New Opportunities for Indian Cuisine

Last year, in an interview with Restaurants & Institutions, Marian Salzman, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, JWT Worldwide, New York, predicted that the popularity of Indian foodparticularly tandooriin the United States will be explosive. This may not be news to chefs who have been suggesting the same development. After all, they have been experimenting with Indian spices like cardamom and turmeric, or creating their own curry powders. It might not even be surprising to consumers who have been buying Amys Kitchens vegetarian Indian mattar paneer and vegetable korma, or Pateks rogan josh or tikka masala cooking sauces.

Yet, for all the inroads of Indian food into natural food stores, groceries and restaurants in the United States, it seems that the cuisine is still largely unfamiliar and misunderstood here.

Basic blueprint

According to Anjna Devi, food scientist, Kerry Ingredients & Flavours, Beloit, WI, Indian food uses many ingredients common to American cuisine. Rice and wheat flour are staples. Common vegetables include cabbage, potatoes, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers and peas.

In accordance with Hindu religious customs that prohibit eating meat, most Indian foods are vegetarian. Milk and dairy are often used. Foods not geared toward vegetarians most often incorporate chicken or lamb. In some coastal regions of India, seafood is prepared. Coconut milk is used in some vegetable preparations in coastal cities, but rarely in Northern India.

Vegetarian diets across India differ only marginally. Lentils are a major source of protein, usually prepared in a boiled, spiced dal (the word also refers to the uncooked lentils). Rohit Kapoor, food scientist, Kerry Ingredients & Flavours, notes northern India consumes more wheat, commonly in flatbreads such as roti and naan. Roti is an unleavened bread made from whole wheat and cooked on a griddle. Naan, made from white flour and slightly leavened with a yeast starter, is baked in a traditional tandoor oven made of brick and clay that cooks over direct heat from a smoky fire. (For more on flatbreads, see this months Culinary feature, Flatbreads: Old World Meets New.)

In the south, rice, particularly long-grain, is the primary staple. According to Devi, in India the varieties that are not very sticky are preferred. Basmati rice (a long-grain, aromatic type) is very much characteristic of Indian cuisine, but its not consumed on a daily basis, she says. Its mostly for special preparations.

The prevalence of local ingredients determines regional cooking styles. Some vegetable preparations in coastal cities contain coconut milk. Its rarely found in Northern India.

Many Indian dishes have sauces. The term curry is very universally used, and I believe it was promoted by the British who had been in India, says Devi. There is no word in the Indian concept. When we talk about curry, it means basically any gravy or any vegetable side-dish preparation. Potato curry means any savory preparation you made with potato.

However, most people in the United States consider curry a blend of spices. Although there is no set definition, most found on U.S. grocers spice racks will contain cumin, coriander, pepper and turmeric. Devi explains that, by Indian standards, curry is a general term and not specific to any spice blend.

Spice trade

The heart of Indian cuisine is its spice blends. Devi describes them as brown spices, like coriander seeds, cumin seed, cloves and cinnamon. In the United States, we see a lot of cinnamon in sweet goods. Thats not very common in India. Its part of the spice blend for savory cuisine.

In fact, Kapor says he still cant get used to the concept of cinnamon in sweet foods. It doesnt comprehend, he says.

Cardamom comes in two types: black and green, which differ slightly in flavor. Green cardamom is often used in sweet, milk-based dishes. Its flavor is milder and less pungent than black cardamom. Black cardamom is often used in savory spice blends such as garam masala.

Saffron provides color and flavor in sweet and savory dishes. The saffron belt extends across northern India. Though expensive, it is common. To cut costs, Jeff Greaves, president, Food Ingredient Solutions, Teterboro, NJ, offers a solution for American manufacturers looking for an authentic saffron note: We have a water-soluble saffron extract. Normally you have to cook the saffron to get the flavor and aroma to come out. Weve extracted it so that its instantly available. Weve seen a lot of interest where people want to make ready-to-make meals like biryani. It is more cost effective, because were able at the industrial level to take out the saffron color more efficiently. We get a better yield than you would get by cooking it. Its a lower price per kilo for equivalency of our product to saffron powder. The saffron extract is used at hundredths or a thousandth of a percent. It is freeze-dried on a GMO-free, glutenfree, kosher, organic wheat maltodextrin.

Manufacturers can also substitute turmeric for saffron, which is also available as an organic extract. It provides flavor and color and is good for seasoning blends, says Greaves.

Black pepper, red and green chiles, paprika, garlic, and ginger are other spices and ingredients common to Indian cuisine. Garlic and ginger are mostly used as wet spices, rather than dry powder, says Devi. We use a lot of fresh ginger and fresh garlic, rather than powdered ginger and powdered garlic. Red chiles provide both color and heat.

Rather than curry powder, garam masalawhich translates as hot spice from the Hindi, notes Deviis a traditional spice blend. Its basically a blend of spices for very commonly made curries, day to day, in any household, she says. And it would be basically a blend of coriander powder, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, anise, star anise and cardamom.

Americanizing Indian foods

Many Americans believe all Indian food is hot. Certainly, some foods can be spicy, but not all are. The specialty of Indian cuisine is the blend of spices and the different spices that we use, says Devi. There are some preparations descended from Mogul emperors that use a lot ofcream and fresh green spices. Its not really hot. I feel that those flavors can be appreciated by American palates because they are very mild and theyre kind of similar. She likens it to a garlic Alfredo in which the sharp cheese flavors have been removed and to which fresh cilantro has been added. That would replicate an Indian Mogulai creamy sauce, she says.

Kapoor suggests tandoori chicken is similar to grilled chicken. Typically, if it was made in India, it would be made in a clay oven over a direct coal flame, he says. So, if you just extend it to an American setup, youre basically grilling it on a regular gas or charcoal grill, so its going through the same type of process. It takes up some in-depth flavors when it is done in the traditional way, however. Obviously you can come up with customized flavor blends which will pretty much replicate the same thing, and you could marinate your chicken in the same way. Tandoori chicken is commonly marinated in a mildly spiced yogurt.

Dal is commonly served with rice. Any type of lentil can be used, but Indian kitchens mostly use dehulled lentils because they cook faster. The dish is not highly spiced. You can cook a dal with salt, turmeric powder and some red chile powder, says Devi. For sourness, in the southern part of India tamarind is used. You can use green mango in the northern part, depending on the availability. Sometimes they would use tomatoes.

Tadka refers to both a cooking process and the seasoning that results from it. For tadka, spices are heated in oil or ghee (clarified butter), and then added to flavor a dish. For instance, heating mustard seeds and cumin seeds in hot oil releases the flavors and can add more flavor to dal, which is normally fairly bland.

Kapoor suggests that dal makhani (Hindi for buttery) can be made with tadka. Instead of using hot oil, you could use butter or milkfat, he says. It gives you a different flavor. You can garnish the dal preparation with cream, and that makes it richer. Any number of different spices could be prepared and added to dal in a similar fashion.

Spice levels at Indian restaurants often depend on their customer base. If the clientele is predominantly American, the foods tend to be blander. Sometimes I have seen added sugars in the preparations, even in savory cuisines, says Devi.

To Kapoor, the only true offense in authenticity is the presence of beef curry, which is present in India, however in very selected regions and households. Since beef consumption is sensitive, it is not common on menus in most restaurants, he says.

In the end

Indian sweets often rely on the flavors of coconut, almond and pistachio, and more than half of Indian desserts are milk-based.

According to Kapoor, a common dish is made by concentrating the milk by evaporating it constantly in a kettle and then adding sugar, cardamom or other spices. Nuts, such as pistachio or cashews, might be added, as well as flour. You can make it into forms, he says. You could call it a dairy-based cake or a milk cake, and then you can just cut it into different shapes.

According to Devi, baking is not common in India. Many of the sweets are flour-based and deep-fried in oil. Mainly, the ingredients are sugar, milk, some refined flour and flavors like cashew nuts, pistachio or almonds. Saffron is very commonly used in sweets, also.

Gulab jamun is a milk-based dessert flavored with cardamom and rosewater or saffron. Mixed with flour, it is rolled into balls and deep-fried. They are then dipped in sugar syrup.

Rice pudding, or kheer, is a popular dessertbasically sweetened milk with rice and sometimes dried fruit. Traditionally, it is spiced with cardamom and saffron.

In the end, desserts may be the best introductions to Indian food. Few Americans can resist sweets. Many of us grew up with rice pudding. A touch of cardamom adds an intriguing quality that is only slightly foreign to many of our palates.

From there its just a step away to biryani.

Cindy Hazen, a 20-year veteran of the food industry, is a freelance writer based in Memphis, TN. She can be reached at [email protected] .