Indian cooking is as diverse as it is delicious, from simple street snacks served with tart tangy relishes, to light elegant meals and feasts fit for a Maharajah. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be surprised how easy it is to make. Making an Indian meal is often thought of as a culinary challenge, cloaked in an aura of mysterious eastern promise. The truth is, it's actually a simple affair.

There are only few things which have to be taken care of in Indian cooking.

Utensils:
	A sturdy karahi or wok should be top of your wish-list. Because of its narrow base, the cooking oil sits in a small pool at the bottom of the pan, which means you use a lot less fat than you would in a saucepan.
Spices:
	Spices are to India what basic stocks, sauces and dressings are to the west. Whether familiar or exotic, they add warmth, pungency, heat, and subtlety to dishes. Indian cooks are judged on their skills in blending seeds, powders and pastes. Extravagant chefs may juggle a dozen or more spices in one dish, but most home cooks do a fine job with around six mainstays, although you may want to keep other spices handy for adding extra flavour dimensions to particular dishes.
Indian Styles of Cooking :
Tandoor:
	Tandoor is a high-temperature clay oven. This idea of marinating meats in spices and yoghurt to tenderise and flavour them developed over the centuries to become the tandoori taste adventure we know today. You can re-create sensational restaurant-style tandoori dishes at home using a hot grill or a barbecue.
Bhuna:
	Bhuna is a traditional technique where spices are gently fried in generous amounts of oil to release their seductive aromas prior to the rest of the cooking process. Chefs then add onions, ginger and spices, plus small amounts of water to prevent the spices from overheating and spoiling. Lamb and chicken are both popular in bhuna cooking, while yoghurt can be added for extra richness.
Maninade:
	A marinade is simply a mixture in which raw meats or other ingredients are placed for a certain amount of time to marinate - tenderising them and adding extra flavour before cooking.

Tips for Indian Cooking

Indian cooking is not an easy ball game. Here are few tips on how to cook Indian meals better:

• Making sure pastes are really smooth, browning onions to a deep rust colour and using freshly ground spices make all the difference between an average meal and a memorable experience.
• Flour is rarely used as a thickening agent in India. Many dishes depend on pastes such as cashew nuts, onions and coconut to thicken sauces.
• When making a paste, grind ingredients such as onion, ginger and garlic with a dash of water. This ensures a silky-smooth finish.
• For lighter curries, swap the cream for whipped yogurt or crème fraîche. Instead of ghee, use groundnut oil for cooking.
• If you like a smooth-textured daal, blend plain-cooked lentils in a liquidiser before returning to the pan.
• When a recipe calls for adding oil, garlic, and onions to a pan, always add garlic last. This keeps it from burning and tasting bitter.
• Coconut milk when kept overnight in the fridge forms a white layer on top. This layer can be used as fat instead of oil for frying mutton or chicken.