Tempering (spices): Difference between revisions

<languages />

<translate>

{{short description|South Asian cooking technique}}

[[Image:Chaunkphoto.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|Tempering (containing olive oil, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, and slivered dried red chili peppers) being prepared in a saucepan]]

'''Tempering''' is a cooking technique used in [[India]], [[Bangladeshi cuisine|Bangladesh]], [[Nepali cuisine|Nepal]], [[Cuisine of Pakistan|Pakistan]], and [[Cuisine of Sri Lanka|Sri Lanka]] in which whole [[spice]]s (and sometimes also other ingredients such as dried chillies, minced [[ginger]] root or sugar) are cooked briefly in oil or [[ghee]] to liberate essential oils from cells and thus enhance their flavours, before being poured, together with the oil, into a dish. Tempering is also practiced by dry-roasting whole spices in a pan before grinding the spices. Tempering is typically done at the beginning of cooking, before adding the other ingredients for a [[curry]] or similar dish, or it may be added to a dish at the end of cooking, just before serving (as with a [[dal]], [[sambar (dish)|sambar]] or [[stew]]).

==Ingredients used==

[[File:Tadka Dal.jpg|thumb|210px|A [[Dal tadka|tadka dal]], which includes chaunk]]

Ingredients typically used in tempering include [[cumin]] seeds, [[Brassica nigra|black mustard]] [[mustard seed|seeds]], [[fennel]] seeds, ''[[Nigella sativa|kalonji]]'' (nigella seeds), fresh green [[Chili pepper|chili]]s, dried red chilis, [[fenugreek]] seeds, [[asafoetida]], [[Cinnamomum aromaticum|cassia]], [[clove]]s, [[Urad (bean)|urad dal]], [[Curry Tree|curry leaves]], chopped [[onion]], [[garlic]], or [[tejpat]] leaves. When using multiple ingredients in tempering, they are often added in succession, with those requiring longer cooking added earlier, and those requiring less cooking added later. In [[Oriya cuisine]] and [[Bengali cuisine]], mixtures of whole spices called [[pancha phutaṇa]] or [[panch phoron]], respectively, are used for this purpose.

Some [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] and [[Dravidian languages]] use a form inherited (through an early borrowing, in the case of Kannada) from the Sanskrit root ''vyághāra-'' "sprinkling over":

*{{transliteration|gu|vaghār}} ({{lang|gu|[[wikt:વઘાર|વઘાર]]}}) in [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]  

*{{transliteration|kn|oggaraṇe}} ({{lang|kn|ಒಗ್ಗರಣೆ}}) in [[Kannada]]

Some Indo-Aryan languages use a form inherited from the Sanskrit root  

''sphōṭana-'' "crackling, cracking":

*{{transliteration|si|padam}} ({{lang|si|පදම්}}) in [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]

Some Indo-Aryan languages use a form inherited from the Sanskrit root ''traṭatkāra-'' "crackles, splits, fizzes":

*{{transliteration|hi|taṛkā}} ({{lang|hi|[[wikt:तड़का|तड़का]]}}) in [[Hindi language|Hindi]]

*{{transliteration|sd|rāi}} ({{lang|sd|راءِ}}) in [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]

Another root beginning with an aspirated affricate is found in yet other Indo-Aryan languages:

*{{transliteration|or|čhuṅka}} ({{lang|or|ଛୁଙ୍କ}}) in [[Oriya language|Oriya]]

*''čhuṅk'' (छूंक) in [[Rajasthani language|Rajasthani]]  

[[Dravidian languages]] also have various other forms for the same usage:

*{{transliteration|ta|tāḷippu}} ({{lang|ta|தாளிப்பு}}) in [[Tamil language|Tamil]]

*{{transliteration|ml|vazhattuka}} ({{lang|ml|വഴറ്റുക}}) in [[Malayalam]]

[[Sino-tibetan languages]] have many distinct terms, such as in:

*{{transliteration|mni|yeibā}} ({{lang|mni|ꯌꯦꯏꯕꯥ}}) in [[Meitei language|Meitei]]

In [[Arabic]], it is sometimes referred to as {{transliteration|ar|falfaleh}} ({{lang|ar|فلفلة}}), rice cooked in this manner is called {{transliteration|ar|ruz imfalfal}}, it is sometimes also referred to as ''adha'' or ''qadha'' ({{langx|ar|قدحة}}) in [[Levantine Arabic]] (literally meaning "pouring"), or ''tasha'' ({{langx|ar|طشة}}) in [[Egyptian Arabic]].

And other languages use roots that developed from [[onomatopoeia]]:

*{{transliteration|ne|dzānnu}} ({{lang|ne|झान्नु}}) in [[Nepali language|Nepali]]

*{{transliteration|bn|Shā̃tôlāno}} ({{lang|bn|সাঁতলানো}}) in [[Bengali language|Bengali]]

==See also==

{{portal|Food}}

* [[Sautéing]]

{{Herbs and spices}}

[[Category:Uttar Pradeshi cuisine]]

[[Category:Bengali cuisine]]