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Paper 04: Food Production Operations & Management

Module 20: Understanding Commodities and Usage in Indian Kitchen

THE DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Principal Investigator Prof. S. P. Bansal, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi University, Rewari

Co-Principal Investigator Dr. Prashant K. Gautam, Director, UIHTM, Panjab University, Chandigarh

Mr. Pulkit Bhambi Paper Coordinator HOD, IHM Dehradun

Mr. Gyanendra Kumar Content Writer Lecturer,

IHM Dehradun. Prof. O.P. Kandhari, Content Reviewer Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management, Budelkhand, University, Jhansi

ITEMS DESCRIPTION OF MODULE Subject Name Tourism and Hospitality Paper Name Food Production Operations and Management Module Title Understanding Commodities and usage in Indian Kitchen Module Id Module no- 4.20 Pre- Requisites Basic knowledge about commodities used in Objectives To know the basic ingredients used in Indian kitchen and their uses Keywords Daal, , Kandi Podi Smoke Points, souring agent, flavouring , tenderizers

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Learning Outcomes 2. Introduction 3. Types of Indian Lentils 4. Types of 5. Types of Rice 6. Types of Oils 7. 8. Thickening Agent Used In Indian Kitchen 9. Souring Agent Used In Indian Kitchen 10. Tenderizing Agent 11. Use Of Spices And Condiments As Colouring Agents 12. Summary

Understanding commodities and usage in Indian Kitchen.

Learning out come

After completing this module students will be able to-

 To know the basic ingredients used in Indian kitchen  Understand the role of souring agent used in Indian .  Know about various colouring agents used in Indian Cooking.  Various thickening agents used in Indian Cuisine.  Know the usage spicing flavouring and aromatic agent in Indian Cooking.

Introduction:-

In previous module we have read about spices, herbs and condiments used in Indian cooking. In this module we will read about other condiments that are used specific role in Indian food such as adding sources, colouring, and thickening tenderizing, spicing and flavouring the food.

3.1 Pulses and lentils

Dal or lentil is the in every Indian home both the rich and common person who lives on the street enjoys it. A large percentage of Indians are vegetarians and the lentils have long been part of the indigenous diet as a common source of .

Dal or lentils are cooked practically daily in almost every Indian home, vegetarian or not. Each region has its own favourites and cooking methods. can range from spicy, sweet to scorching hot soup like.

Types of Indian Lentils

Numbers of Indian Lentils are used in Indian cooking. Some of the common dal are:

Chana Daal

The word chana dal means split chick . Chana dal is baby that have been split and polished. The most popular in . Chana dal is very versatile, dried, split, yellow lentil with a slightly sweet taste, nutty flavour. It is used in varieties of dishes. It can be cooked until soft for the dish called simple dal with the spices.

Masoor daal

A whole or sabut masoor, this bean is greenish brown in colour and can be prepared whole. The split masoor can be called masoor dal are red/pink in colour. The y have a dark, earthy flavour

and a creamy texture. Masorr dal goes well with the tomatoes and keema, and may be served on their own as side dish or incorporated in soups, , and other Indian dal.

Moong bean/ daal

Whole moong is actually a bean popularly known as sabut moong. They are small green beans and are germinated and used in salad or stir fried with lemon juice and Indian spices.

In india the moong beans are used with the skin or without the skin (washed) it is used to make delicious dal and . Moong dal is very easy to digest and take on seasoning and spices very well. Urad bean/daal

This dal has a black skin covering creamy white interior. Whole urad dal derives their strong rich earthy flavour from the black skin and has an uncanny ability to absorb flavour. Split urad dal (washed) is a white lentil used along with rice to make dosas, a south indian preparation. In south india urad dal is also used as a seasoning, with mustard for curries.

Toor dal :- Toor dal is a glassy dark yellow split pea similar to chana dal. Toor dal exhibits a thick gelatinous consistency. They take a little longer to cook than moong or masoor dal. These yellow split can be made into dal which is served with side dish of , rice or flat bread. Sambhar a south Indian delicacy is an accompaniment of dosa, idly or even rice cooked with toor dal.

Kidney beans: the kidney bean with its dark red skin is named for its visual resemblance to a kidney. The kidney beans (rajma in hindi) are an integral part of the cuisine of north india and it is favourite that goes very well with rice. .

3.2 Types of Flour

Various types of flour used in Indian cooking, these are made from wheat, rice, millet, lentils, , maize, semolina and even potato. Some of the common flours are:-

Wheat Flours

Wheat flours are the most common floor used in Northern India. In north India, Punjab is the state which grows about 20% of India's wheat. The two most commonly used Indian floors are whole wheat flour and refined flour.

Whole wheat flour (Atta)

Whole wheat flour/Atta is made from the kernel of wheat. Durum is the variety of wheat which is commonly milled for making of regular flour which has high protein content and also high gluten content; this makes it ideal for making Indian breads. Atta also has a high bran content which is very good for health.

Atta is stone-milled flour of creamy brown colour. It is quite a coarse flour but very tough to roll it out very thin which is required to make and chapatti and parathas etc.

Refined flour/ Maida

Refined flour is made from the endosperm of the wheat kernel. It is mor whitish then whole wheat flour because it does not contain bran and germ and has very less fiber and fat content in comparison to whole wheat flour. Maida is called 'all purpose flour. It is a used for making various india bread such as naan, kulcha and samosas. In India maida is also used to make panstries and sweeter breads such as sheermal, a sweet milk bread, or baqerkhani, a layered bread.

Semolina

Semolina is the purified middling of durum wheat used in making pasta and also used as a cereal. In india it is used for making rava dosa, suji halwa and pooris etc.

Rice Flour

Rice flour is ground kernel of rice. It is used in western countries and specially for people who suffer from gluten intolerance. Since rice does not contain gluten but it is also used very commonly in india for preparation of some Indian breads, sweets or to give crispyness to some products.

Dal Flours

There are various types of dhal flour which is obtained from various type of dhal. Dhal flour are generally gluten free and so are beneficial for people who suffer from dietary requirements. Two common dal flours are gram flour urad dal flour.

Gram Flour

This is a flour made from ground chana dal. Popularly known as besan, it is a staple ingredient in indian cuisine, gram flour contains a high proportion of but no gluten and in comparison to other flours gram flour has a relatively high proportion of gluten. It is used in popular dishes like besan ke , , etc.

Urad Dhal Flour

This flour is most common Indian flour and mostly used in Indian cuisine. It is used for making papad and and dosas. This flour is also used for making most popular food item like .

3.3 Types of Rice

In india people love to cook long grain rice. Rice can also be purchased with or without the outer skin that is brown and white variety which is very common in india.

There are a few common varieties.

Basmati

the most loved and well known variety of Indian rice. This variety is grown in India and Pakistan in the Himalayan foothills, it is known as "the prince of rices".

It is very long and slender grained and, unless it is less sticky, and fluffy with separated grains. It has a distinctive delicate fragrance and a nutty flavour.

There are dozens of varieties of Basmati rice, some traditional some hydrids, and there is also a lot of rice passed off as Basmati

Ponni

This variety of rice is very popular in South India and is specifically used for idlis. It does contain less starch than many of Indian rice.

Brown

In the brown variety of rice, the husk is removed but the bran layer is not polished off. It is more nutritious as it retains more , minerals and fibre and also has nuttier taste. Brown rice varieties have limited use in Indian cooking but now getting popularity due to its health benefits

3.4

Cooking oils play an important role in Indian cooking and impart distinct flavour to various regional dishes.The two most common cooking oils in Indian food are ghee and mustard oil. Others are used are coconut oil, peanut (groundnut) oil and sesame oil (gingelly, til). Modern arrivals are sunflower oil, canola and soybean.

Common Indian Cooking Oils

Ghee Mustard Oil Coconut Oil Sesame Oil

Ghee (Clarified Butter) Ghee is a clarified butter without any milk solid particles and water. It is used primarily in Indian cuisine because the preparation of ghee involves heat, it has distinctive toasted flavour, often described as nutty before the vegetable oils, ghee was widely used for deep . Ghee has a high point and can be stored without refrigeration for weeks. Ghee is also used as a shortening in the making of parathas, papdi etc. It is primarily used in Indian sweets such as halwa, ladoo, etc. Punjabi food uses large quantities of ghee in their preparation. In many parts of India, rice is served with ghee.

Mustard Seed Oil

Mustard Seed Oil is obtained from pressed mustard and is used in Indian cooking. It is used a great deal all over northern and eastern India. It has a strong smell and tastes hot and nutty when raw. Its

flavour become sweeter and slightly hot when heated just to its smoke point. all the varieties (black, brown and white) are used to produce oil that is one third of the mustard seeds.

Mustard oil also has a cultural significance being used as fuel in clay lamps in rituals and the festival of Diwali.

It is also popularly used in pickles. In cooking it should be brought to its smoke point before cooking,. Mustard oil actually improves both in flavour and nutritionally at its smoke point.

Coconut Cooking Oil

Coconut oil is extracted from the coconut flesh (the copra). Coconut oil is used in India as a cooking fat and also as hair oil, body oil and industrial oil. Refined coconut oil is also manufactured in country for industrial uses in the manufacturing of biscuits, chocolates and other confectionary items. Generally filtered coconut oil is used for cooking and it is considered to be healthy.

Sesame Seed Oil

Sesame seed oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from sesame seed. Sesame seeds are highly valued for their oil which is exceptionally resistant to rancidity. Sesame seed oil is also known as til oil or gingelly oil

Sesame Seed Oil is clear or light yellow; this has a mild flavour and is almost odourless. This has a very high smoke point and is suitable for .

3.5- Vegetables

The term vegetable is used to describe the tender edible shoot, leaves, fruits and root of plants and spices that are consumed whole or in part, raw or cooked as a supplement to starchy foods and meat. Indian Vegetables, of course a good number are common throughout the world.. India has the world's largest number of vegetarians. Many communities in India have always been vegetarian due to regional and religious influence. Many Indians who do not regularly follow a vegetarian diet may adopt one during religious festivals. The Indian vegetarian cuisine is very diverse and elaborated. Every Indian state has unique vegetarian dishes to offer. Most of the Indian sweet dishes are prepared without egg and basically from milk products and are therefore all vegetarian in nature. Some common indian vegetable are

3.6- Thickening agent used in Indian kitchen

Onion-piyaz- Onion are in variably used in most Indian dishes for gravy They are finely chopped or pureed and first fried in hot oil in a thick bottom. Regular stirring is required during this process of frying Onion are cooked until they are turning brown. Onions are usually fried with ginger, garlic and green pepper to give bulk to the gravy and also make it healthy and flavourful.

Thick/Heavy :- It was imbibed into Indian cuisine. Cream give nice rich taste to the dist. It is mainly used meat curries and some vegetable curries like palak paneer or mix vegetable curry. It is mostly added at the end of the cooking. As soon as the curry is done lower the heat add the cream and simmer for few minutes and serve.

Nut and seeds:- Ground nut, Seeds and Seasame Seeds are used widely as thickening agent in gravies around the country. They were introduced by the Mughals. Nuts not only give texture to the curry but also provide very good flavor if cook with care.

Mustard Seed/ Rai:- Mustard seeds are used for gravy only in some parts of India like Bengal and Goa Ground Seeds are used as a to coat the fish or chicken before cooking. The paste give them flavor as well as some gravy. In Bengal, Mustard seeds are used as thickening agent in meats and vegetable dishes too.

Peanut/Mongphali- Peanuts are native to Gujrat, many parts of southern India and are widely used as a thickening agents in curries of these regions.

Lentils:- Lentils are used as a thickening agent in many dishes like Dhanshak and Khicohdi. They are ground first or cooked and then ground and mixed with the basic onion, ginger and garlic mixture and fried in hot oil before being added to the rest of the ingredient.

Coconut and Coconut Milk:- Coconut flesh can either be grated fresh or as a dry powder or soaked in water to extract its milk. Sometime it is ground to paste with other spices and onion in a curry masala when milk is used this it is added to the curry the end while the curry is cooking when it is fresh added or is a dry powder it is added at the end of the preparation in the tempering or tadka because Coconut cooks very quickly and can burn easily coconut is used is almost all South Indian dishes.

Yogurt/Dahi- It can be used at the end of cooking of the gravy it adds little sourness and a creamy texture to the curry.

3.7- Souring Agent used in Indian kitchen.

1. Tomatoes- Tomatoes are grown unoug out the country and essential part of curry for giving it a beautiful red colour and a little sourness. They are usually cooked with onion ginger garlic and green chilies to make gravies. 2. - It is often used a souring agent in meat preparation and sometime as a fermenting agent to make some breads like nan and bhatura. Meats are often marinated prior to cooking. Spiced smoothy beaten . Curd gives a creamy as well as a slightly sour taste to the curry. It is also used as a base to make a typical besan (gram flour) curry ie. Kadhi one of the very popular dish from India have various variations. Apart from being used as a souring agent in curries. It is also used as a thickening agent for gravies. Both plain and hung curd are used in Indian cooking. 3. Sirka/Vinegar- Vinegar is used to make many preparation of North and South India. As a souring agent it is often used in areas where there is Portuguese inherence like Goa, Kerala and Mangalore. It is used in paves cooking also today vinegar is popularly used goon cuisine to make spicy pastes and to add sour taste to the food. 4. Tamarind/Imli- The most popular souring agent used in south india. Tamarind grow all over india but it is native to south india. The flash of its ripe fruit is first soaked in water and these the pulp is extracted by filtering and squeezing the pulp through strainer or cloth. This pulps is used in like sambhar, and other meat and vegetable dishes. 5. Lemon /Nimbu- Lime is used as a souring agent is the preparation of chutneys and in marinades of meat. It is always used at the end of cooking. It is main salad dressing of tossed

green Indian salad and is used in lots of snacks like chat and bhelpuri. It is used to make fresh lemonade drink like shikanji and jaljeera which is also very popular all over India in the summer. 6. Cocom/Kokum- It grows mostly in coastal region of southern India. The fruit has a deep purple flesh that is used in coastal region of the west. It has anti allergic properties and is also used to make a refreshing drink called kokum water. It gives a very pale purplish colour to dish. It is used in Gujarat, Maharashtra and in Konkani cooking as a souring agent. 7. Raw Mango Powder/Aamchoor:- Raw Mango slices are dried and then powdered to make aamchoor. It is used a souring agent in samosas filling and some vegetables like bitter gourd and jams in north india cooking. It is also used as a souring agent in snacks and and grilled meats. 8. Dry pomegranate seeds crushed/Anaardana- Dried seeds of pomegranate are roasted and powdered to be used as souring agent in cholle- a chick peas curry and samosa. It is mostly used in north Indian Cooking. 9. Kachri- Kachri is a small oval shaped fruit that gives sour taste as it ripens. The dried kachri is used as a souring agent in Indian dishes. It is also used as a tenderizing agent in Indian cooking.

3.8- Tenderizing agent

A substance, containing various enzymes applied to food items specially meat to make it tender. For example- Papaya, kiwi, fig etc. papaya has papin, kiwi, has actinidin and fig has ficin.

The tenderizers are proteolytic enzymes or proteases, enzymes specialized in breaking the peptide bonds between amino acids found in complex . Meat is held together by a complex protein called collagen, and aside from mechanical tenderization and cooking, enzymes are the only other available meat tenderizers. Meat is often tenderized before cooking, to make it less tough and more suitable for consumption.

List of tenderizers commonly used in India:

Raw Papaya

The humble papaya is a very able tenderizer. The protein digesting enzyme called papain present in the fruit helps in tenderizing the dishes in which it is used.

Curd

Curd is to India what cheese is to Europeans. Ancient Indians had long ago identified the benefits of curd. We cannot deny its nutritional value, and nor the fact that it helps in digestion tremendously. However it is the most important tenderizer used in tandoori-cooking.

The lactic acid that is present in curd helps to break down meat fibres and tenders the product while cooking. It is added at various stages of .

Lemon

There are three to four varieties of lemon grown in India. The citric acid present in the fruit helps in tenderizing the tough meat.

Kachri

Kachri is not well known to the common man but it is an excellent tenderizer. It is a wild variety of cucumis and is found in Rajasthan, Bengal, Punjab, parts of Maharashtra. Generally it is dried and powdered before use.

Vinegar

You thought vinegar is used mostly in Chinese preparation and that too only to add flavour.But it can also be used as tenderizer in most cases. The presence of acetic acid in vinegar gives it its tenderizing quality.

Vinegar made from grapes and cider remains the most consistently used as tenderizer. One can also go for synthetic vinegar if one wishes.

Raw Pineapple

Bromelain, an enzyme present in the fruit pineapple helps in breaking down the active meat fibers.

Raw Figs

The ficin enzyme present in figs or anjeer acts as a tenderizer for tandoori dishes.

Tamarind

While most other fruits have only one acid content, tamarind has two very effective acids that help in breaking down the meat fibers, namely -citric and tartaric acid.

Brown Mustard

This might come as a surprise, but even brown mustard or rai is used as a tenderizer in tandoori delicacies.

Commercially prepared Tenderizers

Prepared meat tenderizers are now available easily in the markets worldwide, This has come up as a result of industrialization and huge demand of tandoori products worldwide. But my advice would be to go for the natural ones on any given day, except when the natural tenderizers are out of stock.

3.9- Colouring agents- The spices herbs and condiments are used in Indian Cooking impart natural colour to the curries and also add flavor and aroma.

Use of spices and condiments as colouring agents.

S.No. Spices and Condiments Use

1 Red Chili Powder Red chili powder gives reddish Brown to orange colour to gravies. Degi mirch or Kashmiri mirch powder adds better colour to gravies.

2 Red Chili Paste Red Chili paste give brighten colour than powder.

3 Turmeric Gives yellow colour to gravies.

4 Garam Masala: or other Gives deep dark colour to gravy if fried in oil. dark brown masalas.

5 Tomatoes Gives natural red colour if it is combined with the paste of nuts curd or boiled onion then it gives pinkish colour.

6 Green Paste- coriander, Gives bright green colour to gravies. It also provide base to curry leave, spinach gravy if added in bulk.

7 Boiled onion paste Gives light pinkish colour to graves.

8 Fried onion paste Give deeper brown onion to the gravies. It white nuts paste of curd is added then gives beige colour.

9 Saffron Add Yellowish saffron colour to white dish/gravy

10 Caramelized sugar is used in Indian Cooking to add colour to curries and dishes this is popular in Bengal and Goa region.

3.10- Flavouring and Aromatic Agents:- Indian food is full of flavour and aroma and that is achieved by using many herbs spices and condiments such as flowers seeds bark sap and many other spices herbs and condiments the major flavouring and aromatic agents that we already discussed in module. Apart from these, There are some of the condiments that are used for a flavour and aroma in Indian cusisne 19

Rose Petal:- It is used in various forms like dried fresh, Powder etc. It is used in kababs and biryani. Fresh petals are used to decorate desserts. It is very common ingredient in Awadhi cuisine.

Screw Pine/Kewra- It is also used in biryani and kababs. The usage is more prominent in Awadhi cuisine. It has very strong flavour, so one drop is enough for 1 kg of meat.

3.11- Spices :-

Varieties of Spices used in Indian Kitchen is already discussed in the previous Module – 19 in detail

Summary- In this module we need about various basic ingredients that play an important role in regular meal of Indians. We learn about. These ingredients are the base and core of Indian diet and the source of energy. Apart from these basic ingredient we discussed about various thickening agent used in Indian food we also discussed various souring agent like lemon, tamarind, kokum etc. used in different regions of India in this module, we read about various colouring agent and the colour that they give to the dish we read about various tenderizing agents like raw papaya, raw pineapple etc. and these usage in respective dishes. In this module we again read about usage of various spices and flavouring agents used in Indian kitchen. So after reading module we know the basic ingredient and other elements used in the making of tasty and colourful curry with lovely flavours.