SPICES USED IN INDIAN COOKING
A number of people think that curry
powder is a particular spice that is ground up, bottled and sold by the
local grocery stores to add to a sauce, and that this sauce is then a
"curry."
Actually, a curry powder is a combination
of spices and herbs, blended together in varying proportions. The spices
found most frequently in prepared curry powders are coriander, cumin,
fenugreek, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, mace and
cayenne pepper.
Commercial curry powder is not used in
India; instead separate spices are used, either whole or ground to a
paste, to impart an individual flavor to each particular dish. Usually
Indian homemakers grind their spices daily on a rectangular grindstone
with another stone in the shape of a rolling pin. Then each dish will have
its own unique combination of spices, thus avoiding the monotony produced
by using the same mixture over and over again. Once you have tried the
process of combining your own spices, you will rarely, if ever, return to
commercial curry powder.
There are some other problems associated
with the use of commercial curry powders. First of all, the powder is
often not made from the best quality spices or the best combinations of
them; and second, even when it is, it contains a certain amount of filler,
usually rice flour, which is apt to burn when it is fried and to taste
burned. Thus it is advisable to make your own spices, or garam masalas, as
Indians call them, or combination of spices which is easily done by mixing them together in an electric blender. Ground spices tend to lose
their flavor more rapidly than those that are whole; however to grind or
not to is an individual preference.
NEXT: Most frequently used spices in
Indian food
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