Cooking TipsSpices create distinct taste in Indian foods
You can not even imagine Indian foods being prepared without liberal use of spices in them. In fact, use of spices has become synonymous with almost every dish that is served across the glob by the name of food from the subcontinent. It would be great to know about these spices and how they are used for preparation of the cuisines that are so tasty and sensational.
Common spices frequently used for preparing of Indian cuisines are turmeric, coriander seeds, chilli powder, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafetida. Cumin seeds are regularly added while cooking the foods and the spice is mainly used in north Indian dishes. It can be used after roasting it or you can fry it whole in heated oil.
Turmeric is one of the most crucial spices for Indian foods. It gives the distinct yellow color to the food but has medicinal value as well. Most of the cuisines use turmeric for coloring the foods and giving it a taste. Do not expect the cuisines to be prepared without adding chilli powder. This spice is known for its pungent and fiery taste. On the other hand, coriander seeds are for cooling and soothing taste. If you visit western and southern Indian regions, you will find that most of the food preparations have mustard seeds frequently used in them. This seed gives a distinct taste and identity to the foods of these regions. Asafetida also is a basic spice mainly used for its sulfuric taste.
Not only there are plenty of spices, but they are used in many ways while preparing a particular cuisine. Each way of using the spices results in a different taste of the food. So, if you are aware of these processes of adding the spices, you can know the way the food was prepared.
Mostly, the Indian spices are added in the Indian foods through the processes of bhuna, tadka, masala, jeera, Tandoori and haldi. Under the bhuna process, the spices are cooked in hot oil and are used mostly to release the taste of the spice or preserve the taste. Tadka is another method for cooking the spices.
Curry is made of several spices mainly coriander, turmeric, fenugreek and others. Similarly, masala implies that several spices are mixed and then cooked in hot oil. Garam masala also is used in many Indian foods such as curry.
Next day when you order for any cuisines from the subcontinent in an Indian restaurant London, keep in mind these spices and think of the process of cooking them for making the Indian foods stunningly tasty.