Tale of the Taste: Why is Indian Food so Spicy?
It's no secret that Indian dishes are among the best in the World. Ranking fifth in the World's Best Cuisines in 2022, Indian food is on an upward trajectory. But some are reluctant to try it out, asking, "why is Indian food so spicy"?
Others dwell on the health front, thinking, "are Indian spices good for health"? to which the simple answer is "yes" and will be explained later. Hint: Indian spices are natural immune boosters.
For those who wish to explore them, there's a lot to Indian cuisine that meets the taste buds. In this piece, you can learn why it packs some heat, its ingredients, its benefits, and what dishes are worth trying.
A Brief and Fiery History: Why is Indian Food So Spicy?
India was ruled by the Mughal Empire for more than two centuries. The empire's first ruler, Babur, took residence in North India, where he hired mostly Indian chefs to prepare Persian dishes.
However, due to his location's temperature, the dishes would go bad quickly. The Indian chefs solved this by using more spices. Since those days, Indians have been aware of spices' potent preservation properties. Deliciously resilient, the Persian-Indian fusion gave birth to one of the world's hottest cuisines, which also has the following benefits:
Spices Have Preservative Properties
A region's temperature is often correlated to the spice level of its dishes. This is true for Indian cuisine. Indians have no access to sophisticated preservation techniques in the early days. So, they learned to integrate spices into their recipes to prevent food spoilage.
Indian Food is Hot Because it's Healthy
Common Indian ingredients have high nutraceutical properties. Indian spices' health benefits include anti-aging effects and digestion support to name a few.
Eating Indian food regularly has never been more timely as they also boost your immunity. Indian spices for the immune system include fresh and processed ingredients. For example, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and fenugreek seeds are natural sources of vitamin C.
Additionally, an overlap of these spices and aromatics is used to ward off cancer-causing free radicals. Ground black cardamom in garam masala, for instance, contains high levels of antioxidants.
What Makes Indian Food so Spicy: The 3 Main Spices in Indian Food and 3 Trade Secrets
Indians use aromatics, herbs, and spice mixes to color and spike food with flavor. However, three essential Indian spices make the local food awesomely hot and palatable.
- Ginger-garlic paste: This pungent yet sweet paste is ubiquitous in curries and biryanis.
- Red Chili: This is used to give Indian dishes their signature spiciness. Dried chili or red chili powder is also effective in extending the food's shelf life.
- Black Pepper: This spicy vine fruit has been used in India as early as 2000 BCE. It's not only spicy but also surprisingly healthy.
Aside from these common Indian spices, those with discerning taste buds might catch subtle yet lovely flavors they might struggle to pin down. Consider these three ingredients, India's best-kept secret :
- Cassia barks: Similar to cinnamon, cassia barks add a distinctly sweet aroma to any dish. They are also good for regulating blood sugar levels.
- Garam masala: This ground spices blend is an essential finishing or flavoring ingredient to soups, curries, and other dishes. It has an earthy and even flowery essence.
- Curry leaves: These tear-drop-shaped lemon-scented leaves are commonly used for tempering dals and curries. They are best sauteed in ghee to bring out their fragrance.
Now that you know what goes into spicy Indian dishes, here are some options:
The Least Spicy Indian Food
To the untrained tongue, indeed, Indian food can be too hot to handle. However, Indian cuisine also includes dishes that are on the mild side.
Malai kofta could be your memorably mild introduction to Indian food. This vegetarian curry literally means balls dunked in cream. The paneer kofta or potato ball is crispy on the outside but has a melts-in-your-mouth interior texture. The gravy could be any combination of ghee, cream, mild spices, garam masala, bay leaves, black pepper, and sugar.
The Spiciest Indian Food
If you can tolerate heat, Phaal Curry is the consensual spiciest Indian food. This dish is the penultimate representation of what the world perceives spicy-hot Indian cuisine to be. Although invented in the UK, this dish screams Indian in taste and presentation.
Phaal is a tomato-based chicken curry that uses what used to be the hottest chili ever. It's notoriously spiked with the burning yet fruity flavors of Bhut Jolokia a.k.a. Ghost Pepper.
Take On A Deliciously Hot Dish Today
Did the talk about spice make you crave it? It's time to tickle your taste buds. If you're searching for a place to order your next meal from, we've got your back. We offer mild Indian dishes, burning hot ones, and everything in between.
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