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Tadka has its own importance in Indian food. When a simple dal, curry or vegetable is flavored with cumin, mustard, asafoetida and other spices, its aroma and taste make the entire dish special. However, many people complain that despite heating the oil properly, the spices get burnt and the food tastes bitter.

Actually, the secret of delicious tadka is hidden not only in hot oil but in the right temperature, right sequence and right timing. Let us know what things should be kept in mind while applying tadka.

Excessively hot oil can spoil the taste.
Often people believe that by adding spices to hot oil, their flavor comes out better. But extremely hot oil can burn the spices instead of doing them any good. Especially dry spices cook faster when they come in contact with hot oil.

If the oil is too hot, the cumin seeds, mustard seeds or other spices may turn dark in color and burn within a few seconds. Therefore, it is necessary to heat the oil, but it is not considered right to heat it to the point of producing smoke.

Give right time to whole spices
The tempering usually starts with cumin, mustard seeds, cloves, cinnamon or other whole spices. These can tolerate a little more heat than ground spices.

If cumin starts crackling lightly or mustard seeds start spluttering, then understand that the spices are leaving their flavor in the oil. But it is not right to leave them in oil for a long time, because if roasted too much, their taste may become bitter.

Ground spices burn quickly
Turmeric, red chili powder and other ground spices can burn very quickly. Putting them directly in hot oil sometimes spoils the taste.
A better approach is to add ground spices after the whole spices and other ingredients. If needed, slow down the flame or turn off the gas for a few seconds. The heat in the pan itself may be enough to lightly cook the spices.

Smoke coming out of oil is not a good sign
If smoke is continuously coming out from the oil, it means that the oil has become excessively hot. Adding spices to such oil increases the possibility of them burning immediately.

For tempering, the oil should be hot, but not smoking. If you see a slight glow and heat on the surface of the oil, it may be the right time to add spices.

Be careful while adding garlic and green chillies
After crackling the cumin seeds or mustard seeds, garlic, ginger and green chillies are often added to the tempering. Keeping these things on very high flame can cause them to burn quickly.
Garlic in particular takes very little time between turning golden and burning. Therefore, after adding whole spices, it is better to reduce the flame a little.

Make complete preparations before applying tadka.
The process of making tadka is very fast. Therefore, searching or cutting the material after heating the oil can be harmful.
Keep cumin seeds, mustard seeds, asafoetida, garlic, green chillies and other ingredients ready in advance. This will ensure that everything goes into the pan at the right time and the spices will be protected from burning.

Choosing the right PAN is also important
Not every pan heats the same way. Thin or poor quality pans may overheat some areas, causing the spices to burn quickly on one side.

Therefore, it is better to use a pan with a thick bottom and which heats evenly.

What to do if spices start burning?
If you feel that the spices are roasting excessively then immediately reduce the flame. If needed, the temperature of the pan can be reduced by adding a small amount of water, tomatoes or any other moist ingredient.