and Grinding Your Spices at Home
Roasting (or toasting) is the key to enhancing the flavor of spices. It removes the raw smell that untreated spices tend to have and intensifies their flavors by heating up 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 them.
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 state rather than when ground, grinding roasted spices in small batches is the ideal way to use them, and gives the greatest possible flavor to dishes. Traditionally, spice grinding was done with heavy grinding-stones or a mortar and pestle. To save time, I grind spices using a spice grinder, though a coffee grinder works equally well.
Sautéing
Unlike classic French sautéing, bhunao is a combination of sautéing, stir-frying and light stewing. 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 to extract the flavor of each of the ingredients in combination with spices and 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 critical in Indian cooking. Traditionally a kadhai (Indian wok) is used for this technique, but a heavy-bottomed saucepan or other deep-sided pan, such as a braiser or Dutch oven, works as well.
Roasting Vegetables
Use fresh and firm vegetables (peppers are a popular choice). Take a sharp knife and remove any stems, cores, membranes and seeds. Cut items like peppers in half lengthwise and flatten the halves by squashing them against a flat surface. Lay the items skin-side-up on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil, 4 to 6 inches away from the heat source, until blackened all over, 5 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully and rotate the pan as needed to blacken as evenly as possible. Pull up the edges of the foil to make an envelope around the vegetables. Seal the envelope, and let it sit at least 15 minutes and up to 1 hour to soften the items. Pull off and discard the skins. Do this under running water, if you prefer.
Tempering
This technique is unique to Indian cooking. A mixture of whole spices, with or without chopped garlic and ginger, is added to very hot oil. This extracts and retains the essence, aroma and flavor of spices and herbs. This process is performed either at the beginning of cooking a dish or after the preparation is nearly complete. If done after a dish is cooked, the prepared tempering is poured, sizzling hot, over the dish to add a burst of flavor (as is sometimes done when preparing dals). The seasonings that are most commonly tempered include cumin seeds, black mustard seeds, fennel seeds, dried red chilies, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves, as well as chopped ginger, garlic and fresh or dried curry leaves. The ingredients are usually added in rapid succession, rarely together. This 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 allows for longer-cooking ingredients or spices to be added first, and shorter-cooking ingredients or spices—which would otherwise have the tendency to burn—to be added last. 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.
some helpful tools
You don't need special kitchen tools or cookware to cook Indian food at home. All you need is a well-equipped kitchen with sturdy skillets, pots and pans with lids, tongs, good knives, graters, mixing bowls, a rolling pin, a perforated spoon, a sieve, a strainer and a citrus squeezer. I like to use an Indian spice box to hold my most frequently used spices and spice blends—garam masala, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, Asian chili powder or cayenne pepper and turmeric. It sits on my kitchen counter where I can quickly grab a pinch of spice when needed. I generally use non-stick pots, saucepans and skillets when cooking Indian food at home because of the relatively long cooking time of ingredients. Some ingredients, like spices, onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes, which are typically cooked in small quantities of liquid or fat, tend to stick to conventional pans. If you have regular pots and pans, to prevent sticking, make sure they are heavy bottomed and sturdy. Stir the food frequently, and add more cooking oil as needed.
The following additional tools are not crucial but they will make cooking Indian food a lot simpler and quicker.
Blender
When it comes to combining liquids with fresh herbs or spices for sauces, pastes or purées there is nothing more effective than a blender. Blenders with a narrow, tapered base (or basically straight sides) work very effectively to purée thick sauces and pastes, unlike the blender jars with a broader base, which are ideal for blended drinks. Ginger garlic paste can be made very efficiently in a blender. I also use it to grind large amounts of whole spices. I prefer glass blender jars in my kitchen as plastic absorbs aromas from the spices and herbs.
I also have a hand-held blender, also called an “immersion” blender, which I often use to purée vegetables, lentils or beans. This tool is ideal when preparing puréed soups or dals, as you can purée the food directly in the pan. You need not wait for hot liquid to cool to use an immersion blender, and it saves you the task of cleaning up a messy upright blender.
Electric Food Processor
The traditional heavy grinding stone of Indian kitchens, which is moved manually, is now replaced with the modern food processor—a time-saving tool par excellence for busy cooks. Essential ingredients like onion, chili peppers, garlic and ginger can be made into pastes very quickly in these machines. The food processor can be used to chop or mince vegetables and fresh herbs, cutting down considerably on prep time. I recommend a food processor that has a capacity of between 7 and 10 cups. To pulverize smaller quantities of ingredients, make sure the blades sit close to the bottom. For very small quantities, use a knife.
Electric Spice Grinder or Coffee Grinder
I highly recommend investing in a spice grinder or a coffee grinder. This is one of the most important tools that you will use in Indian cooking. I use one to coarsely or finely grind dry whole spices. It grinds them in seconds and clean up is very simple.
Electric coffee grinders are ideally suited for grinding a wide range of spices, such as cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks (broken up), cardamom and bay leaves. They can grind as little as a teaspoon to as much as half a cup.
