What is this pungent Indian spice?

[Diamonds02]

I would like a lot of Indian foods, if it wasn't for this spice. It is present in most vegetarian Indian dishes I try, like samosas. It's definately not curry. I use curry alone at home to mix with my basmati rice and lentils. The taste is not present.

It's really hard to describe, other than being "too much".

[Headrush042]

Most people I know who have a problem with Indian food cite Cumin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumin) as the main cause. It's ubiquitous in Indian cuisine and has a very strong and distinctive flavor/aroma. I'm not sure how to describe its taste, but the taste definitely lingers long after the meal is done. Personally, I love it!

[Jerseyman]

I'd call Cumin 'metallic'. There is a curry spice I never seem to have found that gives it its unique taste. It might be Fenugreek or Asa Foetida. Then again, it might be something else I haven't heard of.

[Jamaika a jamaikaiaké]

I would agree with seeing if it's cumin. I personally don't like a lot of cumin, which is why I don't like a lot of Mexican-American food. I do loves me the Indian food, though, so maybe it's not cumin.

For the record, "curry" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_powder) is not usually used to refer to a single spice.

[devilsknew]

In my experience it is usually tumeric and/or asfitida.

[Diamonds02]

What are the little brown seeds? I kind of suspect that is it, since everytime I taste that strange taste I see them...except when I eat black beans at Qdoba. I don't know if they use the same kind of spice in their beans but it has a similar taste.

[pulykamell]

What are the little brown seeds? I kind of suspect that is it, since everytime I taste that strange taste I see them...except when I eat black beans at Qdoba. I don't know if they use the same kind of spice in their beans but it has a similar taste.

If you're tasting it in Mexican and Indian food, it's probably cumin. But cumin seeds are shaped like moon-like pieces of rice. Or if you know what caraway looks like, from rye bread, cumin looks like that, except slightly different color. Cumin is also one of the main flavors in Tex-Mex style chili.

Coriander is one of the other predominant spices in Indian food -- I'd say cumin & coriander contribute the bulk of the curry flavor. Usually, though, both cumin and coriander is ground before being put into the food.

Little black/brown seeds in Indian food can be mustard seeds, black onion seeds (actually, nigella), or even poppy seeds. Oh, and possibly cardamom seeds.

Asafoetida (aka hing) is a very potent spice that smells something like rotting onions. It's very tasty gently used, but can easily overpower a dish if you're not careful. It comes sold as a powder or a gum. It's used in some dishes in that part of the world, but I wouldn't call it omnipresent, like cumin and coriander.

What is odd is that you say the taste is present in most Indian food you've tasted, but not in curry powder. My best guess would be cumin, if not for this fact. Since curry powder describes a wide, wide mix of spices, it's just possible that the Indian food you've been eating just has a lot more cumin in it than whatever curry powder you're using.

The second guess I would have is the cardamom--it has a very distinct taste, in the ballpark of "sweet" spices like cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, but a different flavor. That could be more present in Indian restaurant dishes than in curry powders, but I don't usually encounter it in samosas.

[pulykamell]

I'd call Cumin 'metallic'. There is a curry spice I never seem to have found that gives it its unique taste. It might be Fenugreek or Asa Foetida. Then again, it might be something else I haven't heard of.

Fenugreek has a kind of maple-like taste and is, in fact, used to flavor artificial maple syrup.

[overlyverbose]

The three most pungent Indian spices/flavors I can think of are:

Asoefetida powder (as mentioned already) - usually in South Indian foods and some North Indian lentil dishes (South Indian food tends to be a bit drier than North Indian unless it's something like sambhar or rasam; South Indian food is also often less creamy). My husband and I refer to this stuff as ass-powder because it's so freaking strong. I can't remember ever using it in samosas, but everyone has their own recipe for pretty much everything.

Mango powder (amchur) - used in samosas and a few other dishes; this stuff is pretty pungent, but definitely not so much as asoefetida powder. You'd have to use a lot of it for it to be truly stinky.

Curry leaves - these are extremely strong. They're right on par with asoefetida. I think they're used primarily in South Indian cooking (things like aloo masala, some lentils and other dishes like sambhar and sometimes rasam, which is like a thin brothy dish). They have this funky bitter-sour smell that works out well taste-wise, but can be off-putting when you smell it.

[Airk]

What about cardamom? It's pretty pervasive in Indian food, and can be kinda strong - particularly if you have the misfortune of actually biting into one of the pods...

[Panurge]

The three most pungent Indian spices/flavors I can think of are:

Asoefetida powder (as mentioned already) - usually in South Indian foods and some North Indian lentil dishes (South Indian food tends to be a bit drier than North Indian unless it's something like sambhar or rasam; South Indian food is also often less creamy). My husband and I refer to this stuff as ass-powder because it's so freaking strong. I can't remember ever using it in samosas, but everyone has their own recipe for pretty much everything.

Mango powder (amchur) - used in samosas and a few other dishes; this stuff is pretty pungent, but definitely not so much as asoefetida powder. You'd have to use a lot of it for it to be truly stinky.

Curry leaves - these are extremely strong. They're right on par with asoefetida. I think they're used primarily in South Indian cooking (things like aloo masala, some lentils and other dishes like sambhar and sometimes rasam, which is like a thin brothy dish). They have this funky bitter-sour smell that works out well taste-wise, but can be off-putting when you smell it.

I think you are spot on for "pungent" - these were the exact three spices that came to mind when I read the OP. Roasted and ground urad dal has quite a special flavour as well.
However, it is very hard to guess as the OP isn't very specific about the dishes were the spice appears. If it is found in "most" Indian dishes that you are likely to encounter in the US I would guess that the spice in question is one of the typical North Indian / Punjabi spices. It could be cumin, mustard seeds, fenugreek, or fennel seeds, though I wouldn't describe any of them as "too much".

[Panurge]

Nigella seeds is also a possibility, it certainly has a characteristic flavour.

[Drain Bead]

My first guess was cardamom.

[overlyverbose]

I think you are spot on for "pungent" - these were the exact three spices that came to mind when I read the OP. Roasted and ground urad dal has quite a special flavour as well.
However, it is very hard to guess as the OP isn't very specific about the dishes were the spice appears. If it is found in "most" Indian dishes that you are likely to encounter in the US I would guess that the spice in question is one of the typical North Indian / Punjabi spices. It could be cumin, mustard seeds, fenugreek, or fennel seeds, though I wouldn't describe any of them as "too much".

I think you're right. Overuse of fenugreek especially can make a dish really bitter. I once misread a recipe for butter chicken; I thought it said four tablespoons of fenugreek while it said four teaspoons. Talk about raunchy - the smell was wonderful, but the taste was just awful.

[Diamonds02]

It is cardamom! I have narrowed down the spices and have been paying attention to the ingredients in the ethnic foods I eat.

In mexican foods, it is cilantro. I dunno, but to me they taste kind of similar.

Man, cardamom is a strange spice. If there is a such thing as something tasting "creepy", cardamom is it.

Case closed. :)

[AK84]

Complete Hijack

Samosa is a dish? I thought it was a snack.

[thelurkinghorror]

Turmeric is another common spice. It's a bit strong, but not too offensive IMO.

Coriander and cilantro are the same thing, and a lot of people hate the taste. Supposedly it's a genetic thing, some people are just predisposed to taste something bad about it. It's often described as "soapy."

[mathews78]

And cardamom seems to be prevalent in both savoury and sweet Indian dishes.

[PookahMacPhellimey]

Most people I know who have a problem with Indian food cite Cumin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumin) as the main cause. It's ubiquitous in Indian cuisine and has a very strong and distinctive flavor/aroma. I'm not sure how to describe its taste, but the taste definitely lingers long after the meal is done. Personally, I love it!

It was actually a friend's elderly mother who described the taste of cumin as the taste of "armpit odour". To me that really captures it, and I love the stuff. :eek:

[pulykamell]

Coriander and cilantro are the same thing, and a lot of people hate the taste. Supposedly it's a genetic thing, some people are just predisposed to taste something bad about it. It's often described as "soapy."

Coriander and cilantro are indeed the same thing, but in the US the former generally refers to the seeds, while the latter to the leaf. When you see an ingredient list for, say, curry powder, "coriander" refers to coriander seed. Coriander seed and cilantro have very different tastes.

As for cardamom, it is also used in sweets in other cultures (the Swedes, for instance, use it in cookies and bread), liqueurs, and often as a flavoring in Turkish or Middle Eastern styles of coffee.

[Mtgman]

It is cardamom! I have narrowed down the spices and have been paying attention to the ingredients in the ethnic foods I eat.

In mexican foods, it is cilantro. I dunno, but to me they taste kind of similar.

Man, cardamom is a strange spice. If there is a such thing as something tasting "creepy", cardamom is it.

Case closed. :)
Stay away from chai tea at Indian restaurants then, Cardamom is one of the primary flavors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masala_chai#Spices) in spice tea. If you like Chai tea, then you may not have a problem with cardamom flavor, but with how it was presented in these dishes.

Enjoy,
Steven

[Mike Fun]

If you think cumin smells like armpit, try some asafoetida.

[kittenblue]

I've always described cumin as the "gym shoes smell".

[Brown Eyed Girl]

It was actually a friend's elderly mother who described the taste of cumin as the taste of "armpit odour". To me that really captures it, and I love the stuff. :eek:

Hah! That's how I describe it as well! It just smells exactly like stinky pits! I also love, love, love it. But then I am also a big fan of "stinky feet cheese" better known to the rest of the world as Kasseri (an aged hard Greek cheese quite similar to parmesan or asiago).

[lee]

anise stars, cardamom, saffron, and coriander together make my rice taste more like Indian restaurant rice

[DanBlather]

Turmeric is another common spice. It's a bit strong, but not too offensive IMO.

Coriander and cilantro are the same thing, and a lot of people hate the taste. Supposedly it's a genetic thing, some people are just predisposed to taste something bad about it. It's often described as "soapy."Coriander usually refers to the seeds (in the US anyway) and cilantro to the leaves.

Darn Pulkyamell beat me to it.

[Diamonds02]

My bad, it is actually cilantro. I'm 99% sure this time.

From what I heard, it's a spice that people either love or hate.

[Angua]

My bad, it is actually cilantro. I'm 99% sure this time.

From what I heard, it's a spice that people either love or hate.

I was going to say -- cardamom is sweeter in taste than cilantro/coriander -- you wouldn't be mixing them up, especially if its the same taste that you're tasting in Mexican food. Cilantro/coriander sounds about right.

[Dewey Finn]

FYI, the New York Times ran an article (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html) last month on why some people can't stand cilantro. The chemicals that cause some people to dislike it are called aldehydes and they can be mostly eliminated if you crush the leaves.

[Chefguy]

If you think cumin smells like armpit, try some asafoetida.

Well, anything that looks like it translates to "fetid ass" may be a problem for the tastebuds. :p

[Manduck]

asafoetida is delicious, but only in small amounts. BTW it's also known as "devil's dung" :)

[Chefguy]

asafoetida is delicious, but only in small amounts. BTW it's also known as "devil's dung" :)

Close enough. :D