Common Ingredients Used in Indian Cuisine
Beans and Lentils
Urad Dal
Urad dal is also known as black gram or black matpe beans. Urad dal has a somewhat shiny black coating and white pod. It is either sold as black whole bean, black and white split bean (as shown in picture above) or white coat removed bean. Urad has a high glutamate (glutamic acid) content, which is the amino acid responsible for umami (meaty) flavor. Urad is used throughout the Indian sub-continent as dal and is often used in south Indian cooking in making dishes such as uttapam, upama, and dosa.
Chana Dal
Chana dal or Bengal gram dal is a split chickpea kernel. Traditionally, chickpea lentil or chana dal was produced by soaking whole chickpeas, then removing the loose skins. Chana dal is used to make Besan or gram flour, which is used as paste with water or yogurt, as batter or breading for Indian fritters.
Mung Dal
Mung dal, also spelled "moong dal", is a split uncoated seed of Vigna radiata, native to Indian sub-continent. Whole mung beans are used to make dal and are used in many dishes around the world, especially in Chinese, Filipino, and Malaysian cuisines. Mung Dal Khichadi, considered to be one of the most ancient recipes, uses this bean. To make Khichadi, mung dal is mixed with cooked rice (sometime chickpeas) to giving a thick soupy dish flavored by turmeric and lime. Mung dal is also a popular snack, known as “Dalmoth" or "al Moth” when soaked in water, partially dried, then by fried and seasoned with salt and spices. Mung dal, along with besan, is also used as batter for many crispy fried appetizers.
Toor Dal
Toor dal (or arhar dal) is a split pigeon pea with subtle nutty flavor. It is a yellow dal. Toor dal is an ancient crop, believed to be cultivated as food for the last 3,000 years. Toor dal looks similar to chana dal and can be substituted with, or for, chana dal. Toor dal is used to make the poula Andhra dish Kandi Podi, ground toor dal with with chana dal (or mung dal) along with spices such as dried red chili, hing, cumin, curry leaves, salt. Toor dal is also commonly known as rahar, toovar, togari, or tuvaram paruppu in local dialect around the Indian sub-continent. Also spelled "tur dal".
Flour
Atta - Whole wheat flour
Atta is an Indian whole wheat flour used to make flatbread such as chapati, roti, paratha or puri. Traditionally, fresh Atta were prepared at home by grinding wheat in homemade stone grinder known as Chakki. Atta consists of all parts of wheat grain and is high in fiber content as well as gluten. Thus, doughs made from atta tend to be strong and are rolled out very thin.
Besan - Gram Flour
Besan (gram flour) is a finely-ground, powdered flour made from fried chana dal (split chickpeas). Besan is primarily used as a paste made with water or yogurt for batter or breading for Indian fritters (pokaodas). Some Indian recipes also use Besan to thicken curry sauces.
Maida - All-purpose flour
Indian all-purpose flour is known as Maida. Maida is used in many Indian flatbreads such as roti, naan, baalti. All-purpose flour or pastry flour found in United States is considered the best substitute for Maida. While making maida, most of the wheat grain fiber and other nutrients are removed. Thus, maida is not seen as a source of nutrition. For many recipes, maida can be substituted with atta, a whole wheat flour containing more nutrients.
Chawal Ka Atta - Rice Flour
Chawal ka atta is is made from grinding rice in the same manner as wheat flour. It isn't as popular as whole wheat atta or maida, and is not suited for baking. Chawal ka atta is commonly used in Indian cooking for making appams (flat bread) or for thickening sauces.
Sooji (Semolina)
Soojo (or suji) is a type of flour made with durum wheat, a variant of wheat. In India, it is used to make many dishes, especially rava dosa, upama, and halwa, a type of sweet pudding dessert.
Rice
Basmati Rice
Basmati, which is derived from word "fragrance", is an Indian cultivar of long grain rice. Basmati rice or Basmati Chawal is famous for its delicate and aromatic flavors. Well-cooked Basmati rice grains should not stick to each other and should have free-flowing, fluffy, long grain texture. Basmati is generally preferred for any Indian recipes that call for rice.
Indian Fruits and Vegetables
Aloo - Potato
Indian recipes usually use red-skinned potatoes. Red potatoes can hold their shape after cooking because of lower strach content. Potatoes are extensively used in Indian cooking. Potato is a recent food in long Indian history. It was introduced to India around 1600 A.D. Within 100 years or so, it was widely cultivated due to its abundant yield without much effort. Now, potatoes are ubiquitous to Indian vegetarian cooking.
Narial - Coconut
The well-known fruit from the coconut palm is used in desserts throughout India. In some parts of south India, coconut is also used extensively in many curry vegetables. A fresh coconut contains milk that can be drank as a soft drink. Grated coconut is added to desserts or sauces. Coconut can also be eaten raw or can used to get coconut oil as a substitute cooking oil.
Parwal
Parwal or "pointed gourd" is widely available throughout India and rest of South Asia. Parwal is cooked in a variety of ways, such as being boiled for soups and stews, curried or fried. Parwal is highly regarded as a good source of nutrition and is easy to digest. Parwal soup is traditionally prepared for sick people in Nepal. Parwal is a perennial plant belonging to same group as cucumber and squash. Currently, most of the Parwal in the United States is imported, thus making it a very expensive vegetable.
Saag
Saag (or sag) refers to any cooked green leafy vegetables, usually spinach and mustard leaves. The usual method of preparation for saag includes heating oil, frying or roasting chosen spices and sautéeing green leafy vegetables in it. Sometimes other ingredients are mixed with green leafy vegetables such as paneer (Indian cottage cheese) or tofu.
Other Common Foods or Ingredients
Achar or Chutney
Achar or chutney, crucial to Indian cuisine, is used to marinate and enhance a dish with diverse flavors as a relish, sauce, or dressing. Regions of India have different traditional varieties of achar or chutney. Achar can both be fresh or aged and can contain a wide range of ingredients - one variety of classic achar can be made with two or three ingredients while another might take twenty. Similarly, effort and time to make achar or chutney also varies. Some can be made within few minutes while some might take hours and even months to age.
Aloo Bhujia
Bhujia is spicy, fried, short noodle-shaped Indian snack made from gram flour and lentil flour. Aloo Bhujia also has potatoes (called aloo) along these ingredients. Also spelled "alu bhujia".
Jaggery or Gudh
Jaggery (Panela) or Gudh is a "natural" sweetener made with concentrated sugarcane juice. It does not have any chemicals, synthetic additives, or preservatives. Jaggery is rich in nutrition and contains several minerals, protein, and vitamins.
Khoa Khoya or Mawa
Khoya or Khoa (also know as Mawa) is a type of milk product made from evaporating milk. Its texture is similar to that of ricotta cheese. Khoa can be consumed by itself or can be added into desserts such as pedha, barfi (burfi) and halwa, especially Gajar Ka Halwa.
Kala Namak - Black Salt
Kala Namak, or black salt - the literal translation in Hindi, is a dark brown Indian rock salt. It has a pungent, tangy flavor and aroma due to sodium sulfide found in the salt. It is an integral ingredient of chat masala, and used extensively in chutney and raitas. It is also believed to help in digestion of food.
Paneer - Indian Cottage Cheese
Paneer is an unripened, fresh, delicate Indian cheese made from cow milk. It has the consitency of tofu, is rich in nutrients, and can be substituted for it in Vegan dishes. Making paneer is a somewhat delicate procedure involving curdling milk, tying the whey in muslin cloth, then it placing under pressure to solidify. It is a versatile dairy product used to make sweets, snacks or curry vegetables.
Paan - Betel Leaf Chew
Paan is an ethnic Indian chew usually served at the end of an Indian meal and ceremonies such as weddings. Paan can be bought in nearly every street corner in India and are believed to help in digestion of curried foods and act as mouth fresheners. When Paan is chewed, a red food dye inside it makes the mouth red. Paan usually gets spit out, instead of being swallowed.