Tadka, also known as tempering, is a cooking technique commonly used in Indian cuisine.
It involves heating oil or ghee and adding whole or ground spices to release their flavors and aromas.
This flavored oil is typically added to a dish at the beginning or end of cooking to enhance its taste.
Ingredients for Tadka
Quantities are in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Fat
Pick an oil such as olive oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, mustard oil, or any other vegetable oil or ghee, a type of clarified butter popular in Indian cooking.
We recommend olive oil as it’s widely available and healthier than other fats.
Aromatics
We add thinly sliced garlic, fresh chilies, and bay leaves.
Other good aromatics are onions, shallots, and curry leaves.
Spices
We add cumin (ground or seeds), ground coriander, and a cinnamon stick if available.
Other good spices are mustard seeds, red pepper flakes, asafoetida or hing, cloves, star anise, and turmeric powder.
Remember that different regions in India use various combinations of spices and ingredients for their tadka.
So feel free to experiment and create your favorite combinations of herbs and spices.
Salt
Don’t forget to add a pinch of sea salt or kosher salt to bring the flavors together.
How to make Tadka
US cups + grams measurements in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.
Heat the oil in a saucepan on medium heat for about 30 seconds. We always use olive oil for tadka as it’s the healthier choice and tastes great.
Add the aromatics first – we use sliced garlic, bay leaves, and thinly sliced fresh chili – and a pinch of salt.
Fry gently for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
Tip: At this stage, you can also add a cinnamon stick, star anise, thinly sliced onion or shallots, and curry leaves.
Add the spices—we added ground cumin, ground coriander, and red pepper flakes—stir and fry for 30 more seconds.
Turn the heat off and set aside for 5 minutes or more to infuse.
Tip: At this stage, you can also add mustard seeds and any other spice of your choice.
Tip: Make sure the oil doesn’t smoke and nothing burns. If so, turn off the heat immediately and move the oil around the pan to cool down.
How to use Tadka?
Tadka adds depth, complexity, and a burst of flavor and heat to otherwise simple dishes.
There are two main ways to use tadka:
- Stir it in a dish before serving it to add flavor.
- Use tadka as a finishing oil and drizzle it on a dish. You’ll need one to two teaspoons to boost the flavor of a dish. This is our preferred way of using it.
It’s excellent with curries, vegetables, soups, rice, and dals, especially if topped with cold yogurt.
For instance, try it as a finishing oil on chana masala, chana dal, chana saag, moong dal, mung bean soup, Navratan korma, chickpea stew, lentil curry, aloo gobi, and chickpea curry.
It’s also delicious for tempering soups such as red lentil soup, cauliflower soup, and broccoli soup.
For more dishes that go well with tadka, check out our compilation of delicious Indian vegetarian recipes.
How to make tadka healthier?
Tadka is 99% oil, so we recommend using it in small amounts. It can quickly double a dish’s calories without you even realizing it.
Here are our tips for making tadka healthier, and enjoy it as part of a healthy and tasty diet.
- Add small amounts on top of a dish – one to two teaspoons is usually enough – rather than mixing it in a dish.
- Use a healthier fat, such as olive oil or avocado oil, instead of saturated fats like butter, ghee, or ultra-processed vegetable oils.
- Please don’t burn the oil; instead, heat it gently. The oil should not produce smoke. If it smokes, it produces unhealthy particles, which we want to avoid.
Tadka
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons olive oil substitute ghee or avocado oil
- 3 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 mild chili pepper more or less to taste
- 6 small bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes more or less to taste
Instructions
- Heat 4 tablespoons olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat for about 30 seconds. Add 6 small bay leaves, 3 cloves garlic, 1 mild chili pepper (both thinly sliced), and ¼ teaspoon salt.Fry gently for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Add ½ teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and fry for 30 more seconds.Turn the heat off and set aside for 5 minutes or more to infuse.
- Our preferred way of using tadka is as a finishing oil, drizzled on a dish.You’ll need one to two teaspoons to boost the flavor of a dish.It’s excellent with curries, stews, soups, and dals, especially those topped with cold yogurt.
Notes
- Add small amounts on top of a dish – one to two teaspoons is usually enough – rather than mixing it in a dish.
- Use a healthier fat, such as olive oil or avocado oil, instead of saturated fats like butter, ghee, or ultra-processed vegetable oils.
- Please don’t burn the oil; instead, heat it gently. The oil should not smoke. If it smokes, it produces unhealthy particles, which we want to avoid.
Nutrition
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Wondeful! I love how you used olive oil to make the recipe healthier. My husband needs to eat less saturated fat and this recipe is perfect.
Thank you Rebecca,
We are happy you like the recipe 🙂
All the best,
Nico