Have you ever ended up doing rounds of grocery stores to pick up specific ingredients preparing to cook Indian curries? If yes, this post may help you be super prepared for every time you plan to cook Indian cuisine at home.

Cook Indian curries form an integral part of any meal today. It is a gravy-based dish cooked with spices to make a tasty accompaniment. Vegetables, lentils, chicken or boiled eggs may be added. It is usually served with Indian flatbreads as roti or naan but pairs well with steamed rice too. I love using the curries with pulao and biryani too.

Cook Curry in different kinds, some based with coconut and different spices. There is yet another kind with coconut milk. A few basic ingredients remain the same.  Here is a list of ingredients one needs to store at home.

Tomato: Use fresh, red, firm tomatoes while cooking a curry… It is one of the essential ingredients in my cooking, more so in a curry. It gives a good base to the dish. Tomatoes are loaded with lycopene which helps to fight free radicals. It also contains Vitamin B and E.

Onion & garlic: They  give good taste to the curry.  Onion is made into a paste and sauteed in oil for some time until the raw smell is gone. Garlic and ginger paste is put to enhance the taste.  Most people avoid using them during Hindu festivals.

Ginger: Fresh ginger has a pleasant aroma, it makes the curry taste awesome. The unique flavor and taste of ginger come from gingerol, a  natural oil present in it.

Turmeric: Have you noticed the beautiful color of the curries? It is the color of turmeric powder added to the dish while cooking. It is used in curries to give a distinctive color to the dish. It also acts as an anti-inflammatory and antibacterial agent.

Cardamom: It is an important spice used in cooking curries. It has a mild tone and floral flavor. There are two kinds of cardamom, the small, green one and the large, black colored one. Green cardamom is usually used in cooking.

Clove: It has a strong and pungent flavor. It is commonly used in Asian spice blends. It is used in small quantities to give a distinctive aroma to the curry.

Cilantro/ Coriander: It is mainly used in garnishing, it lends a good aroma and flavor. It is also used as a blend of sauces and curries. It has a citrusy and mint-like flavor.

8. Chilli powder/ chilli: Chilli powder is used to add spiciness to the dish. Green chili may also be used along with it in a small quantity.

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Indian cuisine has a wide range of curries. Each one is unique in taste and versatile to use. You are a good cook if you can make different kinds of dishes to suit the taste of every individual who visits your home. This is easily achieved by a small set of widely used ingredients. Cooking can be easily done with prior planning, some skill and some creativity.

How easy or difficult do you find Indian cooking? Which spice do you use regularly ? Do you prefer using chilli powder or fresh green chilli?  Would love to know your thoughts. For more such posts, do join our mailing list.

Cooking is not just about elaborate dishes laid on the table, it’s the passion you hold to cook the best meal with the available ingredients. Here are Powerful Cooking Tips which will make your daily tasks easier and the food tastes better. If you are a working mother, a few of these tips will brighten your day by easy cooking. 

1. Planning helps to cook faster

Decide ahead of the menu for the day and half the job is done for you. You are all set to lay the table at the earliest. The time is taken to decide the best menu is often after many discussions. Avoid it and make use of the ingredients that you have at home. Make use of all the items you have bought. Check the quality of the goods and if they don’t look good, it is better to discard them. 

2. Keep ingredients handy

When cooking a particular dish, cut the vegetables and keep all the necessary ingredients ready. This will ease the process and help to cook in an organized manner. Be careful with salt, you can always sprinkle it a little later.

3. Soak the pulses for half an hour

While cooking dal, soak the pulses for at least thirty minutes in warm water. This helps in proper cooking. Put a little turmeric powder on it and cook in the pressure cooker for three whistles. Allow the pressure to release by itself. 

4. Store curry leaves in a glass container

Curry leaves lend a good flavor to the dish. It is used regularly in Indian cooking. It is difficult to get curry leaves these days. Separate the leaves and keep them in a glass container in the refrigerator. Wash and use them when required. 

5. Cut vegetables proportionately

Vegetables should be cut in the same pattern and size for a particular dish. If you choose to cut them into small cubes, keep them regular. This will even facilitate cooking. 

6. When food tastes bland, check salt first

Often, I find that the dish cooked was not up to my expectations. It would be bland and I thought the spice level had to be adjusted. I soon realized I was wrong. When a dish tastes bland, most times the addition of salt makes it taste better. The key to a tasty dish is to add a little salt at every level of cooking. 

7. A dash of sugar and lemon

The addition of a little sugar to savory food helps to balance the flavors. It gives a good taste to the dish consisting of tomatoes usually. Lemon juice is another ingredient that creates magic in the food we eat. It enhances the taste of dishes like salads and chaat and takes it to a whole new level.

8. Freeze cooked beans

Store boiled chickpeas and rajma in the freezer. Put them in a zip lock bag and throw them in the freezer. It is easier to cook a meal on a busy day. Just reheat and use them in a salad or as a filling in the sandwich with some green chutney. 

9. Weekend menu planning

Weekends can be used for preparing meals for a couple of days. Chop the vegetables and keep them in an airtight container. Cook curry paste and store it in the freezer. It can be used on a busy day. You can also mix the dough and keep it in the refrigerator. Take out the desired quantity and make fresh chapatis. 

10. Beet as a health supplement

Beetroot is packed with nutrients but many people dislike the earthy taste of it. It is ideal to make in the form of a powder and use it. It also gives a good color to the dish. Wash and peel the beet. Grate and dry it thoroughly. Grind to a powder and store in an airtight container. One can use it in smoothies and other dishes.

I hope you liked these powerful Cooking Tips. Which of these are you planning to adopt? Let me know in the comments section below. Do share them with your family and friends.

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It was one of the working days, I got a call from my friend Mina asking about the curry I had prepared for her earlier. Mina is a Dutch girl who has developed quite a taste for Indian cuisine and doesn’t mind trying to cook curry at home every once in a while.

I helped Mina with the recipe. Though initially she was scared that she might miss any of the ingredients and fail to get the perfect dish. Soon, she mastered it. She loves curries with hot steamed rice and keeps looking for new recipes and variations. Like Mina, making the basic Indian curry is mind-boggling for many young girls.  I find newbie cooks are often confused about the substitution of an ingredient to it and some myths about Indian food need to be debunked. 

The last year was tough and most of them have cooked at home. Whenever I was in a dilemma, I usually made jeera rice with some delicious curry. The meal was sorted and the children were happy.  Here are a few typical myths about Indian food and misunderstandings which will ease the cooking for you. 

Myth 1:  Indian curries are essentially spicy

All Indian curries are not spicy. It’s the most common myth about Indian food. Most of them are cooked with spices but in a limited quantity to bear a soft aroma and mild taste. One can reduce the number of green chilies, black pepper, or red chilies according to taste. It is just a myth about Indian food that the bright red color means it is too spicy. 

Myth 2: Adding water to the curry helps to reduce the excess salt

Adding water does not remove the excess salt. The curry becomes watery and may not taste good. Instead, boil some vegetables and put them in it. Alternatively, you can put a boiled potato and cook it for some time. Remove the potato and serve the dish. The potato absorbs the excess salt. Adding a little chili powder along with a little sugar will level up the spice level. 

Myth 3: If you don’t like peas, stay away from the curries with green peas mentioned in the ingredients

If you do not like using green peas, avoid using them. Use any vegetable that you like, assorted veggies like beans, carrot, capsicum, cauliflower are usually used in curries. If you do not intend to use a particular vegetable, skip it. Feel free to add soya chunks of paneer in it. They give a good taste along with vegetables. 

Myth 4: It’s better to avoid adding ghee or butter

Ghee or clarified butter consists of good fats and gives a good taste to the dish. I would suggest adding a small quantity and the difference is visible to you. If you are a vegan, use oil. 

Myth 5:  It’s better to saute onions for less time

Onions should be sauteed until translucent in color. If you are using onion paste, it has to be cooked for a longer time. The raw smell should vanish and a little oil should be visible on the sides. It indicates you can then proceed further in cooking. 

Myth 6: Indian food adds inches to your waist

The reality is that Indian food is a balanced mix of nutrition and taste. It keeps you healthy, fit and free of lifestyle diseases. It only causes obesity if taken regularly in excess and is comparable to any other local cuisine for that matter. Although I agree, with the sumptuous taste it has, it’s rather difficult to stop eating once you have had enough. 

Myth 7: Indian food can’t be cooked without using fat

A lot of Indian curries are made using very little oil. Rather they make use of other cooking mediums like coconut milk, water or steam. The richness of Indian curries comes from Nuts, Milk Products, methodical roasting and other aspects of preparation which might sometime require oil usage but not always.

I hope reading the above post helped get some myths about Indian food cleared. For more such articles, do not forget to subscribe to our mailing list.