Restaurant ReviewsWorld of spices
Most of the cuisines in India and other countries are famous for their various different tastes. But do you know the secret behind those tastes? The key ingredients in most of the dishes are spices. Large range of spices is available and their various different combinations add appetizing tastes to these dishes.
One of the popular spices of China is a Five-spice powder. It has all five flavors - sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty. Chinese five spice powder is a mixture of fennel, cloves, Szechuan peppercorns, star anise, and cinnamon. In some areas, ginger is used instead of fennel.
The very popular Garam Masala of India is a mixture of peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, long pepper, black cumin or zeera, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and coriander seeds. Other types of spices in India are masalas for different dishes. Chaat masala, Chicken Tikka masala and tandoori masala are some of the famous masalas found in India. Chaat Masala contains amchoor (dried mango powder), cumin, coriander, dried ginger, salt, black pepper, asafoetida and capsicum. Chicken tikka masala is a curry of roasted chicken in a creamy, lightly spiced, tomato-based sauce.
Spices are not confined in Asia; Europe is also famous for variety of spices. Herbes de Provence of France is very popular. It is a mixture of savory, fennel, basil, thyme, and lavender flowers and other herbs. Some people use lavender as a main ingredient of this mixture. This mixture is used to give delicious taste to grilled foods; most commonly are fish, chicken, beef and vegetable stews.