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A Few Simple Techniques

The heart and soul of Indian cooking is to be able to master the unique and imaginative use of spices, seasonings and flavorings and learning the nitty-gritty of Indian cooking techniques. You will already be familiar with many of the Indian cooking techniques from your own everyday cooking. The main techniques are steaming (dum), tempering (tarhka), roasting (bhunnana), frying (talna) and sautéing (bhunao). Other common techniques are roasting and grinding of spices, browning onions, garlic and meats and handling sauces. Each of these “methods” or a combination of two or three or even all may be necessary to prepare an Indian dish. They are not hard to master, but is important to understand the basic principles of each.

SAUCE TIPS Unlike in western cooking, flour is almost never used to thicken Indian sauces. The dark thick sauces in Indian cooking are achieved by a proper balance of the ingredients and the use of the correct cooking techniques. For example, the body of the Indian sauces very often comes from onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes, which may be chopped, creating a textured sauce, or made into a paste in a food processor or a blender. Once a paste has been made, it is then cooked or browned in oil. The sauce is allowed to cook further until it is reduced and has become thick. Sometimes cream, yogurt, coconut or nut pastes, such as almonds and cashews, are added to Indian sauces, which give a creamy texture.

ROASTING AND GRINDING OF SPICES Roasting is the key to bringing out the flavor of spices. Roasting spices removes the raw smell that untreated spices tend to have and intensifies their flavors by heating up the essential oils. All you need is a small, heavy bottomed skillet (cast iron works great). No oil is used when roasting spices. Whole spices are put in a dry skillet and roasted over medium heat until the spices turn a shade or two darker and become aromatic. The spices are then immediately removed from the hot skillet to avoid over-roasting.

In my kitchen I generally buy the spices whole and then grind them myself as I need them. Because spices retain their flavor and aroma much longer in their whole form than when ground, grinding roasted spices in small batches is the ideal way to use spices, and gives the greatest possible flavor to dishes. Traditionally, in Indian kitchens the grinding of spices is done on heavy grinding stones or with a mortar and pestle. To save time, I grind spices using a spice grinder, though a coffee grinder works equally well.

SAUTÉING (BHUNAO) Unlike classic French sautéing, Indian sautéing, or bhunao, is a combination of sautéing, stir-frying and light stewing or braising. It is the process of cooking over medium to high heat, adding small quantities of liquid, such as water or tomato purée, and stirring constantly to prevent the ingredients from sticking. Almost every Indian recipe needs bhunao at some stage, and some at more than one stage. Generally ingredients like onions, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and spices require bhunao. The purpose of this technique is to extract the flavor of each of the ingredients in combination with spices as well as to ensure that the masala is fully cooked before adding the main ingredient. Sometimes the main ingredient, such as poultry, meats or vegetables, may also require bhunao. The process of making masala is complete only when the fat leaves the masala, which is very critical in Indian cooking. Traditionally a kadhai is used for this technique. I find that if I use a heavy-bottomed saucepan or another deep-sided pan, such as a braiser or Dutch oven, works just as well. Recipes like Puréed Spinach with Cheese Balls (page 88), Hyderabadi Mixed Vegetables (page 78), Traditional Lamb Curry (page 115) and Chicken Tikka Masala (page 111) are good examples of this technique.

DEEP-FRYING (TALNA) Talna refers to deep-frying, Indian style. Generally, for deep-frying, Indian cooks use a khadai —a deep pan with a rounded bottom similar to a wok. Unlike a deep fat fryer, the size and shape of the kadhai does not allow large quantities of food to be fried at one time, which results in even frying. When deep-frying, oil should be heated to between 325° and 350°F (160° and 180°C). This is crucial—if the oil is too hot, the outside of the food will brown very quickly, leaving the insides uncooked; and, if the oil is not hot enough the foods will absorb oil and become greasy. When frying, do not over crowd the pan; fry the food in batches, if necessary. Use a slotted spatula or spoon when removing fried food from the oil, and hold each piece against the edge of the pan for a few seconds. This allows excess oil to drain back into the pan. Place fried foods on a tray lined with paper towels to drain. To re-use the oil, turn off the heat under the oil as soon as you’re finished frying and let it cool completely. Using a fine-mesh strainer, strain the oil into an airtight container. Store the oil at room temperature until next use.

ROASTING (BHUNNANA) Traditionally, in Indian cooking roasting is done in a charcoal-fired tandoor (clay oven), which gives a unique flavor to roasted meats, breads and vegetables. The juices of the meats drip on the charcoal which sizzles and the smoke that is created gives the food its unique flavor. For home cooking, an open charcoal grill is good substitute for cooking meat kebabs, vegetables and paneer, though the flavor is milder than that achieved in a tandoor. An oven can be used to make breads and to also roast marinated meats and vegetables. A few of the recipes that use the roasting technique are Tandoori Chicken (page 112), Masala-Baked Red Snapper (page 96) and Marinated Roast Leg of Lamb (page 118).

TEMPERING (TARHKA) This technique is very unique to Indian cooking. Oil is heated until it is very hot. A mixture of whole spices with or without chopped garlic and ginger is added to the oil. Hot oil has an extraordinary ability to extract and retain the essence, aroma and flavor of spices and herbs. This process is performed either at the beginning of cooking a dish or after. If done after a dish is cooked, the prepared tempering is poured sizzling hot over the dish to add a burst of flavor (this sometimes done when preparing dals). The seasonings that are most commonly used for tempering include cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, fennel seeds, dried red chilies, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves as well as chopped up ginger, garlic and fresh or dried curry leaves. The ingredients are usually added in rapid succession, rarely together. The purpose of adding tempering ingredients sequentially is to ensure that each ingredient is fully cooked, and thus its flavor fully extracted into the oil, before the next ingredient is added. This method also allow for longer-cooking ingredients or spices to be added first, and shorter-cooking ingredients or spices last, which would otherwise have a tendency to burn if added earlier. The crackling of the spices or a change in their color indicates that the process is complete, unless fresh herbs and vegetables are also being used. A few of the many recipes that use this technique in this book are Carrot Yogurt Slaw (page 46), South Indian Coconut Chutney (page 40), Fiery South Indian Tomato Soup (page 67), Spicy Urad Beans (page 70) and Tamarind Rice (page 131) .

BROWNING Most Indian recipes require browning of onions fried over medium-high heat. Evenly browned onions are more flavorful and give sauces a desired rich, deep reddish-brown color. The same goes for garlic—the flavor of garlic is quite amazing if it is fried in oil until it turns golden brown in color. For the best flavor and color, meat is also browned. Browning also sears the meat, which makes it juicy. I like to brown marinated meat before combining it with other ingredients. If I am cooking larger quantity, I brown a few pieces of meat at a time in hot oil and set them aside. I then add the browned meat and all the cooking juices back into the pan with the other ingredients and let it finish cooking in the sauce.

STEAMING (DUM) Dum cooking has been described as the “maturing of a dish” as in this technique the food is very slowly cooked in its own steam. Traditionally, the lid was sealed to the cooking vessel with a flour-and-water paste to make sure moisture is trapped within. The vessel was slightly buried in hot coals and, to ensure the food is evenly surrounded by heat, some hot coals were placed on top of the lid. Today the modern oven is used to perform the function of providing even heat. The dish is first cooked on a stove top and then well sealed and placed in the oven to continue to cook in its own steam. The advantage of dum cooking is that since the vapors cannot escape, the food retains all its delicate flavor and aroma. One of the most common and popular dishes prepared using this technique is the famous rice dish called biriyani. (See Saffron Chicken Biriyani, page 128, and Fragrant Lamb Biriyani, page 126).