Cooking in India

Aerate
A synonym for sift; to pass ingredients through a fine-mesh device to break up large pieces and to incorporate air into the ingredients to make them lighter.

Bake
To cook in the oven. Food is cooked slowly with gentle heat, causing the natural moisture to evaporate slowly, concentrating the flavor.

Bind
To thicken a sauce or hot liquid by stirring in ingredients such as eggs, flour, butter, or cream

Blanch
To boil briefly to loosen the skin of a fruit or a vegetable. After 30 seconds in boiling water, the fruit or vegetable should be plunged into ice water to stop the cooking action, and then the skin easily slices off.

Braise
A cooking technique that requires browning meat in oil or other fat and then cooking slowly in liquid. The effect of braising is to tenderize the meat.

Broil
To cook food directly under the heat source.

Broth or stock
A flavorful liquid made by gently cooking meat, seafood, or vegetables (and/or their by-products, such as bones and trimming) often with herbs, in liquid, usually water.

Chop
To cut into irregular pieces.

Confit
To slowly cook pieces of meat in their own gently rendered fat.

Marination
Marination, also known as marinating, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origins of the word allude to the use of brine (aqua marina) in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor by immersion in liquid.
It is commonly used to flavor foods and to tenderize tougher cuts of meat or harder vegetables such as beetroot, eggplant (aubergine), and courgette (zucchini). The process may last seconds or days. Different marinades are used in different cuisines. For example, in Indian cuisine the marinade is usually prepared with yoghurt and spices. [...more]

Garnish
Garnish is a substance used primarily as an embellishment or decoration to a prepared food or drink item. It may also give added or contrasting flavor, but that is not its primary purpose, in contrast to a condiment which is primarily a flavor added to another food item. [...more]