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Needless to mention that the culinary world is inert without flavours, which is indeed incomplete without the use of spices and ingredients. And especially the Indian ones, each has a unique taste that completes the dish as only salt alone cannot do the magic to satisfy the taste buds. To further enhance the palate, layering of spices is done, one of the best-known features of Indian cuisine. The herbs and ingredients that one needs for traditional Indian cooking depend on the provenance of a specific delicacy. Founder of Academy of Pastry & Culinary Arts Group, Chef Niklesh Sharma shares a list of popular spices, used almost daily or frequently in Indian kitchens and are sure to transform your cooking:
Coriander
Even though coriander is extensively used in Latin-American and Mexican cooking, it’s also a pretty common ingredient in India. It’s often used in spice rubs, marinades, sauces, soups, and curries. It works well with onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and more. Its seeds are the dried seeds of cilantro. It is undoubtedly valuable as a garnish for many Indian dishes, which helps elevate the aroma and flavour of any dish. It’s commonly used raw or added to the dish right before serving as heat diminishes its natural flavour quickly.
Indian bay leaves
Tejpatta, obtained from the Indian cassia tree (Cinnamomum Tamala). They are known for their subtle aroma and herbal flavour from their essential oils. Bay leaves are a common spice/ingredient that many use when making soups and stews or braising meats. However, removing these leaves is usually recommended before serving a meal, unlike other culinary herbs. In Kerala, Indian bay leaves cover jackfruit, rice flour dumplings and chakka appam sweetened with jaggery.
Garam masala
It's an ideal mix of aromatic Indian spices used in numerous vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals. There isn’t any fixed recipe or ingredients to make the masala as everyone prepares it according to their specific taste and preference. However, it mainly includes cinnamon, mace, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, bay leaves and cardamom pods. The chief benefit of adding garam masala to your food is stimulating appetite, taste and boosting digestion.
Turmeric
Along with elevating the flavours of a particular dish and enhancing the colour, smell and taste of any recipe, it is added to, turmeric (Haldi) is known for a long list of health benefits. It is a rhizome similar to ginger, the difference being its bright orange flesh and an earthy flavour. One can grate fresh turmeric, but it’s more often sold in a yellowish-golden powdered form. It serves as the main ingredient in almost every other Indian food, dry or gravy.
Cumin
These are crescent moon-shaped, tiny, brown seeds. It’s nearly impossible to imagine a delicacy being cooked in Indian homes without the presence of it. The enormous contribution of this miracle ingredient is undeniable, with it being an essential part of snacks, stews and curries. The secret to it is its strong oil content, which is unleashed to create a distinctive taste and aroma when heated.
Fenugreek
Also known as methi, Fenugreek seeds are yellow-brown. They are one of the primary seasonings in the country, with a nutty, sweet taste reminiscent of burnt sugar and maple syrup. They are bitter if eaten raw, but when cooked and combined with other spices in many dishes, they offer a touch of sweetness and depth of flavour to saucy dishes.
Asafetida
Technically a gum-resin, asafetida, also known as hing, is the dried sap obtained from the roots of the Ferula plant. From dal to aloo gobhi to matar paneer, it works well in various dishes and is a staple ingredient in Indian cooking. However, tempering asafetida in oil or ghee carries out its best taste.
Tamarind
Often sold as a paste, tamarind (imli) comes from the seedpods of the tamarind tree, a member of the legume family. It has a distinctive sour flavour, majorly used in South Indian dishes, be it chutneys, sambar or rasam, served with vada, idli, dosa or uttapam.
