How To Cook Indian Food

Easy tips on how to cook Indian Food are in this article. Indian food is hot and it is easy to cook. Once you understand the basic spices, you too will be able to make some very delicious meals. Indian food is not as hot as Thai food, but it is seasoned with many spices to enhance the flavor of the food. Learning how to cook Indian food can only be accomplished with having garam masala in your cabinet and that recipe is included here.

In order to cook Indian food you must have:

• A recipe
• Spices, and lots of them
• Meat, veggies and oils that flavor the food

1. Spices. No decent cook could make Indian food flavorful without a huge cabinet full of spices. These spices would include garam masala of course; curry leaves, turmeric, curry powder, fenugreek, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes and more. Indians love to use a multitude of spices and no decent Indian meal would be complete with out bread, dal and a rice dish.
2. Breads. The traditional bread for Indians is nan bread. A very easy to make bread made with flour, yogurt, sugar and yeast just to name a few of the ingredients. It is served daily with Indian meals. The other favorite bread is chapati bread. Chapati bread is a traditional bread made with flour, water and ghee (clarified butter). Chapati bread is fried in a skillet and served immediately with meals. Nan takes a while to prepare and is a yeast bread.
3. Tandori. A tandori oven is a traditional oven in most Indian homes. The oven is built in the ground and is used for many things from nan bread to the very famous tandori chicken. Can you make tandori chicken without a tandori oven? Yes you can with the right flavors and yogurt, but it will not have that ancient taste that true authentic Indians desire.
4. Basmati Rice. Basmati rice is a as traditional in India as potatoes are in America. Basmati rice is used in many meals from the kabsa to the biryani that Indians love so much.  There is lamb biryani, chicken biryani and even vegetable biryani. Basmati rice comes in many grades, so be sure to get the best.
5. Chutneys. Chutneys are not necessarily hot, but they are flavorful and served along side the meal. There are many different types to include peach, mango, mint and navratna chutney. Chutneys are made and stored for months and months.
6. Curries. The other thing that is traditional in India is the many curries that are made.  Although chicken curry is traditional, fish curry is made also. Indians love fish and they love curry also. Curries are very easy to make and just simply a lot of spices and vegetables. The meat is then cooked in the curry sauce and served over a bed of basmati flavored rice.

Recipe for Garam Masala

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup coriander seeds, whole
• 1/8 cup cinnamon sticks, broken
• 1/8 cup peppercorns, black
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/8 cup cumin seeds, whole
• 1 tbsp. cloves, whole
• 1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 2 tsps. red pepper flakes
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. cardamon seeds, whole

Directions:

1. On a baking sheet put all the spices except the turmeric, red pepper flakes and nutmeg. Heat the whole spices in the oven on a very low temperature of 275 to 300 degrees for ten minutes. 
2. Remove the spices from the oven after the flavors have become fragrant.  After the spices are cooled, place them in a coffee grinder and grind them. 
3. Add in the red pepper flakes, nutmeg and turmeric and grind again. Store in an airtight glass jar.