Staple foods of Indian cuisine include pearl millet, rice, whole-wheat flour, and a variety of lentils, most often red lentils, pigeon peas, black gram, and mung beans. Lentils may be used whole, dehusked or split. Split lentils, or dal, are used extensively. Some pulses, such as chickpeas, kidney beans and black-eyed peas are very common, especially in the northern regions.
Many Indian dishes are cooked in vegetable oil, but peanut oil is popular in northern and western India, mustard oil in eastern India, and coconut oil along the western coast, especially in Kerala and parts of southern Tamil Nadu. Gingelly (sesame) oil is common in the south since it imparts a fragrant, nutty aroma.
Key Flavours
The most important and frequently used spices and flavourings in Indian cuisine are whole or powdered chilli pepper introduced by the Portuguese from Mexico in the 16th century, black mustard seed, cardamom, cumin, turmeric, asafoetida, ginger, coriander, and garlic.
