Category: India

28 states, 8 union territories, 22 languages. And what do you typically get served as Indian cuisine in restaurants outside of India? Punjabi food and sometimes South Indian food. Just think what all there is that you hardly find! Imagine you’re outside of Europe and the only thing you get is Italian food and off and on “North European” food… Ok, in a way that’s actually also almost the case, you hardly find anything but Pizza and Pasta, but isn’t that sad?

The Indian cuisine is incredibly versatile, not just thick, creamy curries and off and on a dosa. Not that that’s not tasty, but it just is such a small part from many many different cuisines on that sub-continent. There’s the street food of Mumbai, amazing vegetarian thali’s from Gujarat and Rajastan, Hyderabadi Biryani, the Malvani cuisine from the Konkan coast in Maharashtra and Goa (great seafood), the cuisine of Kerala bursting with coconut, Kashmiri rogan josh, dal makhani from New Delhi or chhole bhature from Punjab. And so much more, a lot of things that I have never heard of and hope to come across during my time in India.

Basics of Indian cooking

The following section is supposed to provide a general understanding about Indian cooking and elements of the cuisine.

Curry vs. curry vs. curry

Maybe you’re aware of it, but for people that are not so familiar with Indian food this can be confusing. There are curry leaves, curries and the curry powder that you get in Europe. Here a short overview about curry.

Curries

A curry is a gravyish dish. It can, but does not have to, contain curry leaves.

Curry powder

The curry powder you may know from general stores in Europe and the US and plenty of recipes, is actually a masala.

Curry leaves

Curry leaves are a herb. The leaves come from the curry plant (or tree) – murraya koenigii. It has a smoky aroma and is best used fresh. It looses its smell and taste quite fast. Bought from a store, the best option would be if the sprigs are still attached to a bit of branch. A sprig of curry leaves contains around 12 leaves.

If fresh leaves are not available, see if you find frozen leaves. While not being as aromatic as the fresh ones, they still retain the actual flavor that will be released when cooking. I would avoid using dried curry leaves, they are really not that flavourful. If you don’t find anything else, then they will work a bit in a dal. But nothing compared to fresh or frozen.

If you have too many fresh leaves that you’ll not use within I’d say a week, freeze them in a plastic bag.

A different “curry plant” – Helichrysum italicum

In Europe, to make it less confusing, there is another plant sold under the name curry plant. Its actual name is Italian strawflower – helichrysum italicum. The Italian strawflower has nothing to do with Indian cooking, it simply has the name curry plant because of its smell like curry powder.
Image source: Wikipedia, Ericsteinert, CC BY-SA 3.0

Masalas

A masala is a mix of ground, dry spices and essential for the majority of the Indian cuisine.

Garam Masala

Garam means hot, and it is the most famous masala, used amongst various Indian cuisines. It contains several ground spices, in different variations. But there are a few spices that make up the characteristic flavour and are key to a good Garam Masala:

• black pepper
• cinnamon
• clove
• cumin
• black cardamon
• green cardamom

Optional are:

• fennel seeds
• nutmeg
• mace
• bay leaf
• star anise
• coriander seeds

If you buy Garam Masala outside of India, make sure to get an authentic one, that does not contain things like garlic powder (sold by a famous German cook). While I said that there are lots of variations, such ingredients I have never seen in any Garam Masala recipe from India.

The spice box

In India it is common to have spice boxes for your most commonly used spices. So what is in them, depends on where you’re from and what you cook regularly. I have two spice boxes, one for whole spices and one for ground spices.

Whole spices in a spice box

1. Cloves
2. Green Cardamom
3. Black Pepper
4. Star Anise
5. Black Cardamom
6. Cinnamon

Ground spices in a spice box

1. Kashmiri Chili Powder
2. Mango Powder
3. Coriander Powder
4. Mustard Seeds
5. Cumin Seeds
6. Cumin Powder
7. Turmeric Powder

Garam Masala is also an essential common spice, but I’ve got that in a seperate container.
If you don’t cook Indian food on a regular basis, but off and on, I recommend the following spices for your spice box:

• garam masala
• turmeric
• red chili powder
• ground cumin
• ground coriander
• mustard seeds (brown)
• cumin seeds

Baghar, tadka or tempering

This is an essential step in Indian cooking, basically it is frying up spices in oil. For dals, it is typically added after the cooking process, while with bhaji (vegetables) or meat you first prepare the tempering and then add the other ingredients to the same pan.

The words are simply coming from different regions. Tadka, for example, is the term used in Punjab. So a tadka also commonly contains tomato and onion, as this is typical for Punjabi food. In south India you typically find curry leaves in a baghar.

Dal and pulses

Since the majority of Indians is vegetarian, dal (lentils) and pulses are a very important source of protein. 100g of dried lentils contain 24g of protein, that’s more than the amount of protein in beef (20g per 100g).

The diversity of dals and pulses in India is tremendous. Amongst the most popular are:

• moong dal (green gram)
• urad dal (black gram)
• toor dal (pigeon peas)
• masoor dal (red lentils)
• chana dal (chickpeas)
• rajma (kidney) beans

Bread

Apart from rice, bread is the staple carb in India. The typical form is flat bread in a large variety of used flour and preparation methods. They are baked either on a tawa (a flat, rimless pan) or in a tandoor. A traditional tandoor is a hollow pot made of clay with a wooden or coal fire on the bottom. Breads are stuck to the sides of the oven to bake. Apart from bread, meat such as tandoori chicken, is also made in a tandoor.
Image source:  Wikipedia, Challiyan, CC BY-SA 3.0

Recipes