Free-Style Cooking? Knowing the right food pairing technique is the way to go. Well, I understand that, you have already stocked your pantry with almost every ingredient that is available on earth! But, did you ever had any chance cook with them, before? Oh yeah, seasoning is endless and everyone are unique and our requirements differ…yet, learning a little bit about the true matches is always a good idea. It doesn’t mean that, you will have to stick to the old-school of thought or follow only the original traditional food pairing methods! As flavor pairing is the key for any good cooking. One can absolutely, play with the ingredients and bring out the best seasoning.

Meanwhile, studying the characters of the spices and herbs is a better option for some spectacular results! Although, one will come across some amazing combination on your own…hope, these pre-existing blue-print will help you to master the art of pairing.

And if you wanna make some stunning combinations. Here, I have listed my own inventions for you to explore. Hope you all will like it.

Indian Style Food & Spice Pairing

Spices & Herbs	Food Pairing Ideas
Allspice	Soups, puddings, creamy recipes and fruit desserts should taste fine with this allspice.
Anise	Rice, curries, stews, stocks…what not, it conquers number of recipes.
Bay Leaves	Much used in meat, lamb, broth, pilaf and other rice varieties. Very pleasant addition.
Cumin	Smoky, dry-toasted version can easily dominate your dishes, so avoid using it as a finishing touch.
Caraway	Flour, biscuits, breads, savory snacks, crisps, fryums…everything gets a nice hint of these seeds. A tad bit of it can make a huge difference.
Cardamom	This sweet smelling cardamom is tossed onto the poultry, milk, coconut milk, coconuts, Indian sweets, etc. This insignificant quantity can certainly make a big impact.
Chilies (green, fresh)	Can be used fresh, whole, slitted, chopped, minced to number of recipes, its an important ingredient in Indian cooking. Feel free to explore.
Chilies (red, dry)	Tamarind / tomato based dishes, meat, seafood and root vegetables and rice dishes. In Indian cooking, its omnipresent in every dish. And every cook has their own way of adding it.
Cinnamon	Not just for puddings, sweet dishes, meat preparations…it can be wisely used in quite a number of Indian curries and rice dishes.
Cloves	For hot dishes to spiciest finger foods. Everything needs this cloves. If you go overboard, it may ruin your taste buds for several days.
Coriander Seeds	Lemony coriander seeds can be used with variety of vegetables and stir-fries. Toasted blends is one of the pantry essential in my home. It not only thickens the curries, it also makes it very aromatic to indulge.
Curry Leaves	Very earthy aromatic curry leaves goes well with any savory dishes.
Fennel	Sweet-licorice flavor adds essence to coconut based dishes. Forget your spa appointment.
Fenugreek	This downright bitter-pungent seeds could make your dish awesome or a total disaster, if you overwhelmed! Powered version is mixed with sambar and rasam in South India. A must have spice for its medicinal value.
Mustard seeds	It has an interesting flavor, when you add them to hot oil. A better way to garnish so many Indian recipes. Go gaga.
Nutmeg	Sweet, aromatic, mesmerizing nutmeg can make your meat, pickle, milk, cookie, bread and biscuit recipes highly rich. Yumm.
Peppercorns	Hot and spicy pepper can be used in a variety of dishes to enhance flavor. Pound it raw, blend it fine dish, toast it dry or add to the oil, each has an unique flavor. Get experimenting, folks.
Saffron	Sweet, fragrant saffron can definitely be bold to your milk based dishes…add them to the pudding or to the breads, potatoes or pulavs…I guarantee success.
Sesame	One of the first spice known to the early man. Better used as a toasted version to decorate the savory snacks to crisps. But, a puree form is even better to thicken your gravies…wanna bet?
Vanilla	Milk, yogurts, or egg based desserts, everything smells pleasant with the addition of vanilla.
Basil	Love to pair them with tomatoes and olive oil. Don’t ever forget to drop this in your coconut based stews and end up looking like a dork!
Mint	Lamb, goat meat, pilafs, biriyanis or chutneys…nothing could be flavorful without this wonder herb in my kitchen.
Cilantro	You name it, I add it…most of our South Indian dishes get a hint of this herb as a final finish. Garnish it to your sambar, rasam and kormas. Everything gets a fresh look, instantly.
Oregano	I have eaten it fresh, used it in puree form and also dusted it dry on the grilled foods. Seafood or potatoes, everything smells good with this.
Ginger (fresh)	Grate it, slice it, juice it or puree it…you should know a lot about this ginger before using it! It certainly affects your every recipe in a positive way, if used properly.
Ginger (dry)	A pinch can be over-powering, at the same time…highly welcome. Teas, tangy curries, fryums…make sure of the quantity before playing with it.
Garlic	Very strong scented garlic is an essential addition to Indian cooking. I love them personally in my tamarind and tomato based curries. Sliced and fried version can be widely used for many root vegetables and stir-fries.Can’t image my dishes without garlic. If I ever fail to add them (which won’t happen deliberately), I know the dish will go whacky.
Onion (fried / sun dried)	Makes a good garnish to all the pulav and biriyani varieties.
Onion (fresh)	There are certainly many varieties to explore! Pearl onions are used in South Indian sambar and kuzhambu. While red onions are important for raithas and vadas. Yellow and white onions are used in various curries, gravies, kormas and in puree form for marination. Green onions can make an excellent garnish to Chinese style of cooking.
Turmeric	A spice that is widely used in Indian culinary, which gives that distinct yellow to the dishes. If you go over-board..it may upset your tummy, just watch out. Being an Indian, can’t image what I will do in the kitchen without this yellow gold!

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