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 food—particularly tandoori—in 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 Amy’s Kitchen’s vegetarian Indian mattar paneer and vegetable korma, or Patek’s 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 month’s 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 it’s not consumed on a daily basis,” she says. “It’s mostly for special preparations.”
The prevalence of local ingredients determines regional cooking styles. Some vegetable preparations in coastal cities contain coconut milk. It’s 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. That’s not very common in India. It’s part of the spice blend for savory cuisine.”
In fact, Kapor says he still can’t get used to the concept of cinnamon in sweet foods. “It doesn’t 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. We’ve extracted it so that it’s instantly available. We’ve seen a lot of interest where people want to make ready-to-make meals like biryani. It is more cost effective, because we’re 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. It’s 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, gluten–free, 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.
