The right proportion of flavors with essential spices is the magic ingredient to the tempting aroma of Indian cuisine. Food flavors can be limited to salty, sweet, and bitter but the aroma of food is limitless and these odors of food attract people to Indian cuisine. The mixing of various spices is an art that not everybody can do but a great cook knows the limit of flavor mixings so that the food doesn’t taste awful but to share the optimum amount of flavor compounds to be unique and so no other cuisine will taste the same.
So what are the things that make Indian cuisine so unique? There are a few distinctive characteristics that set Indian cuisine apart from other cuisines:
Is it the way of cooking?
In India, cooking methods are very similar to other countries' cuisines but The authentic taste of each dish is determined by the way a specific Indian technique is applied in the cooking process, some of these techniques are:Tampering
Tampering in India is called ‘Tadka or Baghar’. To add deep and rich flavor to the food, the first technique is tempering the spices and letting them sizzle in hot oil. This first technique is used to enhance the flavor and the duration of this process varies for each dish.Frying
Frying in India is called (Talna) which means ‘Inferior’. In this process, the veggies, daal, or Chutney are fried in fresh oil or ghee on medium heat until they caramelize and turn color.Steaming
Steaming in India is called “Dum” which means ‘breathe in’ where the food is covered tightly and moist heated with its own boiling water that evaporates inside the Indian traditional bottomed pot on a low flame. It is the water steam that brings heat to the food and roasts it so the spices will release the taste to the food. Using a cast-iron oven is a modern-day method for sealing and slow-cooking this type of dish.Smoking
Which is called in India “Dhuanaar”. Smoking is the secret technique for Indian cuisine's special aroma. It is simply putting hot charcoal in a small cup inside the pot and pouring some ghee or oil on the charcoal then covering the pot so that the smoke infuses the dish with a smoky taste and aroma.
Is it the spices that make Indian food unique?
Spices have been an integral part of Indian cuisine for a long time. But every part of India has its own identifiable spices. Which makes it difficult to define Indian cuisine in simple terms.Every region in the country has its own specific and identifiable food. With six seasons, as well as geographical, religious, cultural, and ethnic diversity, India’s cuisine cannot be defined in simple terms. Furthermore, in every few kilometers of India, the same type of dish might be different in taste. Here are some of the most used spices in the Indian kitchen:
Coriander,
Green cardamom,
Cumin seeds,
Turmeric,
Black cardamom,
Cloves,
Cinnamon, and
Fenugreek seeds.
In conclusion, spices and herbs that are used in Indian food are widely diversified as flavoring and coloring. These spices also are good for medical uses like antioxidant, antiseptic, antispasmodic, and antibacterial.
Now you know how Indian food is rich in flavor and contains number of various spices and herbs, come and get your favorite Indian food atThe Yarra Indian Restaurant
