The food

The soul of an Indian home (ghar) is its Rasoighar (The Kitchen) and it is the most important and special place for every Indian home. An Indian kitchen stores endless spices, herbs, grains and oils along with various mortars and pestles. Rasoighar is where most Indian housewives spend a great deal of time preparing meals to feed and comfort their loved ones. The Indian kitchen never closes down as there is always something cooking.

Indian cuisine is famed for its colourful array of vegetables and for its infinitely subtle blends of aromatic spices and seasonings.

Spices are the essence of Indian cuisine and form the foundation of any dish.

Aniseed: The seeds are used for making chutneys & relishes. They have a subtle liquorice flavour.

Besan: Fine yellow flour made from ground chickpeas.

Chilli and chilli powder: Red and green chillies, either fresh or dried, are used for flavouring and adding colour to the dish.

Coriander: Coriander is a very important spice in Indian food as it gives strong flavour to sauces. Fresh coriander is frequently used for garnishing.

Curry leaves: These impart a subtle flavour when fried.

Fennel seeds: These are frequently used for flavouring stocks and sauces. They impart a sweet aroma to the dish.

Garam masala: Literally, 'warm combination of spices'. A fascinating combination of cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, mace, black pepper, nutmeg, green and black cardamoms. Ground together these spices make garam masala.

Paneer: Curd cheese.

Pulses: These are dried seeds of plants such as beans and peas. They form an important part of the Indian diet. They include chickpeas, whole peas, red and yellow lentils, black gram and kidney beans.

Poppy seeds: White poppy seeds roasted and ground, are used to provide a nutty flavour and to thicken curries.

Saffron: The world’s most expensive spice. This is frequently used to flavour and impart colour to rich kormas and rice dishes.

Mango powder: This is made from fresh, unripe green mangoes that have been dried & then ground to a powder. This is used to add sharpness to vegetarian dishes.

Tamarind: The dried fruit of the tamarind tree. This is used instead of lemon juice to add sharpness and to impart a rich brown colour to savoury dishes.

Turmeric: Most widely used spice in Indian cookery. Imparts a bright golden colour to dishes in which it is used and gives a distinctive flavour.

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