INDIAN CUISINE -FORMS

The Indian cuisine is one of the most famous internationally.

Indian cuisine has certain and easily identifiable despite the great diversity among its regions characteristics. The cuisine of northern clearly influenced by Mughal cuisine known for its lamb and poultry dishes prepared in the tandoor. Northern cuisine we can consider as the most classic, perhaps, having been farthest from the influences of Portuguese traders and sailors and the British in colonial times. The kitchen of this with sour and spicy dishes. The kitchen light and vegetarian west. And southern cuisine where dishes of rice (basmati is more common) abound. But they all have common features such as balance in the mix of tastes and textures, and mastery in the art of combining flavors with spices and herbs
In Indian cuisine, besides cooking methods known to all (frying, roasting, boiling, sautéing ...), we find other traditional that are maintained through the years as follows:

                                        The korma 

Classically, a korma is defined as a dish where meat or vegetables are braised with water, stock, and yogurt or cream added. The technique covers many different styles of korma.
The korma it's like a seared faster cooking. They are made with cream, yoghurt, cream, coconut milk and its result is thick.
The flavour of a korma is based on a mixture of spices, including ground coriande  and cumin, combined with yogurt kept below curdling temperature and incorporated slowly and carefully with the meat juices. Traditionally, this would have been carried out in a pot set over a very low fire, with charcoal on the lid to provide all-round heat. A korma can be mildly spiced or fiery and may use lamb, chicken, beef or game; some kormas combine meat and vegetables such as spinach and turnip. The term Shahi (English: Royal), used for some kormas indicates its status as a prestige dish, rather than an everyday meal, and its association with the court.


                                     The tandoor 

The term tandoor  refers to a variety of ovens, the most commonly known is a cylindrical clay or metal oven used in cooking and baking. The tandoor is used for cooking in Southern, Central and Western Asia, as well as in the Caucasus.

The heat for a tandoor was traditionally generated by a charcoal or wood fire, burning within the tandoor itself, thus exposing the food to live-fire,radiant heat cooking, and hot-air, convection cooking, and smoking by the fat and food juices that drip on to the charcoal.Temperatures in a tandoor can approach 480 °C (900 °F), and it is common for tandoor ovens to remain lit for long periods to maintain the high cooking temperature. The tandoor design is something of a transitional form between a makeshift earth oven and the horizontal-plan masonry oven.

the high temperatures reached cooked food so quickly, which prevents them from drying out. Foods made in tandoor always macerated before with a mixture of spices and yogurt.

Types of tandoor 

Afghan tandoor -The Afgan tandoor in Afghanistan sits above the ground and is made of bricks

Punjabi tandoor - is traditionally made of clay and is a bell-shaped oven, which can either be set into the earth and fired with wood or charcoal reaching temperatures of about 480 degrees Celsius (900 Fahrenheit). or rest above the ground. Tandoor cooking is a traditional aspect of Punjabi cuisine in undivided Punjab.In India & Pakistan, tandoori cooking was traditionally associated with Punjab as Punjabis embraced the tandoor on a regional level and became popular in the mainstream after the 1947 partition when Punjabis resettled in places such as Delhi. In rural Punjab, it was common to have communal tandoors. Some villages still have a communal tandoor which was a common sight prior to 1947.

Armenian tandoor - was worshiped by the Armenians as a symbol of the sun in the ground. Armenians made tonirs in resemblance with the setting sun “going into the ground” (the Sun being the main deity). The underground tonir, made of clay, is one of the first tools in the Armenian cuisine, as an oven and as a thermal treatment tool. Armenians are said to have originated underground tonirs

-Pakistan -In Pakistan , the tandoor is found nearly every village and many homes and restaurants have their own tandoors. The Naan bread, Kabab and meat (Chicken, Lamb, Beef, Goat,Fish) is cooked in the tandoor


                                           The curry

Curry ( plural curries) is a dish whose origins are in South and Southeast Asian cuisines. The common feature is the incorporation of complex combinations of spices or herbs, usually including fresh or dried hot chillies. Some limit the use of the termcurry to dishes prepared in a sauce, but curries may be "wet" or "dry". A curry dish may be spiced with leaves from the curry tree, but many curries do not have this ingredient.

In original traditional cuisines, the precise selection of spices for each dish is a matter of national or regional cultural tradition, religious practice, and, to some extent, family preference. Such dishes are called by specific names that refer to their ingredients, spicing, and cooking methods.

Traditionally, spices are used both whole and ground; cooked or raw; and they may be added at different times during the cooking process to produce different results.

Curry powder, a commercially prepared mixture of spices, is largely a Western notion, dating to the 18th century. Such mixtures are commonly thought to have first been prepared by Indian merchants

Dishes called "curry" may contain meat, poultry, fish, or shellfish, either alone or in combination with vegetables. Many are instead entirely vegetarian, especially among those who hold ethical or religious proscriptions against eating meat or seafood.
The main spices found in most South Asian curry powders are turmeric, coriander, and cumin; a wide range of additional spices may be included depending on the geographic region and the foods being included (white/red meat, fish, lentils, rice and vegetables).