Indian Cuisine Glossary
Here are some common words, foods, and terms used in Indian cooking.
- Aloo - this is the Indian word for potato.
- Asafetida - the dried gum resin of an Indian plant, with a very strong flavor and odor, not to be eaten raw.
- Atta - finely ground whole wheat flour used in many Indian breads.
- Basmati - a flavorful long grain rice that cooks up dry, fluffy, and tender. It smells like popcorn while it's cooking.
- Biriani - A dish made of rice baked with a vegetable or meat based filling.
- Chutney - a blend of fruits and spices cooked into a thick sauce. There are sweet and savory chutnies. The most common type is made of mango.
- Elaichi - cardamom, a spice common in curry blends and garam masala.
- Fenugreek - Small flat seeds that are used in curries for slightly bitter flavor. Also sold as a dried leaf.
- Garam Masala - literally, warm spices; a blend of spices used to flavor dishes that varies not only from region to region, but from cook to cook.
- Ghee - clarified butter. This is made by slowly melting butter, skimming off the foam, and saving the golden liquid, leaving the white butter solids behind. This butter can be heated to a higher temperature without burning than ordinary butter.
- Halwa - a congealed, translucent sweet dish made of fruits and syrups.
- Jaggery - dried sugarcane juice; the most common form of sugar in India; a thick sweet mixture with a texture that ranges from butter to fudge.
- Korma - a sauce made with yogurt and ground nuts or seeds, especially poppy seeds.
- Masala - the Hindi word for 'spice'.
- Paratha - an unleavened fried bread made with whole wheat flour, sometimes filled with meat and vegetables.
- Poppadums or Pappadams - spicy wafers made from lentils or legumes.
- Raita - a cooling salad made from vegetables and yogurt served as an accompaniment to hot and spicy dishes.
- Roti - the Indian word for bread.
- Samosas - a crisp pastry, filled with vegetables or meat and deep fried, served as an appetizer.
- Tandoor - a large, deep oven made from clay that cooks food at very high temperatures. Tandoori is the name for any recipe cooked in the tandoor.
- Vindaloo - a very spicy dish made with garam masala, meat and vinegar that is a specialty of an Indian province, Goa.
