The main ingredients of an Indian meal are rice, atta or whole wheat flour, a range of lentils like masoor or red lentils, urad, moong, channa and toor. Lentils or dals may be eaten whole, husked or split. Lentils like channa or moong may also be ground into flour such as besan.
Indian food mostly uses vegetable oil. However, the use of cooking oil differs from region to region quite often. For instance, in Eastern India, mustard oil is very popular. In the south, both sesame oil and coconut oil are used. Earlier, ghee or clarified butter was used almost all over India. In recent times, due to health concerns, ghee has been replaced by sunflower and soybean oil.
A plethora of spices are used in Indian cooking. These again vary by region. However, there are a few spices that are used in almost all parts of India such as black pepper, cumin, turmeric, mustard seeds, cilantro seeds, asafetida, fenugreek, ginger and garlic. Garam masala is a mixture of spices that is very commonly used as a seasoning in Indian food. Although every region and every household have their own take on the exact blend of spices in garam masala, the most basic mixture comprises cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns and cloves.
Various herbs and leaves are used as a seasoning in Indian cuisine such as bay leaf, fresh cilantro, fresh mint, curry leaf. Even desserts are flavored with spices like cardamom, saffron, nutmeg and rose petal extract.
