KITCHEN ORGANIZATION & DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITES

Indian Cuisine

India is a home to a wide variety of foods from the different regions of the country. The country’s geographically and cultural differences and its variety in local produce, traditions’, temperament and eating habits are the various factors that are responsible for this diversity in its cuisine.

 In Indian tradition food is placed next to God and that is the reason why food forms a main part of ceremonies and religious celebrations.  Indian food  has an impression of being spicy and hot, but Indians know that this is far from true. The cuisine of many states form a region has common preparation styles and thus, the flavour profiles of neighbouring states are similar.

Philosophy of Indian food

Ayurveda classifies Indian food into the following six taste.

1.      Sweet

2.      Salty

3.      Pungent

4.      Bitter

5.      Astringent

6.      Sour

History

Influence of the invaders and travellers on Indian cuisine

 It has evolved along lines parallel to Indian history.  India has ancient cultural heritage which is dependent on religion, geography and socioeconomic conditions. Traditionally Indian cooking has been handed down through the generations by demonstrations and word of mouth. India is a land that was invaded by many conquerors and rulers. India was invaded by Arabs, central Asians, Mughals and also Greeks. Some travellers from china also left a huge impact on the Indian cooking styles and flavours.

Name	Influences
Greek	Spices like fenugreek, saffron, cheese and fennel
Mughals	Use of spices , meat such as lamb spit fire ovens Birth of kebabs and use of variety of nuts such as almonds and pistachios
Mongolians and Chinese	Introductions of new cooking styles of jot pots and stews. Use of mustard oil and sugar and use of kadhai
Portuguese	Introduction of sea food such as prawns and  meats such as pork with lots of fruits such as pineapples, guavas, tomatoes, pumpkins and cashew nuts
British	Various types of shorbas and soups are the influence of British. Use of grilling pans and roasting given by British. Development of Indian curries and introduction of tea to India

Spices used in Indian cookery

In kitchen spices are classify into fresh or dried spices. The dried spices are either whole or grounded spices. Spices come from various parts of plants such as

Part of plant	Examples of spices
Bracket or the aril covering of the seed	Mace
Barks	Cassia, cinnamon
Berries	Allspice, pimento, black pepper, juniper
Buds	Cloves
Floral parts	Garlic, leek
Fruits	Cardamom, chillies
Kernels	Nutmeg
Leaves	Bay leaves, curry leaves, marjoram, coriander etc
Underground stems	Ginger, Turmeric
Latex or Resins	Asafoetida
Seeds	Aniseeds, caraway, cumin, coriander, mustard etc

Role of spices in Indian Cooking

Name	Indian Name	Use in Indian cooking
All spices	Kebab Cheeni	Used in flavouring lamb biased kebabs  and used in some pickles and chutneys
Carom seed, Bishops weed	Ajwain	Used in Indian breads, samosas, pakoras and goes well with beans and pulses.
Aniseed/ Fennel seed	Saunf	Used extensively in curries and gravies form Kashmir, also forms one of the ingredients for tempering and pickes
Asafoetida or Devils Dung	Hing	Used in vegetarian cooking and pairs well with lentils and curd based gravies.
Bay leaf	Tej Patta	Used for flavouring stocks, pilaffs and meat dishes
Green cardamom	Choti Elaichi	Used extensively in curries, desserts and in flavouring tea used in Mughlai dishes in kebabs and biryanis
Black cardomom	Moti elaichi	It is important ingredients in garam masala also used in meat and rice preparations
Cinnamom	Dalchini	It is important ingredients in garam masala also used in curries and rice preparations.
Clove	Lavang laung	A garam masala ingredient used in kebabs and curries and biryanis
Coriander seeds	Dhaniya	Used in tempering ,pickles,snacks, yoghurt based gravies and meat preparations
Cumin	Jeera/Zeera	Use in tempering of curries and dals also used for making refreshing  drinks and flavouring snacks.
Chilli/Cayenne	Mirch	Use for  tempering, colour, spiciness, and flavour .
Cubeb pepper	Pipli	Usually used in Mughlai  food in preparation of  biryani and kebabs.
Dill	Sowa	It is a herb crushed and used in tempering commonly used in Kashmiri cuisine.
Fenugreek	Methi	Used as vegetable and as condiments for flavouring dish
Mangosteen	KoKum	Used as condiments for red colour and tangy taste in dishes  and refreshing drinks
liquorice	Mulethi	Usually used in making milk tea or masala tea.
Mace and nutmeg	Javitri and jaiphal	Used in Mughlai food in kebabs, biryani and curries
Mustrard	Sarson/Rai	Used for tempering and as oil for cooking. Also used in marinades, paste and pickles.
Nigella	Kalonji	Used in Indian bread and curries. Used for tempering and in pickles
Pepper	Kali mirch	Extensively used for flavour in curries and biryanis. Also a important ingredient of garam masala.
Poppy seeds	Khus khus	Used as condiment and as thickening agent for curries and gravy. Used as crust for certain kebabs.
Saffron	Kesar	Commonly used in mughlai cuisine mainly for richness and colouring purpose  in kebabs, biryanis and kormas.
Star Anise	Chakri phool/Badalphool	Use for flavouring kebabs, curries, rice and lentils and in some sweets.
Tamarind	Imili	Used as a thickening and souring agent in chutney, pickles and chaats
Zedoary	Aam Haldi	Used in east Indian cuisine to make curries and pickles.
Turmeric	Haldi	Largely used in curries for colour and flavour medicinal properties .
Celery seeds	Radhuni	Mainly used as a flavouring spice for pickles and chutneys.
Curry leaves	Kari patta	Used for tempering and flavouring curries and chutneys. It also used for its medicinal properties
Marjoram	Marwa	It is a herb used in lamb dishes and chutney.
Oregano	Mirzanjosh/ Sathra	It is dried berry used in chutneys and meat preparation.
Pomegranate seeds	Anardana	Used in curries and chutney for piquant taste.
Capers	Marathi moggu	Used for its piquant and peppery taste in south Indian dishes
Stone flower	Pathar ka phool;	Widely used in Hyderabad cuisine for kebabs and biryani
Cobra saffron	Nag kesar	Used as condiment in dried form as one of the ingredients in Goda masala
Basil seeds	Subza	Used as garnish in frozen dessert kulfi.
Dried ginger	Saunth	Used for flavour in curries, breads, dessert, chutneys and aperitifs
Black salt	Kala namak	Used as salt in savoury snacks, raita and refreshing drinks
Root of betel	Paan ki jadh	The dried root is used in potli masala to flavour biryanis and meat dishes.

Indian Masala

Blending of spices and concept of masala

Spices form important ingredients of various dishes, especially in the Indian cuisine. The effect of each spice on the recipe is very complex since each spice has its very own distinctive nature, flavour and aroma. Blending can be done through various ways such as broiling, frying in oil, grating, bruising and grinding the spice to a powder or crushed form.

Concept of dry and wet masala

 Masalas  are used in certain ways in dishes to extract their flavour. The usage of masala depend on its cooking time.dry masala   is more or less fried in hot oil or tempered. If masala requires more cooking or frying in oil to extract the flavours and colours, it is advisable to use it in the paste form as dry powder might burn in oil giving and unpleasant taste to the dish.

Dry masala

 They are those which are in their dry form and no additional liquid component is added to them. These can be whole or broiled and powdered. Some items may also be dried in order ti be blended with other dry spices. Some of the dry masala are:-

Name	Ingredients	Uses
Aamchoori masala	Aamchoor( powder of dry mango), aniseed, cumin, ginger powder, coriander powder, red chilli, salt, ajwain	From Punjab region. Used for stuffing vegetables
Potli masala	Cubeb pepper, clove, stone pepper, all spice, cinnamon, mace, green cardamom, root of betel	Tied in muslin cloth used for flavouring curries and stock for biryanis.
Khada masala	Cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom, black cardamom, cumin	Used for flavours in hot oil and removing its unwanted flavour
Chaat masala	Cumin, peppercorn, black salt, dry mint, kasoori methi, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, asafoetida, tartaric acid, mace, dried mango powder.	As the name suggest this masala is used in the Indian snacks.
Chana masala	Coriander, cumin, red chillies, ginger powder, dried mango powder, cinnamon, black pepper, black cardamom, garlic, cubeb pepper, nutmeg, clove, mace, dried pomegranate seeds	A Punjabi masala used to flavour chana dishes
Kebab masala	Chaat masala, chilli powder, black salt, garam masala, kasoori methi	One can create unique kebab masala for sprinkling on kebabs
Amritsari macchi masala	Cumin, coriander, mint powder, ajwoin, asafoetida, aamchoor,  ginger powder, chilli powder	Again a Punjabi masala used for fried fish preparation
Panch phoran masala	Anise, mustard, cumin, fenugreek, nigella, radhuni	A Bengali masala used for tempering of vegetables, lentils and fish
Achari masala	Anise, mustard, cumin, fenugreek, nigella seeds	Used for flavouring pickles and Achari gravy with lamb.
Bhatti da masala	Ajowan, green cardamom, black cardamom, clove, bay leaves, cumin, coriander, mace, nutmeg, black pepper, ginger powder, kasoori methi	Another Punjabi cuisine masala used for kebabs which are grilled on open charcoal grill
Dum ka masala	Anise, ginger powder, green cardamom, black cardamom	It is suitable for Dum cooking, mainly used for Mughlai foods.
Gun powder	Dried curry leaves, red chilli , chana dal, sesame seeds, black pepper	It is very hot masala from Tamil Nadu used for flavouring boiled rice with ghee also served with idilis also.
Bafat masala	Red chilli, coriander seeds, cumin mustard, pepper, turmeric, clove, cinnamon.	Used for both in vegetarian and meat dishes belonging to Mangalore region to south India
Goda masala	Coriander seeds, sesame seeds, dry grated coconut, dried red chillies, cumin, cinnamon, asafoetida, star anise, bay leaf, peppercorn, cobra saffron	It is from Maharashtra region used in Konkani cuisine. Used for flavouring meat and vegetables dishes
kolhapuri Masala	Red chilli, coriander, sesame, cumin, mace, cinnamon, dry ginger, green cardamom, black  cardamom, mustard, clove, bay leaf, dry coconut, garlic, poppy seeds, peppercorns, asafoetida, turmeric, fenugreek, star anise, nutmeg, oil.	Regional masala from Maharashtra it is very hot and used to prepare the mutton dish.
Rasam masala	Red chilli, coriander, cumin, peppercorns, turmeric	A south Indian masala for flavouring a hot apertif called  rasam.

Wet Masala

They are made by soaking the spieces in liquid and grind them into a paste. Fresh ingredients may be used to yield the wet masala.

Name	Ingredients	Uses
Malabar Masala	Coriander, anise fenugreek, nutmeg, star anise, clove, cinnamon	A masala from south India used for basic fish curries
Sambhar Masala	Coriander, cumin, chana dal, urad dal, asafoetida, dry chilli, peppercorns, grated coconut, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, turmeric.	It used to flavour  the lentil curry called  sambar.
Chettinad masala	Red Chilli, black cardamom, cinnamon, fenugreek, anise, cumin, coriander seeds, star anise, poppy seeds, green cardamom, cloves, stone flower, nutmeg, capers, curry leaves, mace, grated coconut.	Named after merchant community known as chettiars in Tamil Nadu. Goes well with chicken.
Goan masala	Red chilli, garlic, coriander, cinnamon, clove, green cardamom, toddy vinegar, sugar.	Region masala predominately used in Goan cuisine used for fish and seafood.
Xacutti masala	Sliced onion, grated coconut, coriander seeds, cumin, cloves, black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon.	Regional masala from Goa goes well with chicken.
Rechado masala	Red chilli, garlic, peppercorn, coriander, cumin, turmeric, star anise, sugar	Regional masala from Goa goes well with  fish.
Balchao masala	Red chilli, cinnamon, green cardamom, peppercorn, cumin, fresh ginger, garlic.	Regional masala from Goa goes well with  seafood such as prawns, and shrimps.
Soola masala	Coriander seeds, clove, green cardamom, fennel, garlic, mustard oil, coriander roots, peppercorn.	Regional masala from Rajasthan used in kebabs called  soola.
Tandoori masala	Hung yoghurt, red chilli, turmeric, garam masala, ginger garlic paste, malt vinegar, salt	Regional masala from Punjab  used to marinate the tandoori preparations such as chicken, fish, kebabs.
Salan masala	Sesame seeds, cashewnuts, peanuts, desiccated coconut, peppercorn, red chilli, turmeric.	Regional masala from Hyderabad used in making gravy called salan. It is usually a vegetable preparation that is an accompaniment with biryani.
Ver masala	Garlic, shallots, red chilli powder, anise seeds, black cumin, black cardamom seeds, green cardamom seeds, cinnamon, cloves, fenugreek seeds, black pepper corns, mace, star anise, nutmeg	Regional masala from Kashmir   sold as dry cakes called tikki. Used in Kashmiri curries and dishes.