Tips and Ideas
Spice girl
On August 4, 2011 by Meghalee DasI love spices. Indian, Chinese or Italian, every dish seems incomplete unless I add at least three different types of spices or herbs to the dish. Yes, this post will not have any recipe but only my ramblings about how much I love spices. My blog, my space.
I am not a morning person. At. All. It’s a different matter that I have to wake up early nowadays (6.30 am every weekday, I want a medal). But even when I lived alone, stumbling to the kitchen in the morning or afternoon depending on when I woke up, there was one thing which lifted my mood like getting a green light at every traffic point when you are late for work. Spices. I had a round translucent dabba with a pink lid (I love pink, I am a girlie girl). And inside there were little containers where I kept all my spices. The heady fragrance that wafts around the kitchen when you first open the lid or crush them in a mortar, the sizzle in the oil when you first add them, the changing colours of the food you cook, the heavy steamy aromatic air around you, and finally the resultant taste — balancing the hot with the sweet, the pungent with the tangy — that’s what made me fall in love with cooking.
When I first came to Austin, the first thing I noticed was that the food, although really good, seemed a tad bland. I was just not used to it. Growing up in a Bengali home and then living in Delhi had totally conditioned my taste buds. Although A had thankfully stored the basic ones in the kitchen, I discovered there was no garam masala! What… how… biryani…. abort abort!!! But that is history now; we went to an Indian store and I was lost in the choices offered and that sense of familiarity. Now I fondly look at the kitchen cabinets and there they are — my little glass and plastic containers of cumin, cardamom, cloves, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, amchoor, garam masala, chilli powder, mustard, paanch foron, bay leaves, besides oregano, parsley, basil, thyme, a bottle of Chinese spices and other readymade masalas. There are so many more I can buy but these are the fundamental ones, so I am happy. I really wish I can have my little kitchen garden next summer where I can grow my own herbs, picking them fresh and chopping them… 😀
Just a note: If you live in a hot and humid region, always keep spices in the fridge. You can keep some in a container in your kitchen, but you hardly use the whole packet at one go, so keep the rest in the refrigerator. Random thought; I got a nice sturdy stainless steel spices container as a wedding gift too (bless you whoever you are, should have written your name!) Unfortunately, the baggage limit did not allow me to carry half my things including my wedding presents 🙁 But I will use it one day, so it’s ok.
Another thing which want to add is that the spices I get here are not as strong in flavors as those found in India or freshly-ground ones. In fact, in India I would probably have to use only 1/2 tbsp of fresh garam masala powder compared to 1 tbsp here. So when I give measurements in my recipe, please remember to make adjustments if necessary, according to your taste, preference and the quality of the spices.
I know some of you do not like ‘spicy’ food, but spices need not always be ‘hot’, the ones that make you cry and affect your tummy. They are often misunderstood; in fact, they not only add flavour but also help to bring out the subtle flavours in your dish and that’s a good thing. Well, there can always be food without spices, but where’s the fun in that?! So explore, experiment and let me know what your favourite spices are!
I am not a morning person. At. All. It’s a different matter that I have to wake up early nowadays (6.30 am every weekday, I want a medal). But even when I lived alone, stumbling to the kitchen in the morning or afternoon depending on when I woke up, there was one thing which lifted my mood like getting a green light at every traffic point when you are late for work. Spices. I had a round translucent dabba with a pink lid (I love pink, I am a girlie girl). And inside there were little containers where I kept all my spices. The heady fragrance that wafts around the kitchen when you first open the lid or crush them in a mortar, the sizzle in the oil when you first add them, the changing colours of the food you cook, the heavy steamy aromatic air around you, and finally the resultant taste — balancing the hot with the sweet, the pungent with the tangy — that’s what made me fall in love with cooking.
When I first came to Austin, the first thing I noticed was that the food, although really good, seemed a tad bland. I was just not used to it. Growing up in a Bengali home and then living in Delhi had totally conditioned my taste buds. Although A had thankfully stored the basic ones in the kitchen, I discovered there was no garam masala! What… how… biryani…. abort abort!!! But that is history now; we went to an Indian store and I was lost in the choices offered and that sense of familiarity. Now I fondly look at the kitchen cabinets and there they are — my little glass and plastic containers of cumin, cardamom, cloves, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, amchoor, garam masala, chilli powder, mustard, paanch foron, bay leaves, besides oregano, parsley, basil, thyme, a bottle of Chinese spices and other readymade masalas. There are so many more I can buy but these are the fundamental ones, so I am happy. I really wish I can have my little kitchen garden next summer where I can grow my own herbs, picking them fresh and chopping them… 😀
Just a note: If you live in a hot and humid region, always keep spices in the fridge. You can keep some in a container in your kitchen, but you hardly use the whole packet at one go, so keep the rest in the refrigerator. Random thought; I got a nice sturdy stainless steel spices container as a wedding gift too (bless you whoever you are, should have written your name!) Unfortunately, the baggage limit did not allow me to carry half my things including my wedding presents 🙁 But I will use it one day, so it’s ok.
Another thing which want to add is that the spices I get here are not as strong in flavors as those found in India or freshly-ground ones. In fact, in India I would probably have to use only 1/2 tbsp of fresh garam masala powder compared to 1 tbsp here. So when I give measurements in my recipe, please remember to make adjustments if necessary, according to your taste, preference and the quality of the spices.
I know some of you do not like ‘spicy’ food, but spices need not always be ‘hot’, the ones that make you cry and affect your tummy. They are often misunderstood; in fact, they not only add flavour but also help to bring out the subtle flavours in your dish and that’s a good thing. Well, there can always be food without spices, but where’s the fun in that?! So explore, experiment and let me know what your favourite spices are!