Indian food is renowned for its vast array of spices. The beauty of this cuisine is about the delicate balance of many spices. Whether we oil-fry our spices or dry-roast them, they’re full of aromatics and flavor. Here is the list of essential Indian spices that our kitchen uses.
Kardamom
There are two different varieties of cardamom that are commonly used in cooking: green cardamom and black cardamom. Green tends to be used more often with a light and sweet flavor and can be found in nearly everything from garam masala to lassi. Black cardamom has a smokey flavor and an extremely powerful flavor. When we use cardamom, we are careful with being too heavy-handed! We don’t want it to overpower the rest of the flavors. Combined with cinnamon, cloves and ginger, we add cardamom to make the delicious chai tea.
Cloves
In Western cuisine, we tend to associate cloves with Christmas time, however, in Indian cuisine, its used commonly all year round. The gentle anises notes of this spices is often recognizable in spice blends. We use them whole in soups or ground in curries.
Chili
Chili is possibly the first spice many think of when picturing Indian spices! As expected, chilli powder is all about bringing that warming heat to a dish. There are many different varieties of chili powder, varying in colour and spiciness level.
Cumin
Cumin is an extremely aromatic spice with warm and earthy tones. You’ll find it either as seeds or as a ground powder – quite often toasted. We freshly ground the cumin because it is the best way to release the intense flavor of this spice. You’ll find cumin in most of our curries.
Koriander
India is one of the world’s main producers of coriander; a spice that has been in use for at least 7,000 years is often regarded as one of the oldest known spices in the world. The coriander seeds are particularly aromatic with citrus tones. Ground coriander is one of the most commonly used Indian spices, especially as it is a key element in garam masala.
Ginger
Fresh ginger gives our Indian dishes a real earthy and peppery kick. Most of the time when we use ginger, at the same time we also add garlic to allow the release of natural oils in the root whilst cooking.
Mustard Seed
There are 3 different colors of mustards seeds: yellow, black, and brown. We mainly use black in our cooking. We fry them until they pop and release their unique peppery flavor, they also add a nutty taste to the dish.
Fenugreek
Neve alapján a görögszéna nem tartozik a legismertebb fűszerek közé, de az íze azonban annál markánsabb. A görögszéna adja a madras currynek azt a „curry” ízt és illatot, amelyet sokan általában az indiai konyhához társítanak. A görögszéna leveleit is gyakran használják az indiai konyhában. Általában szárítva, vagy mártásokban, vagy összetörve, különösen a vajas csirke receptekben.
Turmeric
A gyömbér rokona, a kurkuma élénk sárga színt kölcsönöz a curry ételeknek – ezért kapta az „indiai sáfrány” becenevet. Ez a különleges fűszer hihetetlen egészségügyi előnyeiről ismert, és számos meglepő formában, többek között a tejeskávékban is megjelenik.
