Some Indian Spices for Adding Flavours to Your Hot Favourite Indian Curries

The striking feature of Indian cuisine is the wide use of several authentic Indian spices. Spices are regarded as the heartbeat or the real essence of Indian cuisine. The spices are not at all used for making the delicious curries fiery hot and spicy but to add subtle and distinctive flavours to Indian dishes. Spices make dishes delicious, aromatic, and distinct. Enjoy the flavours of India and a fine dining experience at the best Indian restaurant based in Melbourne.

Each spice is known to impart a distinctive flavour but when they are used in combination with other spices the individual characteristics are changed magically. Spices are used not only for boosting the flavours of various dishes but they offer many health benefits and are used often for medicinal purposes.

Asafoetida

This is supposed to be sap from the root and stem of a plant that is dried up completely into a hard resin. The smell of Hing or asafoetida is quite pungent and strong in uncooked form.  However, when added to curries or pulses and cooked the pungent smell seems to mellow down on its own and it would be substituted by a pleasant aroma particularly when cooked in ghee or oil. Hing is the star in your kitchen and Indian cuisine gets a whole new dimension thanks to this aromatic spice. The strong aroma of Hing may overpower the other spices in your kitchen. So Hing must be stored in only airtight containers. Asafoetida comes in two forms such as a resin and a powder. It is more frequently used in its powdered form. A little bit of Hing is just enough for seasoning and tempering your food to flavour it.

Saffron: Saffron is certainly the real king of all spices. This exotic spice is one of the costliest spices in the world. Saffron looks like tiny orange-coloured threads. These are the real stigmas of crocus, a type of a flower. Saffron is known to infuse an amazing flavour and an orangish red colour to mostly rice dishes such as pulaos and Biryanis. It is also added to popular Indian desserts such as Kesar Koolfi, phirni, kesar pista ice cream etc. Enjoy the culinary experience at a dining Indian restaurant, based in Melbourne.

Rock Salt or Kali Namak: Rock salt is a version of common salt (NaCl) with certain impurities in it. Sulphate presence renders a slight pungency to it. It is generally used as a garnish on various dishes, fruits, and vegetables, but can also be used in the cooking process.

The form it is usually available in is hued crystals ground to a powder. Rock salt is also used in ice cream and is, in fact, a wildly popular ice cream flavour.

Cloves: Cloves are actually dried flower buds. All the unopened and fully grown buds are plucked and dried completely in the sun. The fresh green buds become dark brown almost blackish in colour. They are widely used for medicinal and culinary purposes. Indian cuisine uses garam masala in almost all its exotic curries and other dishes. Cloves are an essential ingredient in the garam masala mix. Cloves are consumed as they generate heat in the body. The masala chai contains cloves and is enjoyed during the winter season for added warmth. Cloves are also used in some desserts. However, it does have medicinal properties. Cloves help to alleviate dental pain or teeth issues. Relish scrumptious delicacies at the best dining Indian restaurant based in Melbourne.