(First published in TOI Crest Sept 17, 2011 issue How to Have a hot Temper.
The ghee shimmered in the pan, calm on the surface, intensely
hot just below. In went the spices; asafoetida, cumin, garlic, in a series of
angry little explosions. And when the sputtering and frothing of bubbles slowed
down, the spices giving their souls over to the hot fat in a cloud of aroma, I
added a tablespoon of orange zest, took the pan off the flame and poured the contents
onto the waiting cooked split Masoor Dal. With a last splutter of protest it
blended in, carrying the flavours of the spice to every drop of the dish in a
sigh of orange scented steam.
Yes you read
right I just put orange zest in a Dal Tadka! While working on an article on
zest, recently I learnt we actually discard the best part of Citrus in
India, the skin. Full of aromatic oils it is incredibly rich in valuable phytonutrients and vitamin C which
makes it ideal to help the body absorb the iron and protein in dal. And I have
been using it for my Masoor and Mung dal tadkas ever since!
So often we do things because we have been taught to do them a
certain way. And adding a Tadka, which you might know as chaunk, bagar,
vaghar, phodni, poppu or phoron depending on what part of India you hail from, is one of
the first cooking techniques we learn in the Indian kitchen. Applied to just about every Indian
dish, except dessert, this technique calls for a selection of whole spices to
be fried in hot fat (ghee or oil) to liberate their essential oils and flavours. The resulting
Tadka added to any dish rounds it off with a quintessential Indian aroma and flavour.
What is even more fascinating is this unifying concept, is incredibly diverse.
Rooted in the origins of Indian cuisine, the Tadka travelled along as Indian
cuisine spread across the land mass that was India. In fact so intrinsic to the
cuisine is it that it has travelled wherever the cuisine has gone and is still
applied to dishes in faraway bastions of Indian cuisine such as South Africa,
UK, West Indies. In fact in Trinidad pigeon peas are still “chunkayed” (a derivation of Chaunk, one of
the words by which Tadkas are known in Inda) with sliced garlic and whole geera
(cumin) in oil even today.
Tadkas, their properties and the reasons behind adding
certain spices in combination to specific ingredients is an endlessly
fascinating subject, but along the way I began to wonder why we stopped at
traditional uses for Tadkas? Usually added at the beginning or end of cooking a dish, a Tadka plays
a twofold role. Adding flavour AND augmenting the nutritional value of a dish. Fat
which carries flavour, plays medium. And when the fat is heated and the spices
added to it, the inherent oils in the spices are released into the oil along
with their flavours and carried through the dish by it. But the Tadka’s
bigger purpose goes beyond mere flavour.
Every element of the Indian Thali has a purpose and the
Tadka does too. Somewhere in our culinary history it was deduced
that Tadkas augment the nutrition value of a meal. The fat
used provides essential fatty acids required by a body and assists in the break
down and absorption of oil soluble vitamins. Each of the spices used has a role
to play. And the Tadka
proves invaluable in aiding these spices in carrying out their preventive and
curative roles.
In fact it was a simple
Tadka for Mattha, a yogurt based drink, that got me thinking about experimenting with temperings. In the North, yoghurt is considered too cool for the system to digest in
the winter so its inherent 'cool' properties are warmed up by tempering it with
cumin, garlic and sometimes chilli. As I added cumin, garlic and green chillis to hot to ghee to temper buttermilk one
day it struck me that the garlicy buttermilk would be incredible to poach
chicken in. I was right. My chicken turned out wonderfully soft, delicately
redolent of garlic, cumin and packing a subtle kick of green chilli. It’s now a
regular on our menu in myriad ways; as is, hot, cold, in sandwiches, wraps or on salads.
That successful experiment turned my attention to other spice
combinations. Spice combinations change in Tadkas as you travel through India. And
each offered potential for new combinations. A Maharashtrian Phodni
of asafetida, cumin, curry leaves, garlic and chillies, makes a wonderfully
aromatic, spicy start for a stirfy of Brussles Sprouts, taking away the
sulphurous smell the sprouts have. And at the risk of upsetting my Gujarati
ancestors, I have to share that the Vaghaar of asafetida, mustard, kokum, curry
leaf and chillies used for the legendary ‘Gujju sweet dal’ is amazing to cook
fillets of fish in. Simply temper oil with the spices and lay fish over,
pressing gently so spices stick. Flip over when pan facing side is evenly
cooked and cook the other side till done, serve over hot rice so the flavoured
oil of the Tadka trickles down to the bottom of the bowl! South Indian Sambhar tadkas
make an exceptionally smoky, spicy stir fried chicken or sprinkle for Potato wedges. And Bengali Panch
Phoron the legendary Bengali 5 spice mix of fenugreek, nigella, cumin, fennel
and radhuni made a fabulous crusty meat rub for Lamb.
Pair
traditional Tadkas with things they have not been paired with before led to so
many winning combinations. But I have used some very simple Tadkas above. The
Tadka has evolved as it travelled to adapt itself to what was locally available in
the region. Which is why everything from the fat used to the spice combinations
varies as one travels through the sub continent. But that said, many spices and their uses are extremely local and do not make it
to the larger culinary map. Like the Jumbu grass used for Tadkas in
Uttaranchal. This grass has a chive like flavor and is used in its dried form
in Pahari Chaunks for dals. I use it very successfully to smoke smoke fish and
chicken which results in hauntingly smoky, garlicky flavors. Although much better known than Jumbu grass,
the Tamil propensity towards using Channa and Urad dal in tempering dishes is
also interesting to work with. These dals, when roasted in oil take on a
wonderfully nutty roasted flavor and texture that makes an ideal crust for
coating meat and vegetables in along with spices prior to roasting.
As
controversial as my suggestions might sound to purists, my experiments are not about
creating bizarre combinations. Experimenting is fun and can lead to delicious ne
discoveries. But it is a good idea to respect
the parameters of the ingredients research their traditional uses and use that
knowledge as a springboard to create new dishes. Indian cuisine has been using
spices for millions of years and has perfected their use (and probably made all
the mistakes possible with them!) One does not always need to reinvent things
to cook well. It is possible to play with flavours without going against
traditional practices; a tadka of whole spices added to a
meat dish prior to cooking ensures the flavours infuse through the dish as it
cooks. It is a practice that no new experiments can better. I don’t try to. But
I find adding a few sprigs of Rosemary to the Tadka results in a fabulously
aromatic results uplifting the smoky spices with a lacing of dark green notes.
That Rosemary also helps in digestion of meat dishes, especially lamb, beef and
pork makes it even more appealing.
I am not
doing anything that has not been done before. As new ingredients
arrived, Tadkas adapted to include them, a classic example being chillies which are not a traditional
ingredient but spiced up Tadkas much later as a cheaper option to pepper. So
why stop innovating? With all the wonderful ingredients we have access to
today, there are a host of other things that can be added to Tadkas to augment
the flavour and nutrition of a dish. Take a few leaves from Thai cuisine and
use lemongrass or Kaffir lime leaves and zest in a tadka for Rassam or even
Mung or Masoor Dal. Or Zest Citrus into tadkas for anything from Dals to pulavs
and curries to uplift the dish and stir in valuable phytonutrients that help fight
cancer, high cholesterol and control triglycerides.
Bollywood,
would call what I am about to do Tadka
lagana! But do experiment with other ingredients to provoke new flavours
and combinations. After all the art of tempering is in our blood… And we are
the most important condiment to our cooking yes we might burn some… but
eventually we learn some.
