Pantry Glossary

Terms are listed alphabetically with a brief definition each. The list covers the flours, spices, chutneys and staples that appear repeatedly in the recipes and method guides.

Ajwain (Carom Seeds): Tiny, powerfully scented seeds that taste somewhat like thyme. They are worked into the dough for samosa and kachori casings, where they add a warm background note and are traditionally thought to ease the digestion of fried food.
Amchur (Dried Mango Powder): Dried unripe mango ground to powder and used to add sourness to chaat masala and to fillings where fresh citrus would be awkward. Its sourness is fruitier than that of tamarind or lime.
Atta (Whole Wheat Flour): Whole grain wheat milled fine and used for daily flatbreads and, in certain regions, for puri. Because the bran and germ remain, it eats denser than maida and has a mild nutty taste.
Besan (Gram Flour): A pale yellow flour ground from split, skinned chickpeas known as chana dal. It forms the batter for pakoras and bhajiyas, the body of dhokla and khandvi, and the dough behind sev and boondi. It needs steady whisking into water to stay smooth, and some cooks roast it briefly before steaming.
Besan Batter Consistency Terms: Batter thickness in these recipes is described by three terms: ribbon (falls from a spoon in a slow, unbroken band), coating (leaves a thin film on the back of a spoon) and pouring (runs freely, much like heavy cream). They are more dependable than flour-to-water ratios alone.
Besan ka Sev: Another name for gram-flour sev. The full name makes clear that the strands are made from chickpea flour and not from the other flours used for similar fried, noodle-like garnishes.
Boondi: Tiny fried beads formed when seasoned gram-flour batter is pushed through a holed ladle into hot oil. The sweet kind goes into desserts, while the salted kind tops chaat or is stirred into raita.
Chaat Masala: A sour, salty spice mixture whose main components are dried mango powder and black salt, joined by roasted cumin, coriander and further spices. It is shaken over finished chaat, cut fruit and roasted snacks and is not cooked into dishes.
Chana Dal (Split Chickpeas): Chickpeas that have been skinned and split, as distinct from whole chickpeas (chole). They appear in a few fillings and are sometimes tempered whole in southern Indian dishes for crunch and a nutty note.
Curry Leaves: Fragrant leaves from the curry tree, fried briefly in hot oil during tempering in southern and western Indian kitchens. Fresh or dried, they have no connection to commercial curry powder.
Dahi (Yogurt): Plain thick yogurt, whisked smooth and at times lightly sweetened or salted before it is spooned over dahi puri, aloo tikki chaat or papdi chaat. A full-fat, firmly set yogurt keeps its body best.
Date-Tamarind Chutney: A cooked, thick chutney made by simmering tamarind with dates or jaggery and spices. Its sweet and sour taste offsets the heat and sharpness of chaat.
Dhania (Coriander): A name covering two ingredients: coriander seeds, used whole or ground in spice mixtures, and the fresh leaves, known as cilantro, which garnish dishes and form the base of green chutney.
Dhokla Batter: A besan batter that is either fermented or quickly leavened, steamed into a spongy cake and finished with a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves. The gram flour batter guide explains how to handle it.
Garam Masala: A warming spice blend commonly built from cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, among others. It goes in near the end of cooking so that its fragrance is retained and does not fade.
Garlic Chutney (Dry): A coarse, dry mixture of garlic, dried red chillies and often desiccated coconut, pounded and not blended smooth. It is best known as the spread inside a Mumbai vada pav.
Ghee (Clarified Butter): Butter simmered until its water evaporates and its milk solids are strained away, leaving a stable fat with a nutty smell and a high smoke point. It is used for tempering and in some doughs.
Ginger-Garlic Paste: Fresh ginger and garlic ground together in about equal parts to a smooth paste. It is a basic aromatic for marinades, such as those for chicken tikka, and for some gravies.
Green Chutney (Coriander-Mint Chutney): An uncooked blend of coriander and mint leaves with green chillies and a sour ingredient such as lime or raw mango. It accompanies almost all chaat and many fried snacks.
Gud / Jaggery: Unrefined sugar produced by boiling down cane juice or palm sap. Compared with refined sugar it has a deeper, slightly mineral sweetness, which suits chutneys and some spice mixtures.
Haldi (Turmeric): Dried turmeric root ground to a bright yellow powder. A small amount gives colour and a mild earthy bitterness, and it belongs early in cooking, since added at the end it tastes raw and chalky.
Hing (Asafoetida): A strong-smelling resin sold as a powder, usually cut with rice flour. Cooked for a few seconds in hot fat, it turns savoury and nearly meaty in aroma, and a pinch opens many tempering steps, especially in cooking that omits garlic.
Idli Rava: A coarse grit of parboiled rice milled for idli and dosa batters. It is different from semolina (sooji), which comes from wheat.
Imli (Tamarind): The tart pulp inside the tamarind pod, sold as a block, a concentrate or a paste. Simmered with jaggery and spices, it becomes the sweet and sour chutney that sits at the centre of most chaat.
Jeera (Cumin Seeds): Whole cumin seeds are the usual opening ingredient in tadka. A few seconds in hot oil or ghee bring out their aroma before the remaining ingredients are added.
Kala Namak (Black Salt): A kiln-fired mineral salt with a marked sulphurous smell caused by natural compounds in it. It is basic to chaat masala and to spiced chaat water, and it is added in small pinches and is not a replacement for everyday salt.
Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves): Fenugreek leaves that have been dried and are rubbed between the palms before being added late in cooking. They give a faintly bitter, hay-like fragrance typical of North Indian gravies and some tikka marinades.
Khoya / Mawa: Whole milk simmered slowly until only a dense, slightly grainy paste is left. It turns up in some festive snacks and in sweets more than in everyday chaat.
Kokum: The dried, deep purple rind of a fruit, used to sour food in parts of western India. Its tartness is fruitier and gentler than that of tamarind, and it shows up now and then in regional chutneys.
Lal Mirch (Red Chilli Powder): Dried red chillies ground fine, used for colour and for heat. Strength differs greatly between regional blends, so the quantities in recipes here serve as a starting point to be adjusted.
Maida (Refined Wheat Flour): Finely milled white wheat flour of low protein content, close to cake flour in feel. Samosa and kachori pastry and bhatura dough are made from it, and it gives a tender, flaky or puffed crumb that whole-wheat flour alone does not reach.
Momos Dough: A plain dough of refined flour and water, without leavening, rolled thin to wrap steamed dumpling fillings. It should be supple enough to pleat without tearing but not tacky.
Moong Dal (Split Mung Bean): Small split pulses sold with or without the green skin. They go into savoury pakoras, into certain dhokla variations and into lighter snack batters.
Mustard Oil: A sharp, pungent oil pressed from mustard seeds. In traditional use it is heated until the smoke stops before cooking, to soften its raw bite, and it features in parts of northern and eastern Indian cuisine.
Paneer: A fresh cheese that does not melt, made by curdling hot milk with acid and pressing the curds. It is cubed and grilled for paneer tikka or crumbled into stuffed snacks, and it needs no ageing or culturing.
Papdi: A small, flat, crisp disc of fried dough made with flour, semolina and oil, used under papdi chaat and sev puri. A well-fried one breaks cleanly when pressed and does not bend.
Poha (Flattened Rice): Rice that is parboiled, rolled flat and dried. It needs no boiling, only a rinse and a short steaming, and it supplies both the breakfast dish of the same name and the base of some chivda snack mixes.
Puri (Chaat Shell): As used in chaat, a small hollow ball of fried semolina or wheat dough that puffs into a brittle shell for pani puri and dahi puri. It should not be confused with the larger puffed bread, also called puri, that is eaten with meals.
Rai / Sarson (Mustard Seeds): Round black or brown seeds that crackle in hot oil. They often start tempering in southern and western Indian cooking, usually in the company of curry leaves and urad dal.
Rava / Sooji (Semolina): Durum wheat milled to a granular texture, used for the crisp shells of pani puri as well as for upma and instant rava dosa. Fine and coarse grades give different results, which is why recipes name the grade wanted.
Rice Flour: Rice ground to a fine powder, used in some dosa and idli batters and as a thickener or crisping agent in certain batters and chutneys. It acts unlike wheat flour and cannot replace it in doughs that depend on gluten.
Sabudana (Sago / Tapioca Pearls): Little starch balls made from cassava root, popular in sabudana vada and common during religious fasts because they contain no grain. They must be soaked to soften and not boiled, or they turn to paste.
Sev: Fine, brittle strands made by pressing seasoned gram-flour dough through a perforated plate into hot oil. It is eaten as a snack alone and is also scattered over bhel puri and sev puri for crunch.
Tadka / Tempering: The method of frying whole spices, and sometimes aromatics, for a short time in very hot oil or ghee so that their flavour is released before the fat is stirred into a finished or nearly finished dish. A separate technique guide covers it in full.
Urad Dal (Split Black Gram): A dense, starchy pulse that, after soaking and grinding, lifts idli and dosa batter and gives medu vada its structure. The whole form and the split, skinned form behave differently and cannot be swapped.