So in the western world when I cook dishes there are many ways for me to improve the dish and make it super delicious by using various cooking techniques i.e. adding basil to pasta sauce right at the end or cooking onions at a constant heat so they carmelize nicely etc. When it comes to desi cooking, most people’s cooking I eat is good (including my mums) but I’ve only know a few people who make amazing desi food. And then when you ask how they do it everyone chalks it up to ‘haat ka maza’ which I’m sure is true to some extent but there’s obviously some skills and techniques to making food taste that good which you should be able to learn through practice and knowledge. So does anyone here make amazing desi food? And what are the basic techniques you use to get that perfect flavour?
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
I think the most imp thing to bring taste in desi food is to use lots of oil and onions which are fried in almost every dish should be fried to the perfect light golden color this enhances the color of the gravy.
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
Dunno about any special techniques...but definitely lots of practice and a love/passion for cooking.
(But my mum most certainly has maza in her hands...have never had a badmazza meal cooked by her..lol...and she only learnt to cook after she got married).
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
So in the western world when I cook dishes there are many ways for me to improve the dish and make it super delicious by using various cooking techniques i.e. adding basil to pasta sauce right at the end or cooking onions at a constant heat so they carmelize nicely etc. When it comes to desi cooking, most people's cooking I eat is good (including my mums) but I've only know a few people who make amazing desi food. And then when you ask how they do it everyone chalks it up to 'haat ka maza' which I'm sure is true to some extent but there's obviously some skills and techniques to making food taste that good which you should be able to learn through practice and knowledge. So does anyone here make amazing desi food? And what are the basic techniques you use to get that perfect flavour?
Yes it is hath ka maza , you can call it practice and skills too which differs from person to person.
I think the most imp thing to bring taste in desi food is to use lots of oil and onions which are fried in almost every dish should be fried to the perfect light golden color this enhances the color of the gravy.
What would you say about the dishes which call for no or little fried onions or little oil. For example Biryani , polao , Nihari , Paya , karhi gosht.
Then there are desi deserts and sweets which are amazingly good , I hope you use no fried onions and oil in your kheer , firni , zarda , shahi tukray etc. :)
Urdu kain kahtay hay , pahlay socho phir bolo. :)
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
biryani . palao, karahi gosht all need onion 
in my case i have been cooking desi food for 5 years now .. and i must say i have improved quite a bit but still learning, like when your cooking your salan make sure you dont add water unless its necessary for shorba and if you are adding water make sure you dont add too much.. because unesseray water takes away flavor and makes your food soggy especially the dry veggies like aloo keema, bhindi, gobi.. also medium heat and longer cooking also gives the food some extra flavor. And for shorba salans more tomatos and onions 
my secret to my cooking is karahi gosht masala from shan gives the food the exxtra kick (i dont like using other shan masala’s for my salans)
lets not forget lots of dhania and green mirch for garnishing 
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
^ agree about the water. I hardly ever add any water to my salans now, because chicken usually releases its own water, veggies will taste better in the masala w/o water..etc.
letting the masala "cook" nicely before you add the meat/vegetable, most veggies don't take too much time to get cooked..and neither does chicken. I usually fry the onions and tomatoes and garlic and masalas and then let them cook for 5-10 minutes on their own.
For shorba salans, use double the amount of spices, because it'll be watered down a bit..
and one thing i only recently learned (after 2 years of cooking)..MEASURE! Measuring is important...i used to be one fo thsoe who did andazay se and it was always a hit/miss kinda thing....now I measure the amt of spices I use, and if a dish comes out off....at least I'll know what was missing.
another thing about the hits/misses....I usually write out all my recipes first, so if I need to change something for next time..its easier to pinpoint it.
I know many might disagree with me, but if you're a beginner with desi cooking...shan masala/packet masalas really do help...
and supposedly, the way you slice your onions/tomatoes really matters to the taste of the salan--for shorba, I always grind the onions and tomatoes (not together) in a` blender/chopper and then make the masala...for a dry masalaydaar salan, long thin sliced onions and chopped tomatoes give the best texture IMO.
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
biryani . palao, karahi gosht all need onion :@:
:D
not lot of it as the poster I was replying to implied that all desi dishes need lots of oil and lots of fried onions.
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
Some more tips here:
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/household-affairs-and-cuisine-corner/276958-cant-cook-getting-married.html#post5657037
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
actually i can't think of many dishes that DO need alot of oil.....except for bhindi...and of course hte pakoras/samosas etc that are deep frie.d..but normal regular salans aren't that heavy I think.
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
i been cooking for a year now and have no "zaiqa; in my hand at all.
may be it has to do with the fact that i can't use onions at all because of my sister having onions phobia. :S
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
Sanaa, most certainly, desi cooking is all about onions and garlic ... i used to dislike onion so much ... but when i learnt cooking I had no choice but to play around with it in its various forms and eventually got so used to it now ... I even add onion to the pasta and noodles now !
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
So in the western world when I cook dishes there are many ways for me to improve the dish and make it super delicious by using various cooking techniques i.e. adding basil to pasta sauce right at the end or cooking onions at a constant heat so they carmelize nicely etc. When it comes to desi cooking, most people's cooking I eat is good (including my mums) but I've only know a few people who make amazing desi food. And then when you ask how they do it everyone chalks it up to 'haat ka maza' which I'm sure is true to some extent but there's obviously some skills and techniques to making food taste that good which you should be able to learn through practice and knowledge. So does anyone here make amazing desi food? And what are the basic techniques you use to get that perfect flavour?
Lafu, no doubt practice is important .. but I have noticed that when one cooks mindlessly and without concentration, they will hardly learn the tactics and various factors that influence the food ... everything matters .. for example:
- Adding the spices one by one can make a huge difference to the taste ..
- Ensuring the onions get done properly before adding ginger garlic to it
- occasionally roasting the whole spices in oil before adding onion for frying, so that the salan base becomes aromatic , eg korma
- adding yoghurt at the right time in the salan so that the gravy becomes thick ...
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
Sanaa, most certainly, desi cooking is all about onions and garlic ... i used to dislike onion so much ... but when i learnt cooking I had no choice but to play around with it in its various forms and eventually got so used to it now ... I even add onion to the pasta and noodles now !
would store bought fried onions give the same flavor ? ( i know there are some salans where u cant skip onions). I can't use onions at all, Sister has major pyschological issues with raw onions ( its a nightmare she stops eating/talking/ riding with me in my car, locks herself in a closet, stays up all night crying : s)
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
I think the most imp thing to bring taste in desi food is to use lots of oil and onions which are fried in almost every dish should be fried to the perfect light golden color this enhances the color of the gravy.
I think you can make good desi food without lot of oil too.
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
would store bought fried onions give the same flavor ? ( i know there are some salans where u cant skip onions). I can't use onions at all, Sister has major pyschological issues with raw onions ( its a nightmare she stops eating/talking/ riding with me in my car, locks herself in a closet, stays up all night crying : s)
Ummmm not to be rude, but have you taken her to a psychologist/psychiatrist?
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
letting the masala "cook" nicely before you add the meat/vegetable, most veggies don't take too much time to get cooked..and neither does chicken. I usually fry the onions and tomatoes and garlic and masalas and then let them cook for 5-10 minutes on their own.
This is something new I started doing, and it makes the worlds difference.
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
^ same here, I started doing that only recently....got the tip from a youtube cooking channel, im so glad I found it its really helped my cooking
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
There is so many ways to cook desi food i used to let my masala cook for a bit then add chicken/meat
but since i found this lady’s channel, everyone compliments my food 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwdBha-wKXA&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
check out her other vids too, im sure you all will love her cooking too
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
^ Bajiaaaa yayyyy! I discovered her too...love her :)
Re: Tips for great desi cooking
Thanks CB those were the kind of tips I was looking for. Also I tend to fry my onions and then blend them into a paste in my blender and i also do the same thing with my tomatoes i.e. blend them so the salan is smooth and doesn't have more chunky tomatoes. Do you think this will make a negative difference in the taste of the food?