Cookbook:Spices and herbs

Cookbook | Basic foodstuffs

Spices and herbs are used in many different ways in the art of cooking. Interestingly, different cultures use a different set of spices and herbs to give the dishes their distinguishing taste and flavour.

Some commonly used herbs and spices are listed below:

Whole spices compared to ground spices

Most spices and herbs are available in either a finely ground form for cooking or in the raw form as a seed, nut, leaf, or tuber. Most of the time, the ground form is required to properly flavor the dish. Generally, whole spices keep their flavor longer than the ground spices.

Bay Leaves are generally used in stews and soups and are almost always used whole.

Green spices compared to dried spices

Often times, a recipe will require modifications if the fresh version is used because the flavors do change.

Indian Spices

The notion of "Curry powder" is an English invention. The primary spices used in Indian cooking are:

Mustard seeds, which are put in the oil before cooking until they pop and release their flavor
Turmeric powder, which colors the dish
Cumin seeds, either ground up or whole. They are put in the oil before cooking.
Ground coriander seeds.
Cardamom seeds, roasted in the oil before cooking
Carom seeds, roasted in the oil before cooking
Ginger
Red pepper
Garam masala, which depending on the recipe is either put in early or late in the cooking process, is a blend of roasted aromatic spices.
Kalonji seeds are small black onion seeds used to give naan bread its distinctive flavour.
Panch Puran, a spice blend.

Overall, the flavor of Indian cooking is made from a combination of these different spices, with some of them roasted in oil at the beginning of cooking to release aromatic flavors. Different recipes from different parts of India and surrounding countries use different combinations.

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Cookbook:Spices and herbs

See also