Indian Food Explained

A simple introduction to cooking Indian food

An Introduction:
Most Indian food sites I've found on the web are aimed at those who already know what they're doing. These sites list ingredients in a mixture of Hindi and English and skip the basics. For those of you who have never tried to wade through those recipes or cook Indian food at home, I have good news. Indian food is fairly easy to cook, if a bit slow, and uses ingredients easily found in a Western grocery store (unlike cuisines such as Thai food, which will have you going down to an Asian grocery to find Lemon Grass and Rice noodles). I'm certainly no gourmet Indian chef, but I will tell you what I know about Indian food.

Not Fast Food:
Okay, the key here is that Indian food takes a long time to cook. It's not complicated or difficult to prepare, but it is going to take some time to cook. Maybe 45 minutes of cooking. For example, look at other Asian foods like Chinese, Japanese or Thai. It's all this stir-fry stuff where you throw fresh ingredients in the pan and it's cooked in a minute or two. Not so with Indian food.

Beef Korma:
I was on a train one time when the announcer came over the intercom and announced that the cafe car was serving a Beef Korma. I was shocked. There is no beef in Indian food. Pork is also in question and this is due to the vast majority of Indians/Pakistanis that are either Hindu or Muslim. There is still chicken of course, but we all know chickens are dirty. This introduction will focus on vegetarian Indian food.

Menu Composition:
Western cuisine has forgotten balance. Sure we have soup with a salad, but eating nothing but a hamburger and fries for dinner isn't exactly a balanced meal. Indian food relies on bringing together all aspects of nutrition, along with mixing the spicy with the soothing.

Rice or Bread (the filler): Okay, so in the south, rice is the main staple for the meal, whereas in the north of India, people use flat breads more and only eat rice as a side-dish. You can try to go for the flat breads, and there are several styles of doing this, but I've tried to make good naan or chapattis for years and it's too hard. Stick with the rice and make sure you order some good fluffy naan next time you go out to an Indian restaurant.

Dal (the protein): Something like a lentil soup, Dal is served throughout the sub- continent. It's a mainstay for many of the poorer areas and nearly always a part of a larger meal.

Vegetables (the tasty bits): Served in a curry, some popular vegetables are cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes, onions and spinach

Dairy and Fruit: Raita in a cooling yoghurt sauce that helps to balance spicy dishes. You can also find a fresh cheese (Paneer) mixed in with many dishes. As far as fruit, Chutneys are a pickled sauce using fruits like Mangos and Tomatoes. Raisins also taste wonderful thrown into any spicy dish.

Basic Ingredients:
Oil: You can use any regular oil. No fish oil though, which is something I'm pretty sure you can buy. Sesame and Peanut oils are also out because of their strong flavor. Better skip Olive oil while you're at it. Vegetable or canola oil will be fine, pour some in you pan or pot.

Garlic & Onion: Cut these up into little pieces. Have you ever baked garlic in the oven? It's delicious, becoming sweet and buttery. Frying the garlic will make it almost too sweet and buttery though, and you want your food to have some actual garlic kick. So, only fry up half of it in the beginning (adding the rest a couple minutes later with the rest of the ingredients).

I usually start a dish like this, letting chopped up garlic onions sizzle in the oil for a while before I add everything else. This flavors the oil. By the way, about the onion... do you know how to cut an onion? There's this really amazing way to do it, but I think I'll need to draw a diagram or something in order to explain it. Another note on the onions, the more bitter and eye-watering the onion is, the sweeter it will be when you fry it up.

Tomato: It was always my understanding that things like Peppers and Tomatoes came from the New World, i.e. the Americas, though this could be rubbish and totally untrue. Still, the first thing I think of when I see Pumpkins or Corn on a menu is that they must have been introduced by European traders a long time ago. When cooking Tomatoes for Indian food, you should either dice them, serving them fresh over the top of your dish, or just cook the life out of them. I usually cook the Tomatoes until they've broken down into a mush, but not quite a homogenous paste. Get the idea?

Spinach: Okay, so you buy a big bag of Spinach at the market, and by the time you prepare it, the Spinach cooks down to nothing. I use a lot of Spinach because it's a powerful food and not to be mocked. You can steam it if you have a steamer or maybe put it in the microwave for a little while. That is, if you believe in that kind of thing (no, seriously, I worked in a kitchen with a guy who thought microwaves were a type of boxed Satan, malevolently snuck into the very heart of our home). I also remember as a child, how I would stand over at the other side of the room while the microwave was humming. This was for fear that it would cook me. You can give the pile of now-wilted Spinach a couple of quick chops and throw it into your pot or pan.

Potatoes: Largely a bulk filler, potatoes take on spices well and go with a lot of dishes. Make sure you cook them long enough that they're not still crunchy at the center when you serve them. You can prevent this by microwaving the diced potatoes before you throw them into the pan. If you are anti-microwave, steaming will do. Do not boil them though. This robs the boiled item of its soul (along with its nutrients), just like your camera might steal mine.

Spices:
Indian food is all about the spices. Most of the main ingredients are familiar to us but it's the spices that really set Indian food apart.

Curry, A mix of spices whose composition can vary from one brand to another.
Coriander (Cilantro), A mainstay in Indian cooking, it adds a fresh unmistakable flavor
Turmeric, Basically a coloring agent, it turns everything yellow
Cilantro, good as a fresh garnish for spicy/salty food
Cumin, Along with Coriander or Mint, Cumin mixes with yoghurt to make Raita, a popular side dish.
Curry Paste, an all in one deal that you can buy in jars in most Asian sections of your super-market.

A Recipe (reprinted without permission from my local paper):

Here's a chance to do some cooking of your own. It uses coconut milk, which is usually half price at most Asian food stores. I'd also throw in some raisins with the lentil dish in order to add a sweet fruity taste to the salty/spicy flavor.

Red Lentils with Cauliflower (serving 4)

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup red lentils
1 cup vegetable broth or water
2 cups coconut milk
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 head of cauliflower
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 8 minutes or until it softens. Add half the ginger and half the garlic. Cook 2 minutes more.

2. Add the coriander, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes.

3. Stir in the lentils and coat them with the spices. Pour in the broth or water. Bring to boil. Slowly stir in 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk. Let the mixture return to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer the lentils for 15 minutes, or until they turn into a thin puree.

4. Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Add the remaining ginger and garlic. Stir in the turmeric and cook 1 minute.

5. Add the cauliflower, turn heat to medium high, and cook 1 minute. Pour in remaining 1/ 2 cup coconut milk. Bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and until cauliflower is tender.

6. Serve the lentils and cauliflower with basmati rice and garnish with cilantro.