Indian cooking is colorful, fragrant, and delicious. It depends on a wide array of spices, legumes, and grains for its distinct character. An Ancient Treasure India is the world’s chief supplier of spices and has been for at least thirty-six hundred years. These fragrant and flavorful plant substances, which often have been more prized than jewels, have drawn people from all over the world to India throughout history. Unlike spice seekers from other nations, Indians have always had access to a wide array of different spices. Some of the most popular spices include mint, bright orange turmeric, pungent cumin, curry leaves and many more.
Indians use spices the way artists use paint, blending them together in hundreds of different combinations and proportions. For a dish to be considered well cooked, no single spice should ever dominate. Instead there must be a perfect balance of ingredients, with each dish having its own distinctive taste, color, and perfume. This means that cooks need to understand the characteristics of each spice and how they mix together.
“Spices are the heart and soul of Indian cooking. Knowing how to use the spices is the key that unlocks the secrets of alluring aromas and magical flavors of classic Indian cuisine.” Indian cooks blend spices in a number of ways. They create a masala (mah-saah-laah), a general term that refers to any combination of ground spices. They make masala by grinding different spices together into a powder. Garam masala (gah-rah- mah-saah-laah), a favorite spice mixture, is a specific blend of different spices that is widely used in Indian cooking. It features cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf and black pepper.
Spices were first introduced in India by Portuguese. Green chilies were brought by Portuguese in India via Afghanistan. Whenever Greeks and Portuguese used to travel to India they bring seeds of vegetables and spices along with them to grow. Black pepper, sweet potato and pumpkin are the only few things which are cultivated by India itself. Rest all vegetables and spices were brought to India by Portuguese, Greeks and Romans.
So i would like to share some basic masala’s preparation which are used in everyday cooking wheather its a hotel, restaurent or home.
- Khada masala: Also known as whole spice its contain whole black pepper corn, cloves, cinnamon, mace, blackand green cardamom, bayleaf, coriander and caraway seeds. In Indian rice and curries preparation always use them whole in a hot oil at the starting of preparation of the dish. this helps to give distinct aroma to the dish.
- Garam masala powder: Garam masala powder is a mixture of whole spices which are roasted and later finely ground(powdered). It contain coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, green and black cardamom, cloves, black peppercorn, cinnamon, bayleaf, nutmeg, star anise and mace. once the powder is prepared transfer it into an airtight container as it can loose the aroma. Use the garam masala powder during the preparation or sprinkle at the end of the dish to achieve aromatic and flavourful dish.
- Maharashtrian Garam Masala: Also known as Goda masala it’s a special blended powdered masala which is used in the preparation of maharastrian food. The masala includes Caraway seeds(shahi jeera), Niger seeds(ramtil), Asafoetida(Hing), Sesame seeds(til), Cumin seeds(jeera), Coriander seeds(dhaniya), Dedicated coconut(sukha nariyal). Dry roast all the ingredients until the coconut is slightly starts to brown.
- Channa Masala: An aromatic blend of spice powder which is used in preparation of chana or Punjabi chole. The masala includes Coriander Seeds, Cumin Seeds, Dry Red Chilli, Black Peppercorn, Black Cardamom, Green Gardamom and Cloves. Dry roast all the ingredients and grind them until fine powder.
- Chaat Masala: A very unique blend of spice which gives tangy flavour to the food. As the name indicate this masala can be used in different types of Chaat, salads and cut fruits. The preparation of masala include Cumin seeds, coriander seeds, whole black Peppercorn, Black salt, Dry Mango Powder, Asafoetida (Hing), Salt. First dry roast cumin, coriander and black Peppercorn then transfer it into a blender along with salt, Black salt, Asafoetida and dry mango powder. Blend it until powder forms. Use it as required.
- Panch Phoran: It’s a traditional spice mix which is used in Bengali cuisine. The Panch means five and Phoran means spice, so the blend of 5 spice is called Panch Phoran. The Panch Phoran masala can be used as a whole or in a powdered form. The masala include Cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seed(methi daana), fennel seeds(saunf), kalonji(onion seeds).
These are some basic masala preparation which are used in Indian cooking
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