Food Operations - Indian Masalas & Gravies

Secret of happiness is variety. But secret of variety like the secret of all spices is knowing when to use it.

…Daniel Gilbert, American Social Psychologist and Writer 

There is a common string connecting all Indian cuisines though; and that is: the spices. Indian cuisines are incomplete without spices.

Indian masalas or the spice mixes are the hearts of cooking stews and curries. They provide taste and aroma to lentils, veg and non-veg stews, curries, and rice dishes. What’s more, the Indian street food is also treated with spices. The masalas are prepared with the intention of balancing hot and tangy taste of the food.

Indian Masalas

The dry masalas (powdered spice mixes or curry powders) are used to flavor lentils, vegetables, seafood, and meat. The ingredients are roasted over low heat until they release a faint aroma. A fine powder is made and they are stored in an airtight container.

Some of the popular spice mixes used in Indian cuisines are given here −

Biryani Masala

It is used for savory spiced colorful and flavorful rice.

Fennel Seeds	50 gm	Black Cardamoms	10 gm
White Poppy Seeds	40 gm	Star Anise	10 gm
Cumin Seeds	30 gm	Caraway Seeds	10 gm
Cinnamon Powder	30 gm	Bay Leaves	10 gm
Whole Cloves	20 gm	Mace	10 gm
Green Cardamoms	20 gm	Nutmeg	Powder of 2/4 piece

Chhole Masala

It is used for chick pea curry.

Coriander Seeds	2 tbsp	Cloves	4-5
Cinnamon	1” piece	Cumin Seeds	2 tbsp
Black Cardamom	3-4 pods	Anardana (optional)	1 tbsp
Bay Leaf	1	Whole Dry Chilies (optional)	1 or 2
Black Peppercorns	1 tbsp

Coastal Fish Masala

It is used for fish curry and fish fry.

Dry Coconut Grated	3 tbsp	White Pepper Corns	¼ cup
Sesame Seeds	1 tbsp	Green Cardamom Pods	½ cup
Mustard Seeds	2 tblsp	Cumin Seeds	¾ cup
Saffron Strands	¼ tbsp	Nutmeg Powder	¼ cup
Black Pepper Corns	¼ cup

Garam Masala

It is a usual spice mix used in stews.

Coriander seeds	4 tbsp	Black Cardamom	3-4 large pods
Cumin seeds	1 tbsp	Cloves	2-3 pieces
Black Peppercorns	1 tbsp	Cinnamon	2 × 1” pieces
Black Cumin seeds	1 ½ tbsp	Bay Leaves	2 Crushed
Dry Ginger Powder	1 ½ tbsp

Kala (Goda) Masala

It is used to flavor lentils and Masala Rice.

Coriander Seeds	500 gm	Mace Flower	50 gm
Dry Red Chilies	250 gm	Cinnamon Bark	50 gm
Dry Coconut shredded	250 gm	White Poppy Seeds	50 gm
Dry Turmeric Roots	50 gm	Caraway Seeds	50 gm
Asafoetida Chunks	50 gm	Sesame Seeds	50 gm
Cloves	50 gm	Sesame Seeds	50 gm
Black Pepper Corns	50 gm	Bay Leaves	50 gm
Flower Stone	50 gm	Green Cardamom	25 gm
Whole Nutmegs	5 pieces	Black Cardamom	25 gm

Meat Masala

It is used to flavor chicken and lamb dishes.

Cumin Seeds	20 gm	Ginger Powder	5 gm
Coriander Seeds	8 gm	Garlic Powder	5 gm
Cloves	5 gm	Red Chili Powder	5 gm
Cinnamon	2” Stick	Turmeric Powder	5 gm
Orange food coloring	1 gm	Mace Powder	5 gm
Salt	5 gm

Pao-Bhaji Masala

It is used in a tangy stew paired with pao (bun-shaped bread).

Red Chili	50 gm	Black Cardamom	4-5 pieces
Coriander Seeds	50 gm	Dry Mango Powder	25 gm
Cumin Seeds	25 gm	Fennel Seeds	10 gm
Black Pepper	25 gm	Turmeric Powder	1 tbsp
Cinnamon	25 gm	Star Anise	2 pieces
Clove	25 gm

Rajmah Masala

It is used to spice kidney beans curry.

Cloves	4 pieces	Black Peppercorns	4 pieces
Cardamom	2 pieces	Cumin Seeds	1 tbsp
Cinnamon Stick	1” stick	Cumin Powder	1 tbsp
Bay leaf	1 piece	Ginger Garlic Paste	1 tbsp
Coriander Powder	1 ½ tbsp	Garam Masala Powder	½ tbsp
Red Chili Powder	1 tbsp	Dry Mango Powder	½ tbsp

Sambar Masala

It is used to flavor a curry named Sambar; prepared with cooked pigeon peas, drumsticks, tomatoes, pumpkin pieces, and cubes of other vegetables. Sambar is paired with Idli, Urad wada, Uthapam, or various types of Dosai.

Chana Daal	¼ cup	Black Peppercorns	¼ cup
Urad Daal (black gram)	¼ cup	Dry Red Broken Chili	¼ cup
Coriander Seeds	½ cup	Dry Grated Coconut	¼ cup
Cumin Seeds	¼ cup	Mustard Seeds	¼ cup
Fenugreek Seeds	¼ cup	Turmeric Powder	2 tbsp
Dried Curry Leaves	20 pieces	Asafetida Powder	2 tbsp

Tea Masala

It is used to prepare flavored tea.

Black Cardamom	1 pod	Black Peppercorns	¼ tbsp
Cardamom Seeds	From 25 pods	Dry, Ground Ginger Powder	1 tbsp
Cloves	4 pieces	Ground Cinnamon Powder	1 tbsp
Fennel seeds	½ tbsp	Carom Seeds (optional)	¼ tbsp

There is a very large variety of spice mixes for side dishes such as curd based salad named Raita, appetizers such as Jal-Jeera and Chhach, sweet flavored milk named Thandai, and Indian street food named Chaat.

There are also some other spices such as pickle masala, a combination of five spices named panch-poran used in eastern states of India. The list goes on according to the taste preferences and diversity in cultures.

Basic Indian Gravies

Gravy is the soul of Indian cuisine. Gravy is a thick liquid of saucy consistency that provides body and flavor to the curries and other food preparation. It provides the basic five tastes − bitter, hot, sweet, sour, and salty. In this section, we will discuss some popular gravies −

White Gravy

A basic gravy that adds body to the curries.

Ingredients −

Chopped Onions	300 gm	Green Cardamom	2 pieces
Cashew nuts	200 gm	Bay leaves	2 pieces
Water	200 ml	Chopped Green Chilies	2
Ginger-Garlic Paste	25 gm	Oil	5 tbsp
Sweet Yogurt	200 gm

Preparation −

• Put cashew nuts in boiling water for five minutes.
• Drain the water and put fresh water and chopped onions into it.
• Cook till onions turn soft.
• Drain the water and grind to fine paste.
• Heat oil in a wok.
• Add cardamoms, bay leaves, and chopped green chili.
• Add yogurt into it and cook for a while.
• Add cashew nut-onion paste and cook further till oil separates.
• Cut the heat and let it cool for storing.

A variation named Yellow Gravy is prepared by adding turmeric and saffron and replacing green chili with yellow chili.

Red Gravy

It is tomato based gravy that introduces sour taste.

Ingredients −

Tomatoes	1kg	Ginger Garlic Paste	20 gm
Onions	500 gm	Garam Masala	10 gm
Tomato Puree	250 ml
Chili Powder	30 gm

Preparation −

• Boil tomatoes by adding onions and whole Garam Masala till they turn soft.
• Blend them together till smooth.
• Add ginger-garlic paste, salt, red chili powder, and tomato puree in this mixture.
• Boil the mixture for 20 to 25 minutes.
• Yet another version of this gravy called Makhani Gravy is prepared with addition of butter 100 gm, 200 ml cream, and 2 tbsp fenugreek powder.

Brown Gravy

It is used as a base for preparation of meat curries.

Ingredients −

Chopped Onions	1 kg	Red Chili Powder	30 gm
Tomatoes	500 gm	Tomato Puree	200 ml
Garam Masala	5 gm	Oil	5 tbsp

Preparation −

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add Garam Masala, chopped onion into it and cook till the onion turns brown and translucent.
• Add red chili powder, tomatoes, and tomato puree.
• Cook on medium heat till the tomatoes leave water.
• Grind this mixture into fine paste.

Shahi Gravy

This gravy is used in gourmet Indian cuisine.

Ingredients −

Cashew nut	200 gm	Onions	50 gm
Almonds	75 gm	Green Cardamom Powder	5 gm
Poppy Seeds	25gm	Bay Leaves	2
Ginger-Garlic paste	10gm	Garam Masala	1 tbsp
Oil	4 tbsp

Preparation −

• Boil cashew and poppy seeds together.
• Boil onion and almonds separately.
• Grind them to fine pastes.
• Take oil in a frypan.
• Add Garam Masala, bay leaves, and cardamom powder.
• Add all pastes except cashew-poppy seeds paste.
• Cook for a while on low heat by stirring occasionally.
• Add cashew-poppy seeds paste.
• Cook further for a couple of minutes and cut the heat.
• Yet another version of Shahi Gravy called Korma Gravy is prepared using 1 cup dried solid milk (Khoya) and 1 cup yogurt.

Green Gravy

This gravy is used in gourmet Indian veg and non-veg cuisine. Its main ingredient is coconut.

Ingredients −

Fresh grated coconut	2 cups	Fresh Chopped Cilantro with stems	1 cup
Green Chilies	4 pieces	Mint (Optional)	¼ cup
Salt	½ tbsp.	Ginger	1 ½” piece

Preparation −

• Put all the ingredients in a blender.
• Grind to fine paste of thick consistency by adding a little water.