Greek vs Indian food & cuisine

Greece

SEASONINGS

For Greece, it’s quite tempting to list lemon, olive oil, garlic, and oregano and stop there – this fresh combination is so iconic and Greek. Herbs are the soul of Greek cooking, used generously to elevate the dishes. Greeks often use minimal seasoning even for grilled meats. Yet if we talk stews, soups and hearty dishes, then cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cumin, and nutmeg add warmth, depth, and sweetness but don’t overpower – the purity of ingredient remains.

It’s fascinating how Greek cuisine shows the meeting of Western and Eastern cultures through its two most important condiments – olive oil and yogurt. Olive oil comes from the Mediterranean tradition that Greece shares with Italy, Spain and southern France. Meanwhile, yogurt connects Greece to the east – to Turkey, the Levant, and other Middle Eastern food cultures. The same pattern appears in Greek architecture, music, and other cultural expressions as well.

Though not exclusive to Greek cuisine, mahlab, and mastic contribute to distinctive flavors: mahlab, a spice made from the ground seeds of the St. Lucie cherry or black cherry tree, has a unique and slightly sweet taste with hints of almond and cherry. It is used in desserts, such as tsoureki (a sweet bread), and in some savory dishes. Mastic, a resin obtained from the mastic tree, is used as a flavoring and thickening agent in desserts. Mastic has a piney, slightly resinous flavor and a unique chewy texture when ground into a powder.

SAUCES

TZADZIKI – a rich, creamy, bright, and fresh, indeed the most famous sauce, made from strained yogurt, cucumber, dill, mint, lemon, garlic, and olive oil, eaten with bread, grilled meats, as a part of a meze platter, as a salad dressing,

AVGOLEMONO is another Greek signature. It is used as both a sauce and a soup, made from egg yolks and lemon juice whisked together until they develop a thick consistency.

LADOLEMONO is a classic lemon and olive oil dressing whisked together to perfection, used as a marinade, or drizzled over grilled fish, seafood, and vegetables.

SKORDALIA – a pungent garlic sauce paired with fried cod (bakaliaros), boiled beets, or vegetables. Made of garlic, potatoes or bread, olive oil, lemon juice, vinegar, almonds/walnuts.

India

SEASONINGS

Indian cuisine has a sophisticated flavor-building logic, built on 4,000 years of philosophy.  Spices serve as medicine, art, and spiritual practice together. Indian seasonings dance between bold and subtle, hot and cooling, earthy and tangy, always striving for balance, saatvik. Ayurveda recognizes six fundamental tastes that must be balanced in every meal: sweet (madhura), sour (amla), salty (lavana), pungent (katu), bitter (tikta), and astringent (kashaya). This balance is achieved with thali, a concept where one meal consists of multiple small dishes designed to complement each other’s flavors.

The combination of bitter, astringent, and pungent tastes – alongside sweet, sour, and salty – is a key reason why Indian food stands out globally and tastes so distinct.

Unlike Western cuisine’s complementary approach, Indian cooking deliberately contrasts flavors through spice combinations that create harmony through opposition. Take, for example, mango pickle, aam ka achaar. This pickle combines the intense sourness and astringency of raw mango with fiery chili powder, pungent mustard oil, and salt. The flavors oppose and intensify each other, yet after time spent melding, they balance and complement in the finished pickle.

Indian seasoning works in layers to introduce taste at every stage of the dish. You don’t just throw in cumin and call it a day. First to go is the tadka tempering, flavouring the oil with mustard seeds, cardamom pods, or fennel seeds. This technique creates a ‘continuous presence’ of multiple flavors throughout the cooking process. Later, mid-cooking spice additions develop complexity. Finishing touches provide brightness to dishes. You might add turmeric early to cook off its bitterness, but garam masala goes in last – aromatic and unboiled. Each step builds a scaffolding of flavor that lingers on the tongue in waves.

Masala simply means a spice mixture, which by no means is simple.  It’s an umbrella for any combination of spices that can either be wet or dry. No two kitchens have the same masala. Even salt is added at a specific stage to bind flavor. Garam Masala literally means ‘warm spice blend’.  This blend creates what’s called a ‘warming’ effect – not heat like chili peppers, but a sense of internal warmth. Core components of garam masala are cinnamon, green/black cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, and cumin. Many recipes also include bay leaves, mace, coriander, star anise, and fennel seeds. Again, the variations are endless.

Masala dabba is a popular spice storage container used in local kitchens. It has a number of small cups, often seven, placed inside a round or square box, filled with:

ASAFOEDITA. Provides umami depth – its pungent raw smell transforms into musky complexity when heated in oil.
TURMERIC POWDER. Golden color, anti-inflammatory benefits, peppery-woody taste.
CUMIN SEEDS.  Nutty, earthy warmth, essential for tempering and ground spice blends.
BLACK MUSTARD SEEDS. Characteristic popping sound and nutty flavor.
CHILI POWDER. Color and mild heat.
CORIANDER. Citrusy, earthy notes.
GARAM MASALA completes the essential seven.