My basics for easy North Indian-style cooking

Inspired by my desire to empower everyone to make Indian-style food b/c it's easy!

I was born to parents who emigrated from Northern India. I grew up eating northern Indian food and, thanks to my mom, I have baseline skills for that type of cooking. I enjoy adapting from this baseline to cook Indian-style foods and you’ll see that in some of my posts.

While Indian style cooking may seem scary or unapproachable, I genuinely believe that a handful of simple ingredients and knowledge is enough. Really.

My four basics that are easy and simple:

1. An Aromatic Base:

Most dishes use some combination of onion, ginger, garlic, tomato. Some dishes call for all, some for a subset. I decide what to use based on my mood and what’s available in the kitchen.

• Hack for ginger and garlic: I buy a giant batch (pre-peeled garlic is a plus!), chop finely in a food processor, transfer to a ziploc bag, press cube shapes using the back of a butter knife, and freeze. These are now ready for cooking whenever you are!

Some dishes build on this aromatic base with addition of nuts like almonds and cashews to create a creamy sauce (e.g. Butter Chicken).

2. Spices that Sing:

Find yourself 5 spices - cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, chilies - and you are good to go.

1. Cumin (jeera) - this tiny seed packs a ton of flavor. I cannot imagine my Indian-style dishes without it. It’s used both in seed form and powder form. All of my Indian dishes begin with adding cumin seeds to hot oil until they become fragrant (~10-20 seconds).

2. Coriander (dhaniya) - another seed that is a flavor powerhouse. I typically use this in powder form.

3. Turmeric powder (haldi) - this spice needs no introduction as it’s so popular for it’s bright yellow color and immense health benefits, mostly used as a powder.

4. Garam Masala - a flavor-bomb powdered mix of ‘warm’ spices such as cinnamon, peppercorns, cardamom, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, and nutmeg. While many Indian households make their own versions, I buy mine from an Indian or international store.

5. Chilies - most Indian dishes use chillies for heat in a dish. They could be green or red, fresh or dried, whole or powdered. You should use any variation in any quantity that you like.

3. Vibrant Finishing Touches:

Finishing a dish with ingredients like lemon juice, cilantro, raw red onions adds flavor contrasts and visual appeal.

• Lemon juice: as in other cuisines, a contrast with an acid can really elevate a dish. Indian dishes such as daal (lentils) flavor profile elevates instantly with a splash of lemon juice.

• Cilantro: it’s a universal garnish for any North Indian dish providing visual contrast to the turmeric-laced vegetables or brown legumes and introduces fresh herbaceous flavor.

• Raw red onions: while many have an aversion to raw red onions, this is a staple accompaniment with North Indian dishes. Sprinkling finely chopped red onions or serving slices on the side is a great way to add flavor/texture contrast and crunch.

4. The Dance Sequence:

Combining these flavors in a specific sequence yields the best results. This is what my Indian mother taught me:

hot oil > seeds > aromatics > powdered spices > main ingredients > finishing touches

1. First step is to heat up the oil (don’t use cold oil, it just doesn’t extract the same flavors).

2. Add cumin seeds until they start dancing in the oil and release flavor (you’ll be able to smell it, takes ~10-20 seconds; if longer they can burn and turn bitter).

3. Add onions, garlic, ginger (I vary their sequence as I feel like it) and cook until translucent/softened/fragrant (a little salt can help make it go faster).

4. Add tomatoes until they are softened/at a consistency you like (best to add tomatoes after the onions etc. are cooked since tomatoes have more moisture that can steam the onions, we want to fry them).

5. Add powdered spices and cook for ~30 secs to 1 min (they’ll burn if kept on high heat too long).

6. Add the main ingredients (vegetables, lentils, meat, water, etc.) and cook for as long as necessary.

7. Once done, add the finishing touches.

That’s it. That’s all you need to know for Indian-style cooking. Try it!

Oh, you want to get fancy? Because simple is not your vibe? I got you.

Here are a few more things to play around with in North Indian-style cooking.

• More aromatics to try: curry leaves, dried red chillies, asafetida (hing), cardamom seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves

• More spices to try:

  • seeds (and sometimes powdered forms) of mustard (sarson), fennel (saunf), carrom (ajwain), nigella (kalonji), fenugreek (methi)

  • powders: mango powder (amchur), cumin powder (jeera ), pomegranate powder (anardaana), and many more

• Finishing touches to try: dried fragrant Fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) crushed between your hands, fresh mint leaves whole or chopped, dried red chillies tempered in ghee, white butter, dollop of heavy cream (tasty but non-traditional)

• Sequence variations to try: addition of nuts prior to addition of powdered spices if making a creamy blended sauce, removal of whole spices like cinnamon and cardamom midway so they don’t overpower, etc., adding tempered spices or herbs once more at the very end (e.g. tempering cumin seeds or dried red chillies or fresh green chillies or curry leaves or some combination of this)

Now go forth & cook North Indian food free style. Be as fancy as your heart desires!