What is the function of these ingredients in INDIAN cookery?
Coriander powder gives curries a very aromatic fragrance and also gives the dish a slight citrus and nutty flavour. Cloves are generally used to give the dish a distinct flavour and fragrance to curries, but should be used sparingly as cloves are very strong and pungent. Yogurt is used in Indian cooking to help temper the heat provided by other spices especially chilli’s. Yogurt also helps to make dishes more creamy and rich, thus enhancing the dish. Nigella seed has a pungent bitter taste and smell and lends itself to curries to give the sauce a depth of flavour. Dried fennel seed is an aromatic spice that has an aniseed like flavour thus it is used to enhance the flavour of the sauce by giving it more depth. Hope this helps a little.
