​8 traditional Indian cooking techniques that every Indian should know​

In the Indian kitchen, it is not just about spices, veggies, and meat, it is also about decades-old techniques that make Indian dishes stand apart in the world of food. These old-age techniques give the food unique taste and texture, and most importantly, they keep the nutrients intact. Scroll down to read the details.

Also known as chownk and bagar, it refers to tempering in Indian recipes. In this technique, ghee or oil is heated, to which spices and herbs are added. It is used to infuse the aroma and flavors of the spices into the oil and the dish. The common ingredients used are cumin seeds, mustard seeds, caraway seeds, curry leaves, green or red chilies, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon, coriander seeds and nigella seeds.

This technique is mostly used to make breads or roast veggies or meat. The dishes made with this technique use the prefix 'tandoori' in their name. For instance, tandoori naan, tandoori tikka, tandoori chicken, and so on. It is a technique in which a deep clay pot is heated with coal at its bottom and the heat of the coal is used to cook the dish on the walls of the clay pot or using a metal skewer.

Also known as Bhunao, it is a technique involving sauteing and stir-frying ingredients at low heat until the food loses its moisture and caramelizes. It is mostly used to prepare a base for curries, and the common ingredients used here are onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic in oil or ghee with spices. This technique helps add aroma and taste to dishes and makes for a healthy cooking techniques which uses less of oil. It is best practiced in iron cookware.

It is one of the most famous techniques and is associated with biryanis. It is a technique in which food is cooked on low heat using the steam that is trapped inside the pot or pan. through pressure. In this method the cooking vessel is first sealed with dough and then a heavy object is placed on top, which helps create pressure from the top, and the heat from below spreads throughout the vessel. In this technique, patience is the key, as the flame is kept low and the key vessel is placed on a heavy-bottomed base so that the direct heat doesn't impact the dish burn the base. Also, the use of flour dough is crucial to seal the top, so that no heat escapes and the aroma of the dish is intact in the cooking vessel.

It is also known as Dhuanaar and is a process in which the food is infused with smoky flavors from live coal. For this, a small container or bowl is placed at the centre of the dish, to which ghee is added and then a red-hot coal piece is added and the lid of the dish is closed immediately, so that the smoke gets trapped and infused in the dish.

It refers to pot-in-pot steaming technique. In this technique, perforated utensil with the food is placed in a container, and water is used to steam the food. This technique is used to make idli, dhokla, puttu and more.

This is the pickling technique and is used in coastal areas, where seafood or vegetables are pickled in vinegar and spices for several days. The food is fermented and the whole mixture is later reduced to a dry preparation to be consumed with rice or roti.

Also known as deep-frying, this is the technique in which food is submerged in heated oil and fried until it is evenly cooked. Dishes like gulab jamun, khaja, pakoda, and samosas are made with this technique.

Images Courtesy: istock