How Bitter Foods Lead to Flavour Explosion in Indian Cuisine
While modern foods lean towards sweetness and mild flavours, traditional Indian cuisine celebrates bitterness for its role in creating harmony and balance in a meal.
The principle of balancing the six tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent, and astringent) is integral to Indian cooking, as per Ayurveda. But besides the health benefits, bitter foods help create an elusive flavour explosion in our dishes. It balances the sweeter, and spicier elements of a recipe. For example, the bitterness of Methi (fenugreek) can offset the sweetness of Pumpkin, creating a more harmonious flavour profile for the curry.
Across India, bitter foods are incorporated into dishes for their unique flavour, health benefits, and cultural significance. The Bengali meal often starts with a bitter dish which acts like a palate cleanser and prepares the digestive system for the meal. From Karnataka’s Hagalkai Palya (a bitter gourd stir-fry seasoned with coconut) to Punjab’s spicy tomato gravy or Gujarat’s sweet & stuffed sabji – Karela or Bitter Gourd is served across India. Methi leaves are eaten extensively in the north during winters and its dried form, Kasuri Methi is used to elevate flavours. Home-cooked Rajasthani meals often feature a small serving of Dana Methi (fenugreek seeds). But not just gourds and leaves, regional Indian cuisine also boasts recipes made with bitter flowers, like Teeta Phool in Assam or Nimba Kadhi in Odisha.
Bitterness is one of the building blocks of our traditional recipes. Sometimes bitter foods are the star ingredients like in many variations of Karela (bitter gourd). Other times, they are paired with other flavours to create a balanced dish. Bitter foods offer a wide range of opportunities to add complex flavours and create harmonious balance — all Indian communities harness this power well in their traditional recipes.
Getting Started with Bitter Ingredients
Cooking with bitter foods requires one to master some cooking tricks that help reduce the bitterness. Firstly, techniques. Massaging Bitter Gourd with salt or soaking in salted water before cooking helps. Second, masking. Mixing bitter ingredients with other strong-flavoured ingredients such as spices, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and coconut can help balance the bitterness. Third, balancing. Adding ingredients like sugar, jaggery, tamarind, raw mango complements and offsets bitterness.
Bitter Dishes We Love to Hate!
Most regional Indian cuisines have at least one bitter dish that evokes equal amounts of love and hate. For me, growing up in a Marwadi family, the bitter after-taste of Ker Sangri and the evidently bitter Dana Methi ki launji were dreadful. I could never understand the people who liked it. Many Bengali friends share the similar feelings for Shukto, a stew that combines bitter gourd with a variety of vegetables like eggplant, raw banana, and drumsticks, cooked in a mustard and poppy seed paste. The Teeta Bhajji of Assam is made by deep frying the bitter Teeta Phoo and consumed as a side dish, especially during the spring season to detoxify the body. Karela Sabji and Methi Paratha or Thepla are common across India, prepared with regional variations.
From Grandma’s Kitchen
Aside from the common ones, there are several underrated traditional bitter food recipes found everywhere in the subcontinent.
Nimba Kadhi Bhaja, a stir fry of Neem Buds, Eggplant and Potatoes from Odisha made especially during summers and helps in digestion.
Bevu Bella, a mixture of neem leaves and jaggery is consumed during the Ugadi festival in Karnataka to symbolise the balance of life's bittersweet moments.
Teeta Khar, a traditional Assamese dish made with raw papaya and banana peel, incorporating bitter ingredients like neem leaves or other bitter greens. The dish is seasoned with Khaar made from sun-dried banana peels, giving it a unique flavour profile.
Methichi Usal, a bitter variation of Maharashtra's classic Usal. In this dish, methi seeds are combined with toor daal and coconut to create a spicy curry served with Bhakri or rice.
The ability to transform bitterness into an explosion of flavours is a culinary art that reflects the diverse and sophisticated palate of Indian cuisine. Whether it’s the tang of Methi, the robustness of Karela, or the intriguing bitterness of regional specialities, these ingredients elevate the dining experience, offering a blend of taste, tradition, and health benefits. Embracing bitter foods is not just about enjoying a meal; it's about savouring the complexity and depth that make Indian cuisine truly extraordinary.
