : means mixture of spices sauteed in oilor ghee. Perhaps the most famous and varied is Garam masala, amajor spice blend of Indian cookery where each home has its ownspice blends. It is often added towards the end of the recipe,almost like a garnish. 6. Curry Powder : is made with manyspice blends. Quite a few dishes in western countries likeAmerica and U.K call for
curry powder which basically consistsof turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard seeds, fivespice powder (cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, bay leaf andcumin), with red chili powder.You can mix your own curry powderaccording to your tastes or buy it ready made at your grocerystore.The use of curry powder is minimal in India and most areunaware of curry powder. 7. Turmeric : called 'haldi' inHindi is a deep yellow powder obtained from grinding a driedplant root.Its known for its colour and earthy flavour in manyIndian and Asian dishes.Turmeric has anti-oxidant properties andis widely known for its digestive properties and to fightagainst leukemia. 8. Cumin : called 'jeera' in Hindi is aspice with a huge variety of culinary uses. It's a veryimportant element in Indian and ayurvedic cooking.Indian curriesand dry vegetables are mostly flavored with whole cumin seeds.Cumin is considered to have digestive properties and is alsoconsidered to have cooling properties. 9. Tandoori :describes a style of food unique to the north Indian state ofPunjab. A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in northernIndia and Pakistan in which food is cooked over a hot charcoalfire. Temperatures in a tandoor can approach 480°C (900°F). Itis not uncommon for tandoor ovens to remain lit for long periodsof time to maintain the high cooking temperature. Tandoorichicken is marinated before cooking and despite an intense dryheat, the oven produces succulent moist meat with the famous redspicy seasoning on the outside. 10. Authentic Indiancooking : calls for the use of a number spices, many in smallquantities as per the recipe requirement and added at particularintervals throughout the recipe, rather than in one go as apaste or curry powder.This process is difficult andtime-consuming art to master in today's 'time-poor'lifestyleTandoori describes a style of food unique to the northIndian state of Punjab.
Much of making curry is knowing what spices blend well andexperimenting. After you've made a couple of different curries,it's hard to go wrong, Get some good fresh spices and a coffeegrinder, dry roast the spices and grind them to make your owncurries. There is no substitute for this authentic way of makinga typical Indian curry.
About the author:
Sailaja Gudivada is a herbalist,an avid foodie and anenthusiastic cook.She highlights Indian recipes, ayurvediccooking and nutritive value of herbs & spices of India from herkitchen at http://indiacuisine.blogspot.com
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