10 Things You Need To Know About Indian Spices And Curry!

Indian curry is over 5,000 years old and the term 'curry'Quite a few dishes in western countries like America
which is an English word is derived from the Southand U.K call for curry powder which basically consists
Indian Tamil word 'kaikaari' or its shortened versionof turmeric, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, mustard
'kari'meaning vegetables cooked in spices.Basicallyseeds, five spice powder (cardamom, cinnamon, black
curry is a gravy dish or a stew like dish with spicespepper, bay leaf and cumin), with red chili powder.You
and seasonings and flavoured with hot and sourcan mix your own curry powder according to your
tastes.Today ,curry has become the symbolic Britishtastes or buy it ready made at your grocery store.The
word for Indian dishes that could be eaten with rice oruse of curry powder is minimal in India and most are
rotis.unaware of curry powder.
Authentic Indian curry,one of the world's fasted7. Turmeric : called 'haldi' in Hindi is a deep yellow
growing ethnic food trends, combines flavours,texturespowder obtained from grinding a dried plant root.Its
and pungency which are unique. Each region of Indiaknown for its colour and earthy flavour in many Indian
has its own distinctive style of seasoning whileand Asian dishes.Turmeric has anti-oxidant properties
preparing a curry and a common factor in all theand is widely known for its digestive properties and to
regional styles of cooking curry is marination and slowfight against leukemia.
cooking which ensures the flavor and color of herbs8. Cumin : called 'jeera' in Hindi is a spice with a huge
and spices to meat, fish, poultry, and vegetables.variety of culinary uses. It's a very important element in
1. Spices : are derived from plants and are aromaticIndian and ayurvedic cooking.Indian curries and dry
dried bark, roots, buds, seeds, berries or fruits. Whenvegetables are mostly flavored with whole cumin
spices are heated the aroma and flavour is released.seeds. Cumin is considered to have digestive
Its advisable not to store spices in glass jars as theyproperties and is also considered to have cooling
will lose their aroma and potency before the expiryproperties.
date. Store in air tight containers.9. Tandoori : describes a style of food unique to the
2. Curry : the authentic indian curry often combines thenorth Indian state of Punjab. A tandoor is a cylindrical
following spices, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, cloves,clay oven used in northern India and Pakistan in which
ginger, red and black pepper as well as other spices.food is cooked over a hot charcoal fire. Temperatures
One of the popular spice blends used in Indian curries isin a tandoor can approach 480°C (900°F). It
called "Garam Masala".is not uncommon for tandoor ovens to remain lit for
3. Bhuna : bhuna is a Hindi term for cooking the variouslong periods of time to maintain the high cooking
spices (Masala) in hot oil to release the natural oils andtemperature. Tandoori chicken is marinated before
flavours of the spices and remove the raw taste.Itcooking and despite an intense dry heat, the oven
literally means 'fry in oil' and most important process inproduces succulent moist meat with the famous red
cooking a perfect Indian curry.spicy seasoning on the outside.
4. Tadka/Bargar : bargar is a Hindi term for the10. Authentic Indian cooking : calls for the use of a
process of frying whole spices is and is a techniquenumber spices, many in small quantities as per the
used for the same reasons as Bhuna, to cook out therecipe requirement and added at particular intervals
raw taste from the spices. The oil used should be hotthroughout the recipe, rather than in one go as a paste
and the spices added whole.It is important to take careor curry powder.This process is difficult and
to not burn the spices. The spices are cooked thetime-consuming art to master in today's 'time-poor'
moment they colour and start to float do not let themlifestyleTandoori describes a style of food unique to
blacken. This process can be very quick especiallythe north Indian state of Punjab.
with the small spices like cumin seeds and mustardMuch of making curry is knowing what spices blend
seeds.well and experimenting. After you've made a couple of
5. Masala : means mixture of spices sauteed in oil ordifferent curries, it's hard to go wrong, Get some good
ghee. Perhaps the most famous and varied is Garamfresh spices and a coffee grinder, dry roast the spices
masala, a major spice blend of Indian cookery whereand grind them to make your own curries. There is no
each home has its own spice blends. It is often addedsubstitute for this authentic way of making a typical
towards the end of the recipe, almost like a garnish.Indian curry.
6. Curry Powder : is made with many spice blends.