By: David H.
Submitted: 2009-08-27 00:35:06 | Word Count: 593
Spices are one of the significant cooking ingredients of Indian cuisine. Spices and herbs are also one reason why Indian food is becoming famous to people around the world.
Indian Spices
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Indian spices are heated in the pan with ghee or cooking oil to intensify the flavor before putting in food. Indian spices contain a variety of herbs and spices grown across the Indian subcontinent. There are many basic Indian spices such as cumin seeds, turmeric, coriander seeds, chili powder, mustard seeds and asafetida.
Cumin seeds are commonly used in North India and it can be roasted as well as grounded or fried whole in heated oil. The turmeric is used mostly for its medical properties and the chili powder is also used for its fiery and pungent taste. Coriander seeds are mainly used for its soothing and cooling taste. Mustard seeds are commonly used in western and southern India and for its strong flavor. The asafetida is also a basic Indian spice, used to achieve a sulfuric taste.
Most of the significant spices in Indian cuisine are asafetida coriander, ginger, fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, black mustard seed and chili pepper. Another significant Indian spice is the garam masala that contains more than 5 dried spices, commonly clove, cinnamon and cardamom.
India also has numerous herbs and spices. Indian spices are used in bhuna, curry, haldi, tadka, masala, jeera and tandoori. Bhuna is a process of cooking Indian spices in hot oil. Bhuna is usually used in order to preserve and release the taste of spices. Tadka is also a method used for cooking Indian spices.
Curry is one of the popular foods in India made up of several spices mixed. The common Indian curry is made of coriander, cloves and black pepper as well as red pepper, turmeric, fenugreek and other Indian spices. Masala is an Indian term that means mixture of spices cooked in hot oil. Garam Masala is a popular version of masala, used in making numerous Indian food recipes such as curry. Haldi is also called turmeric and is popular in India and other Asian countries because of its color and aroma.
Indian Cooking Ingredients
Here are a few Indian cooking Ingredients:
Udad daal
Udad daal is a grain of Indian beans used in the preparation of many savory dishes. It is extremely recommended by dietitians and physicians to people who experience high blood pressure. Numerous dishes made with the Udad daal are tomato dal, dahi vada, masala dosa, sunnundalu, nachini, popu, vendakkai pacchadi and 16 bean adai with spinach chutney and tomato pickle.
Pomegranate
The pomegranate is a type of fruit with sour and sweet taste. It is also called Anar in India. This Indian cooking ingredient is like a combination of grapes and oranges. The pomegranate and its juices are fine to use in cocktail drinks, poultry, fish and lamb kabobs, dips as well as salad dressings, meats, sauces and toppings for ice cream.
Basmati Rice
Basmati rice is white and brown rice, popular for its aroma. Basmati rice is also known as basmati chaaval and is cooked in approximately 20 minutes. Basmati rice is commonly used in many Indian recipes and other recipes such as soups, stews, hamburgers, salads, chickens and any kind of seafood.
Jaggery
Jaggery is unrefined sugar similar to brown sugar. Jaggery is also known as Gur in India and commonly used in savory and sweet types of food such as jaggery cake, jaggery toffee, candies, potato mixes and cookies, pies, pudding, rice dishes, breads as well as brownies, jaggery laddoo, jaggery lemonade and so much more.
