The secret ingredient of Indian food

Dishes like pilaus may have come to us from West Asia, but it was India’s spice magic that raised them to another level entirely

Many years ago, I wrote that some of the food of Central Asia and the Middle East was a rough draft for Indian cuisine. This led to (understandable) outrage and claims that I had ignored the contribution of foreign visitors of our cuisine.

Kebabs and pilaus may have come to India from the Middle East, but biryani, I think, is our own creation(iStock)

Complicated spice flavours are the hallmark of good Indian food. Most Indian food loses its distinctive identity without its spices (iStock)

Any minced meat kebab, like the shami kebab, will always have a more complex taste in India because of the spices than a bland Middle Eastern kebab (iStock)

Dr Ganesh Bagler has researched food for many years and has concluded that spices are the key ingredients of Indian food (Raj K Raj)