The traditional Indian spice box is the biggest secret to every delicious, mouth-watering, finger licking Indian food and the very old philosophy, the way to man´s heart is through his stomach still stands true; because its not just the spices, used to add a flavour to the food but more theoretically they help attain physical and emotional balance.
Cooking, no doubt is an art, and with box full of spices, it could be scary for some to prepare an Indian meal. That is one reason why many people avoid stepping into the kitchen. But by my experience I would say, it´s no rocket science, you just need to understand the flavours, purpose of each spice and then experiment with few recipes and the more you experiment the better you get with time.
Before sharing any Indian recipes, I would love to share the secrets and the most important ingredients used in every Indian household to make food not just tasty and delicious but also nutritious, is nothing but the `Spices´!
Now, you all may know for a fact that, Indian spice are not only to add flavour and aroma to the food, but they are more purposefully used to add nutritive value to the food. Indian cuisine is one of the very, that offers a wide palette of spices with vivid taste and aroma. All these spices are used either in its original form or in its grounded form depending on the type of dishes and from where it originates. As India with an array of spices, also have a comprehensive menu card which differs from North to South and East to West. There are chances that you observe a use of certain spice in South Indian more immensely than in North and vice versa.
Most common spices that we are talking about today, are mostly grounded. Some Indian spices are complex mixture of different spices, roasted and grinded either with traditional mortar and pestle or in modern grinder and blenders.
So, here we are to talk about most common and diurnally used spices, found in typical Indian spice box. If out of curiosity, you want to know how an Indian spice box looks like:
Here, I will try to cover the most commonly used spices in day-to-day cooking.
Turmeric
Indian name: Haldi
Turmeric powder is the most commonly used spice in the Indian food preparation. This gives the food its intimidating color and presence. It´s use is not just restricted to the kitchen, but in India it is also used in auspicious ceremonies and wisely during the marriage as in a ritual, where a turmeric paste is applied to the bride, to encourage a natural glow. That is not all to this multi-purpose spice; turmeric is gaining more and more popularity with its revealing health benefits. More on turmeric that you must know.
Mustard seeds
Indian name: Rai
Usually black in color and very tiny in size. These seeds are the best way to add smoky, earthy flavour to your food. They are broadly used in curries, lentils and other preps. The seeds release their flavours on crushing or when fried. In North India, where it is grown on a large scale; a curry is made purely of the mustard seeds and mustard oil extracted from the seeds.
Coriander
Indian name: Dhania
The most familiar spice to all, as the Coriander seeds are the ones which grows into the fresh citrusy Cilantro. Cilantro is available world-wide and used in almost all cuisines as a garnishing herb. In India, it is extensively used as grounded, individually or in a combination. This is one of the important in amalgamation of spices, Garam Masala.
Cumin
Indian name: Jeera
Cumin seeds are more frequently used as whole in most of the Indian recipes. It´s powder is made by dry roasting the seeds and grinding it, after it cools. The freshly grounded cumin seeds give a very intense flavour and fragrance. They should be cautiously roasted to avoid over roasting and making it taste bitter.
These seeds are easily mistaken for Fennel seeds, due to its resemblance. But can be easily identified by its color (brown vs. green of Fennel) and flavour (rusty, smoky vs. licorice of Fennel)
This spice is commonly used in blooming, where whole spices are tossed in hot oil or butter and used as a garnish over the curry or rice dishes.
Asafoetida
Indian name: Hing
Most unique of all spices, this spice tops the list in terms of its flavour, fragrance and taste which could be a bit overwhelming if used in an inappropriate amount. It comes in small bottles, and should be stored in an air tight container to avoid it losing its essence and leaving behind a dominant fragrance.
It is used in Indian curry and other similar recipes at the time of blooming the spices, make sure to add all spices after the oil is sufficiently heated. Asafoetida is a spice used purposely to process good digestion.
Red Chilli
Indian name: Lal Mirch
We wonder what the hottest spice could be, then a simple answer would be Chillies. Chillies are the hottest and the key ingredient of Indian kitchen. It is so crucial that, a lot of dishes are just incomplete without its use. They ripe and then are sun dried which makes then lose a small percentage of its hot quotient. In India, Red Chillies widely used are of the breeds Byadagi or Kashmiri.
Curry Leaves
Indian name: Kadipata
The curry leaves are also known also sweet neem leaves, coming from Rutaceae family. These leaves have a citric and woody flavour to it with a prominent aroma when fresh leaves are used. They are widely used in the southern part of India, in preparation of curry and rice dishes. They are very health beneficial and so many people even have them raw to propagate low cholesterol and lustrous hair.
These are the spices used in every Indian household, on a daily basis for almost all the dishes. Cooking an Indian meal without these spices is next to impossible. All the secret lies in a small box-ful of spices.
Apart from the basic spices, there are many other spices which take the Indian cuisine to the next level. I have added an exclusive list of those spices in my next post. So, do not miss on that one!
Spices are so much fun to experiment and try different flavors and levels of spiciness, then why not try out this quick & easy yet crispy & spicy, local Indian flatbread —Cabbage Flatbread! It is so delicious 😀
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