3.0 Indian Cooking

Food reflects civilization; man has advanced through the ages from hunter- gatherer to agricultural societies, from raw to cooked food. Indian cooking and cuisine is well known worldwide. The dominant food style in the UK is  Indian. Most Indian restaurants are not known for their interior design and aesthetics, being managed by run-of-the-mill "mom-and-pop"operators, but continue to draw doting crowds in spite of the dowdy decor.

The secret to the richness of flavors of Indian food, is the way the various ingredients are brought together at various stages. Water has a specific heat of one and always stays at 100 deg C (212 deg F), at sea level. Above that temperature, it evaporates/becomes steam. It is this property that makes water the ideal coolant in automobile engines and other such heat control applications - it keeps the ambient temperature down to 100 deg C and no more. (pressure cooking, which raises this temperature is another whole chapter!)

Most spices used in Indian cooking contain aromatic essential oils, insoluble in water and requiring higher temperatures than the boiling point of water to bring out their flavours. In order to "bring out" the flavors within these spices, they are fresh roasted and ground just prior to use (coriander, red chillies, cumin) and their essential oils extracted in hot oil. Oil serves as a solvent and allows for a higher temperature. This is why, in Indian cooking, spices are sautéed in oil before they are added to a water based dish. Raw spices are added to hot oil and sautéed till "the oil leaves the mixture". I'm skeptical of Indian restaurants that ask for your preference of "mild, medium, or hot"; if spices are added after the dish has been cooked it tastes "kaccha" (raw), unless they use the oil extraction process to add spices to an already cooked dish. Other ethnic cuisines that make use of cumin and coriander usually boil these ingredients along with the rest of the body of the food and the difference in treatment is obvious. Indian food wins every time!

For an even more esoteric treatment on why Indian Food is like no other in the world:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/03/03/a-scientific-explanation-of-what-makes-indian-food-so-delicious/




Ingredients
Lentils (Dal):
1 cup masoor dal (red lentils)
2 cups water
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
Generous 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder


Tempering :
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2-3 dried red chillies (kashmiri)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
about 10 fresh curry leaves
Handful chopped fresh cilantro leaves
One onion sliced thin


Directions:

1. Put the lentils in a strainer and rinse them under running water.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of water, tomatoes, turmeric, and the lentils.

3. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim any scum from the
surface. DO NOT ADD SALT YET; it will toughen the lentils, thereby
lengthening their cooking time.

4. Lower the heat, cover the pot with a lid and gently simmer until
the lentils are tender, almost translucent, and almost falling apart,
about 30 to 40 minutes.

5. Whisk the lentils, releasing its natural starch, and mash some them
so the mixture becomes thick. Add salt, to taste.

Tempering:

1. Have all the ingredients ready because this will move very fast!

2. In a small skillet, over a medium-high flame, warm 1 tablespoon
vegetable oil.

3. Once the oil is shimmering, add mustard seeds and immediately cover
so you don't get covered in spluttering oil and popping mustard seeds!

4. Lower heat, Add cumin seeds - these burn really quickly, so proceed to
the next step quickly while lowering the heat..

5. Add red chillies and garlic and curry leaves - they should sizzle
and bubble a little - that's the blooming and it's exactly what you
want. Don't let them burn.

The mixture should bloom for about 30 seconds, no more.

6. Add onions, suate till translucent. The large mass of the onions will bring the
 heat down, so raise it at this point.

7. Pour this mixture into the lentils, standing back when the
mixture splutters again.

8. Stir to combine.

9. Transfer the lentils to a serving dish and garnish with cilantro.

SERVES 4

Note: all pictures are copyright J Devasundaram. Do not use without permission and attribution