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Masala is Key to Indian Food
Which is not called curry in India!
Do you love Indian food, but have a hard time creating dishes that satisfy your craving? You may not be aware of the secret ingredient that is used to enhance the flavors — masala!
What is Masala?
In India, masala simply refers to the blend of spices that are used to create a dish. When my mom makes her home-made garam masala, she starts with whole spices such as actual bay leaves and a variety of seeds. She then dry roasts the ingredients until they reach what she considers the perfect fragrance.
At that point, she takes the cast iron skillet off the heat and lets everything cool down before grinding the ingredients into a fine powder.
Some hard-core Indian cooks will use a mortar and pestle, which Mom used to do when she was a new bride.
This particular blend is one that she learned during those early years, but it is just one variant. In India, there are literally dozens, if not more, types of masala, and even among, say, a commonly used blend such as garam masala, different families and cooks make it slightly differently.
What about Curry?
What about it? Curry was never the word that Indians used to for the dishes they prepared…
