Indian Cooking

The cooking techniques used in this book are not too different from the techniques used in many Western households. Some, such as fermenting and steaming (as with Idadā, a steamed rice and lentil snack), may be less familiar, but the recipes describe all of them in detail. Another important technique is tempering (known as vaghār in Gujarāti and tadkā or chhaunk in Hindi). Vaghār is widely used in Indian cooking. It involves blooming spices in hot oil to awaken their flavor by heating oil over medium-high heat and toasting whole spices in it. Vaghār is often used at the start of a recipe before adding ingredients such as rice (Mint Pea Rice) or vegetables (Tindorā). It can also be used to finish a dish, as in Khaman. For those strictly avoiding oil in their diet (beneficial for people with heart disease), this technique can be changed to simply toasting whole spices in a dry pan over medium to high heat for a few minutes or until they start to turn lightly brown.