Glossary of cooking terms and Ingredients


Tadka/Baghaar

Tempering. A process used for flavoring certain dishes.

Halwa

A dessert with the consistency of a very thick pudding.

Kadhai

A wok-like Indian cooking utensil.

Chaat Masala

A hot-sour spice mix used to garnish Indian snacks and salads.

Ghee

Clarified butter.

Pudhina

Mint leaves. Highly fragrant, mint is used in vegetable dishes, as a garnish and in chutneys.

Dhania Patti

Coriander leaves. This fragrant herb is used both in cooking and as an attractive garnish.

Lassan

Garlic. A standard ingredient in most curries, it is usually used in paste form and with ginger.

Adrak

Ginger. It is a vital ingredient in most Indian dishes. Ginger is usually used in paste form in curries and as juliennes to garnish.

Aamchoor

Raw mango powder. This has a sour taste and is often used to flavour vegetable dishes.

Imli

Tamarind. This fruit is used to add sourness to a dish, it can be used in place of or replaced by lime juice.

Ajwain

Thymol. This is used largely for its digestive properties and can be bought in seed form.

Hing

Asafetida. This strong smelling spice is best stored in a tightly closed container as it can easily impart its smell to other spices.

Saunf

Aniseed/Fennel seeds. Used to flavour pickles, chutneys and curries. Aniseed is a very efficient digestive and mouth freshener and is often eaten chewed after meals.

Methi

Fenugreek seeds. These yellow seeds are typically used whole or as a paste.

Khus-khus

Poppy seeds. These are ground into a paste and used a lot in East Indian cooking.

Gud - Jaggery

Gud or Jaggery is the Indian name for unrefined sugarcane sugar. It is widely used in both savory and sweet dishes all over India.

Tejpatta

Bay leaves. They are used in curries and also to neutralize strong odors in cooking.

Kali Mirch

Peppercorns. Most often used whole. If required in its powdered form, pepper tastes best when freshly ground.

Laung

Cloves. Like cinnamon, this spice is also typically used whole in Indian cooking.

Daal Chini

Cinnamon. Typically used whole in Indian cooking, it can be bought as sticks in most stores.

Eliachi

Cardamom. Available in three types – black, green and white. The green and white can be used in both sweet and savory dishes while the black is only used in savory dishes.

Garam masala

The magic spice, this is what adds flavour and fragrance to Indian dishes. It is a combination of various whole spices. You can buy it readymade in the stores or make your own.

Haldi

Turmeric. Mainly used for yellow colour in Indian food. It is most commonly available as a fine powder. Turmeric has amazing antiseptic qualities.

Hari Mirchi

Fresh green chillies. These can be used as an alternative to dry red chillies or red chilli powder. They are rich in vitamins A and C.

Laal Mirchi

Dry red chillies. These add the fire to a dish! Be careful how many you use, testing and tasting as you go. To cut some of the heat, you can remove the seeds from the chillies. Dry red chillies are also ground for use in a coarse or fine powder form.

Jeera

Cumin seeds. These come in two kinds, white and black. The black variety is called Shahjeera. Both are used either whole or in powder form. Stock both seeds and powder of each kind.

Dhania

Coriander seeds. A standard ingredient in most Indian dishes, coriander seeds are used whole or in coarse or fine powder form. When stocking your pantry get both the seeds and the powder.

Dal

Lentils. Masoor (split red lentils) – These are actually orange-colored grains. The whole variety with the skin still on is pale brown in colour. Moong (split yellow lentil) Urad (black gram) - Available with or without its black outer skin. Inside the black skin is a cream-colored lentil. Chana (large split yellow lentil) - Looks like a larger version of Moong.

Aataa

Whole wheat flour. Used to make chapatis, parathas and other Indian breads.

Dum

A method of slow-cooking food in its own steam and juices.

Degchi

A large deep vessel with a rim and its own cover. Degchis are used for cooking large amounts of food and also for making dishes like biryani.

Chatpata

This word is used to describe dishes that have a hot-and-sour flavour.

Chai

Indian tea is made in a variety of styles - black, brewed with milk and sugar, boiled long and slowly, spiced, etc.

Biryani

A world-renowned Indian dish, Biryani takes time and practice to make but is worth every bit of the effort.

Bhurji or Bhujia

Translated literally, this means scrambled.

Basmati Rice

A variety of long-grained Indian rice that gives off a lovely fragrance when cooked. Rice dishes like pilafs and biryanis, cooked on special occasions, are moslty made with Basmati Rice.

Bhoono or Bhunao

To stir-fry or sauté. Most Indian dishes require spices to be sautéd with onions, tomatoes and a ginger-garlic paste. This cooks the spices and prevents them from having a 'raw' taste.

Bhartaa

A vegetable dish where the main ingredients are mashed and mixed with spices. Baingan Bhartaa is probably the best known bhartaa dish.

Barfi

A term related to Indian sweets.

Balchao

A style of masala (spice mix) from Goa, in which whole spices like cumin and dry red chillies and a little sugar are soaked in vinegar and ground into a thick paste.
Achaar
The Hindi term for pickle. Indian pickles are made from all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables but mango, lime and chilly are especially popular.

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