If you are unsure about any spices or cooking terms used in any of these recipes then try useing this very helpful glossary.

A	A-H  &  I-Z
Achar	Pickle.
Adrak	Ginger.
Ajwain or Ajowain	Lovage.
Aloo	Potato.
Alu chole	A vegetarian dish using chickpeas, potatoes and tamarind.
Alur dom	A dish using whole potatoes.
Am	Mango.
Am chur	Mango powder. A very hot sour flavouring agent.
Aniseed	Sanuf.
Areca	Betel nut.
Asafoetida	Hing. Gum obtained from root of giant fennel-like plant. Used in powder or resin form. A rather smelly spice.
Aserio	Aniseed.
Ata or Atta	Chupatti flour. Fine wholemeal flour used in most Indian breads. English wholemeal is a suitable alternative.
B	A-H  &  I-Z
Badai	Aniseed stars.
Badam	Almond.
Bargar	The process of frying whole spices in hot oil.
Basmati	The best type of long grain rice.
Bay leaf	Tej patia. This very well known leaf is used fresh or dried in certain Indian recipes.
Besan	Chickpea flour.
Bhajee or bhaji	Dryish mild vegetable curry.
Bhajia	Deep fried fritter, usually onion. See pakora.
Bhare	Stuffed.
Bharta or Bhurta	Mash or puree.
Bhoona or Bhuna	The process of cooking the spice paste in hot oil. A bhoona curry is usually dry and cooked in coconut.
Bhunana	Roast.
Biriani	A traditional dish. Rice baked with meat or vegetable filling.
Black salt	Kala namak.
Bombay Duck	A smallish fish native to the Bombay area known locally as Bommaloe Macchi. This was too hard for the British to pronounce so it became Bombay Duck. It is dried and appears on the table as a crispy deep fried starter or accompaniment to a curry.
Bombay potato	Small whole potatoes in curry and tomato sauce.
Boti kebab	Marinated cubes of lamb cooked in a tandoor oven.
Brinja	Aubergine.
Burfi or Barfi	An Indian fudge-like sweetmeat made from reduced condensed milk in various flavours eg plain or pistachio.
C	A-H  &  I-Z
Cardamom	Elaichi. Various types, notably green, white, and brown. One of the most aromatic and expensive spices.
Cashew nuts	Kaju
Cassia bark	A corky bark with a sweet fragrance similar to cinnamon and is used extensively in Northern Indian cookery. Although cooked in the curry the bark is too coarse to eat.
Cayenne pepper	A type of chilli powder.
Ceylon curry	Usually cooked with coconut, lemon and chilli.
Chaamp	Chop.
Chakla belan	Special rolling pin and board.
Chamcha	Ladle.
Chana	Type of lentil.
Chawal	Rice.
Chhalni	Sieve.
Chilgoze or Nioze	Small long creamy nuts with brown shells used in cooking or eaten raw.
Chilli	There are a great man species of chillies, which are the fleshy pods of shrub-like bushes of he capsicum family. Chillies range from large to small, and colours include green, white, purple, pink, and red. Curiously, although synonymous with Indian food they were only brought to the sub-continent from South America some four centuries ago. They are now the most important heat agent in Indian cookery. They vary in hotness from mild to incendiary-like potency. Most commonly, small green or red chillies are used fresh. Red chillies can be dried and used whole, and chilli powder is made by grinding dried chillies.
Chimta	Tongs.
Chirongi or Charauli	Small rounded nuts resembling Egyptian lentils. Used in puddings or pullaos.
Chor maga	Melon seeds. Used as a thickener.
Chupatti	A dry 6 inch disc of unleavened bread. Normally griddle cooked ,it should be served piping hot. Spelling varies eg Chuppati, Chapati etc.
Chutneys	The common ones are onion, mango and tandoori. There are dozens of others which rarely appear on the standard menu.
Cinnamon	Dalchini. The quill-like dried bark of the cinnamon tree. It is one of the most aromatic spices. Same family as cassia, it is generally used in dishes which require a delicate flavour.
Cloves	Lavang.
Coriander	Dhania. One of the most important spices in Indian cookery. The leaves of the plant can be used fresh and the seeds used whole or ground.
Cummin or Cumin	Jeera. There are two types of seeds: white and black. The white seeds are a very important spice in Indian cookery. The black seeds (Kala Jeera) are seldom used. Both can be used whole or ground.
Curry	The only word in this glossary to have no direct translation into any of the sub-continent's fifteen or so languages. The word was coined by the British in India centuries ago. Possible contenders for the origin of the word are,Karahi or Karai (Hindi), a wok-like frying pan used all over India to prepare masalas (spice mixtures): karhi - a soup-like dish made with spices, chickpea flour dumplings and buttermilk; Kari - a spicy tamil sauce;Turkuri - a seasoned sauce or stew; or Kari Phulia, neem or curry leaves.
Curry leaves	.Also known as Kadipatha in Hindi, Small leaves a bit like bay leaves, used for flavouring.
D	A-H  &  I-Z
Dahi	Yoghurt.
Dahi wala	A meat dish cooked in a savoury yoghurt sauce.
Dalchini or Darchim	Cinnamon.
Degchi	Brass or metal saucepan without handles also called Pateeli or Batloi.
Dewa	Lentils. There are over sixty types of lentil in the sub-continent. The most common restaurant types are masoor, channa and urid.
Dhania	Coriander.
Dhansak	Traditional chicken or meat dish cooked in lentil and vegetable puree.
Dhungar	Applying the smoke of charcoal to ingredients.
Do piaza	Traditional meat dish. Do means two and piaza means onion. It gets its name because onions appear twice in the cooking process.
Doroo	Celery.
Dosa or Dosai	A south Indian pancake made from rice and lentil flour. Usually served with a filling.
Dum	Steam cooking. Long before the west invented the pressure cooker India had her own method which lasts to this day. A pot with a close fitting lid is sealed with a ring of dough. The ingredients are then cooked in their own steam under some pressure.
E	A-H  &  I-Z
Ekuri	Spiced scrambled eggs.
Elaichi	Cardamom.
F	A-H  &  I-Z
Fennel	Soonf.
Fenugreek	Methi. This important spice is used as seeds and in fresh or dried leaf form. It is very savoury and is used in many Northern Indian dishes.
Foogat	Lightly cooked vegetable dish.
G	A-H  &  I-Z
Gajar	Carrot.
Garam masala	Literally 'hot mixture'. This refers to a blend of spices much loved in Northern Indian cookery.
Garlic	Lasan.
Ghee	Clarified butter or margarine much used in Northern Indian cookery.
Ginger	Adrak (fresh) Sont (dried); a rhizome which can be used fresh, dried or powdered.
Gobi or phoolgobi	Cauliflower.
Goor or gur	Jaggery (palm sugar) or molasses.Ginger.
Gosht	Lamb.
Gram flour	Chickpea flour (besan).
Gulab jaman	An Indian dessert. Small 1-inch diameter balls of flour and milk powder deep-fried to golden and served cold in syrup. Cake-like texture.
Gurda	Kidney. Gurda kebab is marinated kidney skewered and cooked in the tandoor.
H	A-H  &  I-Z
Halva	Sweets made from syrup and vegetables or fruit. Serve cold in small squares. It is translucent and comes in bright colours depending on ingredient used; e.g. orange (carrot), green (pistachio), red (mango), etc. Has texture thicker than Turkish delight. Sometimes garnished with edible silver foil.
Handi	Earthenware cooking pot.
Hasina kebab	Pieces of chicken breast, lamb or beef marinated in spices and then skewered and barbecued with onion, capsicum and tomato. Of Turkish origin.
Hindi	Hindi is the official language of India. Although there are fourteen or so other languages in India, only Hindi translations have been used in this glossary. Spelling of Hindi translations have been used in this glossary. Spelling of Hindi words can vary in English because 5they are translated phonetically from many Hindi dialects.
Hing	Asofoetida.
Hisa	Bill (account)
Huldi	Turmeric.

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