Indian Cooking: Spices and Techniques

Indian cooking gets a reputation for being complicated or requiring dozens of ingredients — but at its core, it's built on a small number of learned techniques that unlock extraordinary flavor. Once you understand bloom, build, and finish, an enormous range of dishes becomes accessible.

The Essential Indian Spices

Start with these twelve — they cover the vast majority of Indian cooking:

• Cumin seeds (whole and ground)
• Coriander seeds (whole and ground)
• Turmeric powder
• Garam masala (a blend — buy good quality or make your own)
• Chili powder or Kashmiri chili (for color and heat)
• Black mustard seeds
• Cardamom pods (green and black)
• Black pepper
• Cloves
• Cinnamon
• Bay leaves
• Asafoetida (hing) — optional but transformative in lentil dishes

The Blooming Technique

The most important technique in Indian cooking: blooming (also called "tempering" or "tadka") is the process of adding whole spices and aromatics to hot oil at the start of cooking. The fat extracts fat-soluble flavor compounds that would otherwise stay locked in the spice.

Order of operations: Heat oil or ghee in the pan. Add whole spices (mustard seeds will pop, cumin will sizzle). Add onion, cook until golden. Add ginger-garlic paste. Add ground spices — stir and cook for 1-2 minutes in the fat. Add other ingredients.

This "blooming" step is why Indian restaurant food tastes different from home cooking that simply adds spices with the liquid — the flavor compounds are carried throughout the fat and then throughout the dish.

Building the Masala Base

Most Indian dishes begin with a masala — a cooked paste of onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and spices. Building it properly takes patience:

1. Finely dice or grate onion. Cook in oil over medium heat — stir frequently — until deep golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. This sweet, caramelized base is essential.
2. Add ginger-garlic paste (fresh ground in equal parts). Cook 2-3 minutes until raw smell disappears.
3. Add ground spices — turmeric, chili, coriander, cumin. Stir and cook 1-2 minutes.
4. Add blended tomatoes. Cook stirring until oil separates — about 8-10 minutes. This "oil separation" indicates the masala is properly cooked.

The Tadka Finish

A second tempering at the end, poured over finished dishes like dal: heat ghee in a small pan until very hot. Add whole spices and dried chilies — they'll sizzle instantly. Pour the sizzling ghee over the finished dish. The burst of aromatics bloomed fresh in hot fat transforms the dish.

Essential Dishes to Learn First

• Dal tadka: Lentils with a spiced ghee tempering — fundamental and deeply satisfying
• Aloo gobi: Potato and cauliflower with turmeric and cumin — simple and perfect
• Chana masala: Chickpeas in spiced tomato gravy — hearty and aromatic
• Palak paneer: Spinach with fresh cheese — learning to cook paneer is very useful
• Basmati rice: Properly cooked, light and separate — essential as the base