Ever feel like when you’re cooking Indian food, you just can’t seem to get the same punch from your food as you do when eating at an authentic Indian restaurant, even when you follow recipes to the letter?
Well, it turns out that there is likely one step you’ve missed while cooking up a storm: spices.
Now, it’s not down to the spices you’ve measured out and used, that’s probably accurate. Instead, it’s how you’re cooking spices that matters because, according to Little India of Denver: “The essential step in making good Indian food is cooking spices. Simply adding spices will not create the same flavour or depth of flavour.”
How to thoroughly cook spices
So, now that we know that we have to take the time to cook spices, how do we do it?
According to the aptly-named Spices Inc: “First, heat the oil up on a high temperature, then once it’s started popping and bubbling, lower it to a medium heat.
“Add the spices and then reduce the heat one last time to low. This will help the spices release their flavours slowly.”
The oil that you cook your spices in is down to the rest of the recipe. Traditionally, Indian food was cooked in ghee, which is a clarified butter, but you can use whatever the recipe calls for to cook your spices in.
Once you’ve cooked off your spices, you can then build up the rest of the recipe, enveloping your foods in the rich, enhanced flavour of cooked spices, as well as making your kitchen smell stunning.
How to ensure that you don’t burn spices when cooking
Of course, with cooking, there’s always the fear that you’ll burn ingredients and due to how delicate spices can be, this worry is heightened.
According to East At Home, the trick is not skimping on the oil. The cooking experts said: “If you don’t have enough oil, ingredients can burn and spices won’t cook in the correct way.
“It’s always better to use a bit more oil than less as you can skim off excess oil at the end of cooking.”
I know what I’m planning for tea tonight.