Indian Cuisine and Their Spices

Famous the world over for its rich, exotic flavours that excite the palate and bring food to a whole new level, Indian cuisine is best known for its blend of spices that reveal the unique taste of dishes. With Indian cuisine, the flavour of a dish is often achieved through the meticulous blending of a range of spices, making spices a must-have in any Indian kitchen.

Spices not only bring robust flavours into a dish, but are also responsible for the colourful, appetizing presentation of the dish. As chefs like to say, food is first judged by the eyes. Indian cuisine lives up to this visual requirement with its brightly coloured food, often in warm, striking colours like red, orange and yellow, with touches of green from fresh herbs.

Indian spices, along with Eqyptian spices, are known as the world’s best spices for their enticing aroma and ability to add tang to food. In fact, India is one of the world’s largest producers of spices. The country’s environment is fertile for growing spices, with its heavy humidity, high rainfall, and dry and hot weather.

The introduction to spice blended dishes began in 14^th century India through the Mughals who travelled throughout the country selling their food and other goods. Since then, spices have spread around the country and become a prominent part of traditional Indian cooking.

Flavour, however, isn’t the only benefit spices give. Indians have long used spices as natural healing remedies as well, especially within the traditional practice of Ayurvedic healing. There is no doubt that spices contribute a multitude of health benefits, from acting as potent immunity boosters to providing essential vitamins and minerals for the body.

Turmeric is one such spice that has been enjoying popularity around the world in the last few years as a “super immunity booster”, especially during the recent pandemic. It is a regular ingredient enjoyed raw or cooked, in Indian dishes as well as in beverages like tea or coffee. Ginger and fenugreek have also been used as medicines since ancient times. Of course, there are a whole range of other spices to benefit from, each possessing its own health attributes, which makes blending spices together into a dish a pleasant process of extracting an abundance of health benefits.

Another advantage that spices give to dishes is that they act as preservatives, keeping food from rotting too quickly. This is especially advantageous to places around India where there is no electricity. And the spices themselves can keep perfectly fresh in a kitchen pantry for at least a couple of years!

From flavour enhancing, to providing health benefits, to acting as food preservatives, we definitely can’t see any reason why anyone should do without Indian spices in their kitchen. And with numerous simple Indian recipes available on the Internet, it’s now so easy to experiment with this wonderful cuisine right at home.

Ready to add that quick boost in flavour to your regular dishes for some excitement? Or add potent health benefits to your meals? Grab your spices at Curry Corner easily. We’ve been serving Melbourne for decades with a wide selection of high-quality authentic Indian spices and home-cooked food. You may order online for delivery or takeout, or visit our Melbourne shop. We look forward to serving you!