Can those, that allude to knowing, please elaborate on what they understand to be the "bhoona" (or "bhuna", or bhunao" technique that is used in BIR (and traditional) Indian cooking?

To my mind, it's a term generally applied to the technique whereby some powdered spices (sometimes in a liquid medium,) are fried in oil (or ghee), at the start of cooking a main dish, to release their flavours.

What other views are there please? 

I think it would be very useful, to many members, to be aware of this as a "cooking technique" used in BIR (and traditional) Indian cooking.

I reckon is would be very helpful to many members if we could specify:

• what it is?
• why it is used?
• when it is used?
• how it is used?

Cory, I agree with your definition.

The term 'Bhoona' there are various ways of spelling the word loosely translates from Hindi as 'frying spices or spice paste in hot oil'. It should therefore be considered a 'process'.

What is it?
A process of frying spices in either powdered or paste form in hot oil.

Why is it used?
To extract natural oils and flavours and to cook out any rawness from the spices themselves.

When is it used?
Usually at the start of the cooking process and before any other ingredients are added.

How is it used?
Usually in one of two ways -

1/ By adding the spices or spice paste to hot oil and frying till the spices become fragrant and lose their rawness but without burning. This is one of the reasons spice masalas or spice mixes are mixed with water into a paste before being added to hot oil - to stop the spices burning.

2/ By adding the spices or spice paste to an onion/garlic/ginger puree that has already been prefried in hot oil and frying in the same way to release the spice flavours.

Both 'bhoona' techniques can be used, the main differences between them is the margin of error between burning the spices is less with the second method than the first.

The second method is therefore easier for new cooks to start with until experience tells them when the spices are cooked correctly through texture, feel and smell when they can graduate on to the more difficult first method.

That's my definition of the term Bhoona process.

Quote from: ELW on January 09, 2012, 12:12 PM
glad thats been cleared up then

That's just my definition of it, no doubt someone will come along and disagree with me like they usually do  :

Quote from: spiceyokooko on January 09, 2012, 12:43 PM
That's just my definition of it, no doubt someone will come along and disagree with me like they usually do  :

Sorry to disappoint you Spicey, but one can't disagree with absolute fact, as you have comprehensively outlined in your understanding of the processes of "bhuning"

Quote from: spiceyokooko on January 09, 2012, 12:08 PM
Cory, I agree with your definition.

The term 'Bhoona' there are various ways of spelling the word loosely translates from Hindi as 'frying spices or spice paste in hot oil'. It should therefore be considered a 'process'.

What is it?
A process of frying spices in either powdered or paste form in hot oil.

Why is it used?
To extract natural oils and flavours and to cook out any rawness from the spices themselves.

When is it used?
Usually at the start of the cooking process and before any other ingredients are added.

How is it used?
Usually in one of two ways -

1/ By adding the spices or spice paste to hot oil and frying till the spices become fragrant and lose their rawness but without burning. This is one of the reasons spice masalas or spice mixes are mixed with water into a paste before being added to hot oil - to stop the spices burning.

2/ By adding the spices or spice paste to an onion/garlic/ginger puree that has already been prefried in hot oil and frying in the same way to release the spice flavours.

Both 'bhoona' techniques can be used, the main differences between them is the margin of error between burning the spices is less with the second method than the first.

The second method is therefore easier for new cooks to start with until experience tells them when the spices are cooked correctly through texture, feel and smell when they can graduate on to the more difficult first method.

That's my definition of the term Bhoona process.

The lack of the proper use of techniques such as this, in lower quality bir's, may go some way to explaining the dishes all tasting very similar. Bhoona/bhuna dishes all seem to be 'wet'  nowadays, the dry intense flavoured ones seem to have almost disappeared.