Ingredients
The potato is a starchy vegetable and tuber that forms under the soil. There are a number of varieties of potato, including Russet potatoes, the yellow colored Yukon Gold, and many others that are purple, red, small and large. All potatoes have a very thin skin, though baking potatoes have a slightly sturdier skin. The potato is hard and inedible until cooked. It can be boiled, baked, fried or cooked any number of ways and is an extremely versatile starch vegetable. The texture of a cooked potato is soft, while holding its shape and has an earthy and sweet flavor that is extremely bland, until salted.
Chickpeas are a legume, meaning they are in the bean family. The are shaped like tiny, ridged balls with a gently pointed top. The most common variety is cream colored, though other types are green or black. The texture of the chickpea when boiled is soft and almost grainy. It holds its form easily and tastes nutty and bean-like.
Bhuna masala is a fried curry sauce that is commonly sold in India as a ready-made spice mix and is a curry dish that can be prepared quickly. It is made of chilies and, tomatoes and mix of Indian spices. The flavor of this red curry is inviting, with savory and spicy qualities.
The green chili pepper is a spicy vegetable by culinary standards, but botanically it's a fruit. Green chili peppers have thin, green bodies with a tapered bottom. They are 2-3 inches in length with a one inch diameter. Their skin is a medium shade of green and is shiny and very thin. The flesh of the pepper is thin too and contains hot seeds in its center. It is an extra hot chili with a wonderful flavor and used in many dishes to add heat.
Ghee is clarified butter in which the butter is cooked down and much of the milk solids are removed, in effect milk proteins and sugars are removed resulting in a lower content of lactose. Ghee can easily withstand high cooking temperatures. It is golden in color, hard when cold and soft when warm. It has a gentle nutty and buttery taste. Ghee adds a round quality to any dish, and a richness and depth of flavor. It is used as a cooking fat or like butter, but also as flavoring.
Cilantro is a leafy herb with a thin green stalk and small, partially fringed green leaves that look similar to a three leaf clover. It has a distinct smell that is similar to a lime and a flavor to match that. In addition, it smells and tastes the same and has a strong flavor with a hint of greens. Due to a genetic trait, some people find that cilantro tastes like soap. This herb is used in many cuisines, particularly from Asia and Central and South America.
Ginger is a spice whose root is used in food around the world. The root is grown underground and has a hard body and thin beige skin. The root has many rounded and long shoots and is often fat. The flesh of the ginger is golden colored with a flavor that is earthy, spicy and bright. Ginger is made into tea, used in sauces, desserts and savory dishes.
Garam masala is a well known and popular Indian spice mix, used in a multitude of dishes throughout Indian cuisine and is sometimes found in fusion recipes as well. There are different variations of garam masala, however; some of the common spices include coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger and black pepper. Nutmeg, cloves, mace and other spices may be added. The general flavor of garam masala is sweet and a bit spicy with a very warm quality. This powder is brown and typically used in smaller amounts.
There are many varieties of chili peppers. They are a small, hot pepper. The pepper is dried and ground into a fine powder, that varies in shades of red. Chili powder is a spice blend popular in American and Latin-American cooking. It is usually made from ancho chilies, paprika, oregano and cumin, other spices may be added. It is used in many protein dishes and has a spicy and herbal flavor.
Ground cinnamon is a fine aromatic powder made from the bark of the cinnamon tree, also known as cassia; another variety. The bark is peeled from the tree, dried and ground into the warm brown powder that is known as cinnamon. The flavor is spicy, warm and sweet and savory at the same time. It is extremely popular in many cuisines and common in American desserts.
Cloves are the buds of the Syzygium aromaticum tree. They are dried and can be used whole or ground as a spice. Cloves have a strong, sweet and peppery flavor that can be used in both sweet and savory dishes.
Cumin is a spice used in many cuisines around the world. The seed from which cumin is ground is a thin seed with a long body and tapered ends. Cumin is just a few millimeters in length and has a light brown or tan tone, which can look a bit grey. Ground cumin is light brown and has a flavor that is spicy, earthy and a little nutty. When pan heated, the flavor of cumin is both tempered and enhanced.
Salt is a mineral composed mostly of sodium chloride. It is the main flavoring used in food and is naturally occurring in certain foods, such as cheese, beets, meat and celery, plus many others. Salt is white and has finer granules than sugar. Many commercial salts include iodide, while others exclude it. Most salts are white, while some are naturally pale pink with minerals. Salt brings out the flavor of something and can create a tangy mouthfeel, if used in excess.
Turmeric is the root of a flowering plant and is used as a spice. The root is woody, but easy to cut and looks similar to ginger. Rather than growing in clusters, each root is a several or so inches long, cylindrical and 1 or more inches in diameter. The thin skin is a brownish-orange and protects the inner root which is bright orange, like a carrot. Turmeric dyes everything it touches and leaves a golden color. The flavor is earthy, pungent and slightly bitter. It has numerous uses, including flavoring and coloring food.
Coriander is the seed of the cilantro plant. These seeds are a warm beige color with a round and slightly oblong body. The seeds are commonly ground into powder and tastes citrusy, warm, and spicy.
True cardamom, also called green cardamom is a spice used in many Indian dishes and other cuisines. The seeds, which the spice is ground from, grow in a small green pod, roughly the size of an oblong blueberry with pointed ends. The pod has a hard shell, with small pinhead-sized seeds inside, that are dark or light brown. The flavor is almost minty, herbal, spicy and sweet. A little goes a long way in any dish. For some dishes the whole pod is used as a flavoring.
