Curry dishes are prepared in a sauce containing regional spice mix. Making a tasty authentic Indian curry is simple, only there are some principles to follow. Culinary spices also contain several bioactive compounds that carry beneficial potentials for health, check out the list.
What are the fundamental steps of making authentic Indian dishes? The main point to consider when making a curry dish is to select the spice mix for the base of the curry. Some dishes contain over 20 different spices. The selection of spices is a matter of regional cultural tradition and individual preference.
The first step toward authentic cooking is to obtain all these spices such as: Cumin seed (Jeera), Black cumin (Shah jeera), Black pepper (Kali mirchi), Black mustard seed (Rai), Fennel seed (Sanchal), Coriander seed (Dhaniya), Coriander leaf, Turmeric (Haldi), Fenugreek seed (Methi), Indiain bay leaf (Tejpata), Curry leaf (Kadipata), Star anise (Chakra Phool), Anise (Suwa), Nutmeg (Jaiphal), Mace (Javitri), Cloves (Laung), Cinnamon (Dalchini), Cardamom (Elaichi), Nigella seed (Kalonji), Ginger (Adrak), Tamarind (Imli), Asafoetida (Hing), Carom seed (Ajwain), Dried mango (Amchoor), Chili (Mirch).
There are five main steps:
1. Dry-roast whole spices till fragrant or fry in oil, then grind in a pestle;
2. Heat oil and fry Curry base;
3. Add Regional spice mix from pestle;
4. Add water or jogurt or coconut milk, and tamarind paste if needed (sour);
5. Add main ingredients (beans e.g. chickpeas, lentils, or vegetables; for meat lovers, chicken, lamb, goat or fish, shrimp);
6. Serve with basmati rice and flat bread (Naan/Chappati/Paratha) and some coriander leaves.
Curry Base: finely chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chili (serrano, cayenne).
Regional Spice Mix: Dry-roast whole spices till fragrant or fry in oil, then grind in a pestle (do not roast black cardamom). Dry-roasted spices have deeper and earthier flavour, while frying enhance the original flavour of a spice making them bold and more intense. Fry ground spices only for a few seconds to avoid bitter taste, then add to pestle. Add garam masala spice mix to the dish only at the end and cook for a bit to avoid bitter taste.
Making Garam Masala (North): Dry-roast whole cumin seeds, coriander seeds, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg/mace, cinnamon, green/black cardamom, and grind in a pestle.
Making Panch Poran (Bengal five spice): Dry-roast or fry whole seeds cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, nigella seeds, and used as whole seeds without grinding.
Let's cook! Here are 3 vegeterian authentic curry dishes, and 3 dishes for yoga apprentices who still cannot resist to eating meat. However, the yogi adopts a vegeterian diet since he does not kill for food.
ALOO MATAR (West, Gujarat): 1. Dry-roast or fry whole cumin, whole coriander seeds, whole black mustard until it pops, then add ground turmeric, and ground red chili for a second, then grind in a pestle. 2. Heat oil and add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chili (serrano, cayenne); 3. Add spices from the pestle; 4. Add water; 5. Add main ingredients (potatoes, peas). Cook for ready. Serve with basmati rice, and flat bread (Naan/Chappati/Paratha).
VEGETABLE CURRY (East, Bengal): 1. Fry whole cumin, whole coriander seeds, whole black mustard, whole fennel seeds, and nigella seeds, fenugreek seeds, then grind in a pestle; 2. Heat oil and add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chili (serrano, cayenne); 3. Add spices from the pestle; 4. Add water; 5. Add main ingredients (peas, cabbage, celery, cauliflower, carrots, California pepper, ananas etc.). Cook for ready. Serve with basmati rice, and flat bread (Naan/Chappati/Paratha).
RAJMA CHAVAL (North, Punjab): 1. Fry whole black mustard, indian bay leaves and curry leaves. 2. Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chili (serrano, cayenne); 3. Add additional spices: turmeric, and ground chili 4. Add water; 5. Add main ingredients (cooked/canned red kidney beans) and cook for ready. 6. At the end, add garam masala spice mix and cook for a bit. Serve with basmati rice, and flat bread (Naan/Chappati/Paratha).
KERALA FISH CURRY (South, Kerala): 1. Fry whole dried chili (e.g. cayenne), whole black mustard, fenugreek seed and curry leaves; 2. Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chili (serrano, cayenne); 3. Add additional spices: turmeric, and ground chili (e.g. cayenne); 4. Add coconut cream and milk; 5. Add main ingredients (fish) and tamarind paste, and cook for ready. 6. At the end, add garam masala spice mix and cook for a bit. Serve with basmati rice, and flat bread (Naan/Chappati/Paratha).
ROGAN JOSH LAMB CURRY (North, Kashmir): 1. Fry indian bay leaves or curry leaves, and whole fennel seeds; 2. Add chopped onion, ginger, garlic, green chili (serrano, cayenne); 3. Add additional spices: asafoetida, ground Kashmiri chili; 4. Add main ingredients (lamb) and tamarind paste. 5. Add yogurt, and cook for ready. 6. At the end, add garam masala spice mix and cook for a bit. Serve with basmati rice, and flat bread (Naan/Chappati/Paratha).
VINDALOO LAMB CURRY (West, Goa): 1. Fry whole dried hot chili (e.g. cayenne) till fragrant, add whole black mustard, fenugreek seed, and fennel seeds, indian bay leaves or curry leaves. 2. Add chopped onion, ginger, lot of garlic, green chili (serrano, cayenne); 3. Add main ingredients (lamb) and tamarind paste (sour). 4. Add water and cook for ready. 5. At the end, add garam masala spice mix and cook for a bit. Serve with basmati rice, and flat bread (Naan/Chappati/Paratha).
Now you know how to cook food for a yogi, now here you have the opportunity to start your yoga practice:
How to start yoga posture training at home?
Science spot: Culinary spices and beneficial health effects Culinary spices contain several bioactive compounds possessing potential health effects. Most of them have beneficial effects on the gastrointestinal tract as they have stomachic (stimulating secretions of gastric acid and increasing appetite) properties, demulcent (removing inflammation or irritation), antispasmodic/ spasmolytic (relaxing the smooth muscle of the digestive tract), carminative (expelling wind from the alimentary canal, and releiving colic, griping pains, flatulence), and laxative (facilitating evacuation of the bowels) properties. Some have diuretic (increasing passing of urin) effect, diaphoretic (inducing perspiration), expectorant (promoting the expulsion of phlegm from the respiratory tract) or analgesic (pain reliever) properties. Others have strong antiseptic effects such as antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral and anthelmintic (distroying parasitic worms) properties making them ideal against infections. They contain aromatic components as well that contribute to their intense odor and flavor. Some spices may have toxic or adverse effects if taken in large amount, for instance cinnamon irritates the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract; nutmeg causes hallucinations; and fenugreek has teratogenic potential (causing birth-defects).
Anise (Suwa) relieve digestive problems due to its spasmolytic, carminative, expectorant properties. It containes aromatic essential oils e.g. anethol exerting antimicrobial and antifungal, anthelmintic and insect repellent properties.
Asafoetida (Hing) relieve digestive problems due to its spasmolytic and carminative properties. It has antioxidant and anti-fertility properties due to its ferulic and ferulsinaic compounds.
Black pepper (Kali mirchi) induce gastric acid secretion and slow gastric emptying and intestinal transit. Its bioactive compound, piperine, which is responsible for its pungency, is able to modify various drug and supplement metabolism e.g. enhance availability of turmeric/curcumin by 2000% due to its inhibiting effect of glucoronidation in liver, therefore bypassing urinary excretion.
Black mustard (Rai) have strong antibacterial and antifungal effect, even if its extract is highly dilluted e.g. 1:200 000 due to a compound that gives its pungent taste when plant tissue is crushed (sinigrin turnes into allyl isothiocyanate).
Coriander (Dhaniya) has antibacterial and antifungal effect, and beneficial in gastrointestinal dysfunctions, used as stomachicum, spasmolyticum, carminativum, and in subacid gastritis.
Cloves (Laung) has expectorant and antiseptic and analgesic properties due to its essential oil content (e.g. eugenol). It is an aphrodisiac since it increases testosterone level at lower doses (15 mg/kg animal testing), whereas at higher doses it has the opposite effect.
Carom seed (Ajwain) relieve digestive problems due to its stomachic, spasmolytic, carminative and laxative properties due to its essential oil component called thymol. It has antiseptic, anthelmintic and antioxidant properties.
Chili (Mirch) relieve digestive problems due to its stomachic, carminative properties. It also has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects.
Cumin (Jeera) relieve digestive problems due to its spasmolytic, and carminative properties.
Cinnamon (Dalchini) relieve digestive problems due to its stomachic, carminative and spasmolytic property. It has antiseptic properties, antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral effects. It also has anti-diabetic effect and lower cholesterol absorbtion. Its bioactive compound that contributes to its taste, coumarin, has liver toxicity and carcinogenic at high doses (100g cassia cinnamon intake; ceylon cinnamon used mainly in Europe has no high concentration of coumarin).
Cardamom (Elaichi) relieve digestive problems due to its carminative property. It contains essential oils contributing to its aromatic favor.
Fenugreek (Methi) relieve digestive problems due to its stomachic, demulcent, carminative, laxative and expectorant properties. It containes steroid saponin compounds that reduce the absorbtion of cholesterol from the gastic tract, and has anti-diabetic effect at a dose of 2-5 g. It also has antioxidant properties. It has been used historically as an abortifacient, and it also has teratogenic potential (causing birth-defects), and it increases breast milk production after pregnancy. It may gives a sweet scent to the urine due to its aromatic compound called sotolon.
Fennel (Sanchal) relieve digestive problems due to its stomachic, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, carminative properties. It also has diuretic, and anti-microbial properties. It containes aromatic essential oils contributing to its intense odor and flavour.
Ginger (Adrak) has strong anti-coughing effect when dried or cooked due to its compound called shogaol. It also has anti-infalmmatory and analgesic (pain reliever) properties.
Nutmeg (Jaiphal) relieve digestive problems due to its stomachic and carminative property. At high doses, 15-20 g, it has psychoactive effect, causes hallucinations due to its essential oil compound called myristicin. Inhalation of essential oil extract (aromatherapy) exert antidepressive effect.
Nigella (Kalonji) it has anti-ulcer properties due to its antibacterial effect in stomach. It also has anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory effect due to its bioactive essential oil compound, thymoquinone. It also appears to have analgesic effect consumed in higher amount (500mg/kg animal testing), anti-epileptic and anxiolytic properties, and antioxidant effect. Oral dose of 2-3 g stimulates the uptake of blood sugar by muscle, therfore reduces blood sugar level, and it has a mild beneficial effect on blood cholesterol and triglicerid levels, therefore may protect against atherosclerosis (hardening and narowing the arteries), and also have anti-kidney stone properties.
Star anise (Chakra Phool) relieves digestive problems due to its stomachic, spasmolytic, and carminative properties. It also has strong antiviral effect, making it potent against flu.
Turmeric (Haldi) relieve digestive problems due to its stomachic attribute. Its anti-inflammatory property makes it effective in arthritis due to its polyphenol compound called curcumin, which contributs to its yellow color, and black pepper enhance its absorbtion. It also has antioxidant effect.
Tamarind (Imli) has laxative properties due to its minerals, tartaric acid, and pectin.
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