A World Cuisine Glossary

Note: This page will be changing frequently. Check back often, and feel free to request information. There will be an initial bias towards East Indian and Asian cuisines, however that will change with time.

Curry Powder - a mixture of up to 22 spices and herbs (including cumin, turmeric, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon), resulting in a powder ranging from mild to hot. A staple seasoning in East Indian, West Indian, Pakistani, and several Asian countries. This is different than Red and Green Curry pastes, which are more prevalent in East Asian cuisines such as Vietnamese, Thai, Burmese, and others.

Naan - A soft, thick flatbread found in East Indian, West Indian, Pakistani, and other Indo-cuisines. This bread achieves its soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture due to the flour being combined with buttermilk. It is baked in a special clay oven called a tandoor, which is also used for making kebabs and other grilled, skewered meats.

Raita - A dairy-based sauce made from yogurt, buttermilk or sour cream and used to cool the palate when eating spicy foods. Diced or grated vegetables with high moisture content are often added as well.

Sambal Oelek - also known as chili garlic paste. This ultra-hot, rough-grained sauce has the chile pepper seeds intact, and consists mostly of vinegar, oil, garlic, and hot chile peppers.

Samosa - aka, Singada - a triangular pastry typically stuffed with potatoes, onion, peas and spices, but sometimes also ground meat. Samosas are most often deep fried but can also be baked like South American empanadas.