Spice Variation in Our Kitchens

 Indian cuisine is vast and complex apart from base matter like vegetables, meat, and cooking oil, a large chunk of space is taken by spices.  In the forefront are the most common masalas which are used daily, while some rare spices also find storage in the cupboard. 

In India, as you travel across the country the flavors change for the same particular dish. You must note that even spices across the country change subtly in flavor. This is called regional variation. The regional variation makes the same recipe pan India different. It is these regional variations among the spices that change food dynamics in India.

Desi Masalas

Chefs and even housewives are known to make special efforts to procure these spices preserve them in their pantries, and use them when required. These rare spices vary from region to region take for example chilis (red pepper). Some masalas like saffron, Jaiphal, or nutmeg and mace are not rare, but nevertheless, they are used rarely in special dishes. Both spices are used in conjunction with others usually in a recipe masala.  

Mind Boggling Varieties

There are mindboggling varieties of chillis in the country, and this applies to almost all common spices. Bhoot Jhalokia chili and Guntur chilies are supposed to be very hot, and highly pungent. When you enter a friend's kitchen you will realize the difference in the aroma that permeates the house. This indicates that a special variation of common spices is being used. Well, this is not always the case, even the cooking style makes a difference not to speak of the base materials being used. Due to variations, the top note or the base note may change. But the variation is very subtle hence a pav bhaji will taste like a pav bhaji only a little different. Yum!      

For the uninitiated, the Indian cuisine mainstay is the masalas, and they are used vigorously in all the kitchens pan India. Perhaps the extensive use of masalas is limited only to the Indian subcontinent and nowhere else.

In a masala, several spices are used in varied proportions. Coming back to variation, the percentage addition of each masala changes the taste subtly. Hence many factors influence the taste, aroma, and flavor of Indian recipes.

One more variation arises from how the masalas are preserved and used traditionally. Using a mix of whole spices makes a major difference in Indian cuisine. Unlike the overheated adulterated powdered spices, in this case, you can see and feel the masalas. Living Beyond sells whole spices in India in attractive packing. You have to open the packet, roast, grind them and add them as per the recipe.