If you are an Indian, you definitely know what tadka means. It is tempering your food, usually dal and curry with a little bit of ghee/oil and other whole spices to make the food healthier and taste better. This has been practised in every Indian household since forever now and there are various health benefits of different types of tadkas. (Read: Tadka or tempering in Indian dishes not just for flavour!)
How to add tadka to your food?
Tadka is commonly added in dals in Indian cooking but it doesn't stop there. Depending on different dishes and flavours you like you like, there are a variety of tadkas. Also, what varies is when to add the tadka, in precooked slightly bland foods like daal, tadka is added at the end while in different types of preparations including veggies, tadka can even be added in the beginning. But the simple steps in adding a tadka to your dish are:
1. Take a small pan, or specialised tadka pans and add some cooking oil or ghee.
2. When you see that the oil has warmed up, add some whole spices according to your taste like jeera/cumin, tej patta/bay leaf, panch phoran/Indian five spice blend, etc. You can also add onion, chilly or curry leaves. Once it starts chuttering add it to your dal or curry.
Here are a few healthy ingredients to add to your tadka:
Panch Phoran/Indian five spice blend: This is a blend of five spices which means five spices which means it is packed with umpteen health benefits. It aids digestion, the methi seeds in it help control blood sugar too. Panch phoran is packed with nutrients.
Hing/Asafetida: Hing helps keep stomach ailments at bay and also improves the taste of your food. For a healthy stomach add hing or asafetida to your tadka.
Tej patta/ Bay leaf: Tej patta or bay leaf has been used in the Indian cuisine since ages. It is a bundle of health benefits. It helps relieve inflammation, aid digestion, promote diuresis and the list is never-ending.
Curry leaves: Curry leaves or Kadi patta is known to keep anaemia at bay, improve digestion, maintain blood sugar levels is also great for your skin and hair growth. Add it to your tadka to add extra nutrition to your food.
