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LoginHow Indian Recipes Champion Umami, The Fifth Flavour, In Dishes, Techniques, And More
5 min
26/05/20265 min26/05/2026
Umami is often called the “fifth taste” after sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. It refers to a deep, savoury, mouth-filling flavour usually created by naturally occurring glutamates in food. While the term itself comes from Japan, the flavour is far from unfamiliar to Indian cuisine. Dig deeper to understand umami-rich Indian recipes and traditional cooking techniques that help introduce the flavour into Indian cuisine.
Umami may be a Japanese term, but the flavour itself has existed in Indian kitchens for centuries. From dishes like slow-cooked dals and fermented chutneys to ingredients like dried fish, tomatoes, tamarind, and aged ghee, Indian cuisine has long relied on glutamate-rich ingredients and cooking methods that naturally build savoury depth. This article breaks down the science of umami and maps it onto familiar Indian dishes and traditions. But first, understand the meaning of umami.
Most people know about the four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Umami is the fifth taste known to mankind. A deeply savoury flavour that lingers on the tongue and enhances the overall richness of food, umami is a Japanese term. The term was coined in 1908 by Japanese chemist and scientist Kikunae Ikeda, who uncovered the chemical basis of the taste. Now, while the word is Japanese, the flavour is universal. And there is a clear science on how it occurs in different ingredients and dishes.
The science behind umami: Umami is triggered when specialised receptors on the tongue detect glutamates (an amino acid) and nucleotides (natural flavour compounds).
Glutamate: Naturally present in plants and animals; it is also the active component in MSG (monosodium glutamate).
Nucleotides: Work in tandem with glutamate to exponentially amplify the savoury sensation.
While people may think umami just means salty, the two differ. Umami works as a flavour enhancer, creating a satisfying mouthfeel and enriching other tastes. Chefs often combine umami-rich ingredients (e.g., adding tomatoes and cheese to a beef dish) to create flavour synergy, making the dish dramatically tastier than the sum of its parts. Simply put, that indescribable depth in rajma, sambhar, achar oil, or fish curry? That’s umami.
Recipes combine ingredients and techniques. When the question is about umami in Indian recipes, the focus is on those ingredients and techniques that contain or build this flavour, respectively. Confused? Well, look at the examples below to better understand this concept.
Tomatoes: Tomatoes contain more naturally occurring glutamate than almost any other vegetable or fruit. And they are commonly used in Indian recipes for gravies, chutneys, rasam, and curries. Cooking further concentrates glutamates.
Tamarind: Tamarind's unique savoury depth comes from naturally occurring umami peptides and high concentrations of glutamic acid. Beyond its natural taste, the true umami depth of tamarind comes from synergy. When paired with regional Indian cooking (like roasted spices, lentils, tomatoes, or onions), the combination of glutamates creates an intensely savoury, mouth-filling flavour that neither ingredient could achieve alone.
Dried Fish & Seafood: Used heavily in coastal and Northeastern cuisines, dried fish and seafood are highly umami because drying concentrates the natural savoury compounds.
Aged Ghee & Browned Butter Notes: Aged ghee develops deeper nutty, caramelised, and savoury notes over time because of the slow breakdown and concentration of milk solids and flavour compounds. Similarly, browned butter gains umami-like richness through the Maillard reaction, which creates complex roasted flavours.
Onion-Ginger-Garlic Base (bhuna masala): From slow-cooked dal tadka to biryani, curries, and more, the onion-ginger-garlic base is the holy trinity of savoury dishes. Called bhuna masala in Indian homes, it refers to the slow browning of onions, ginger, and garlic to create savoury depth. This is why patiently cooked masalas taste significantly deeper and more layered than quickly sautéed ones.
Much like local ingredients, there are certain traditional cooking techniques that contribute to umami flavour in Indian recipes.
Bhuna (Slow Browning): Bhuna is the slow browning process that forms the classic onion-tomato masala. The slow browning creates a concentrated flavour that deepens the umami in any dish that uses the masala. The masala forms the base of vegetarian and non-vegetarian curries like Paneer Butter Masala, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Bhuna Gosht. It is also used to make lentil-based dishes like Chana Masala and street staples like Pav Bhaji and Keema.
Dum Cooking: Dum is an ancient cooking method where food is sealed and cooked slowly in its own steam. This trapped steam allows flavours from spices, fats, meats, and aromatics to circulate continuously instead of escaping, creating layered, deeply savoury dishes. It’s commonly associated with Indian recipes for biryani, but is also used in slow-cooked meat curries and pulaos.
Tadka/Tempering: No Indian dish is complete without the tadka. The traditional tempering refers to blooming spices in fat, which deepens flavour perception. The type of fat used (ghee, mustard oil, coconut oil), the temperature of the oil, and even the order in which spices are added all impact the final flavour depth. Ingredients like garlic, asafoetida, curry leaves, cumin, and dried chillies create especially strong umami-enhancing aromatic notes when tempered correctly.
Fermentation: Many Indian recipes rely on fermentation, which naturally increases flavour complexity and savouriness over time. During fermentation, microbes break down proteins and carbohydrates into simpler compounds, including amino acids like glutamates that contribute to umami. Common examples include idli/dosa batter, gundruk, fermented bamboo shoot, fish pickles, kanji, and certain regional rice ferments.
Drying & Smoking: Drying removes moisture and concentrates naturally occurring flavour compounds, which is why dried seafood, sun-dried vegetables, kokum, and dried chillies often taste more intense than their fresh counterparts. Smoking adds another layer of depth by introducing complex roasted and woody flavour compounds. Techniques like smoking chillies, meats, or even giving curries a dhungar (charcoal smoke infusion) create a richer, more lingering savoury profile.
These recipes have been part of Indian cooking for centuries; the term umami may not have existed in the vernacular tongue, but the importance of these techniques has long been preserved in oral stories, handwritten records, and even digital versions of Indian recipes.
Let’s take a quick look at some of the most common types of salt and their uses, along with tips on how to make the salt last longer.
Indian Dish |
Ingredients |
Techniques That Build Umami |
Dal Makhani / Slow-Cooked Dal |
Black urad dal, rajma, tomatoes, butter, cream |
Overnight simmering, slow reduction, bhuna masala |
Sambhar |
Tamarind, tomatoes, lentils, curry leaves |
Slow simmering, tadka/tempering |
Pav Bhaji |
Tomatoes, onions, butter, peas |
Aggressive bhuna, mashing and reduction |
Chicken Tikka Masala |
Tomato gravy, yoghurt, onions, garlic |
Roasting, charring, and slow-cooked masala |
Bhuna Gosht |
Onions, tomatoes, meat juices, yoghurt |
Bhuna (slow browning), slow cooking |
Keema |
Minced meat, onions, tomatoes, peas |
Fat rendering, slow browning |
Biryani |
Meat stock, fried onions, yoghurt, whole spices |
Dum cooking, layering, caramelisation |
Fish Pickle |
Dried fish/fresh fish, tamarind, spices |
Pickling, drying, fermentation-like ageing |
Rasam |
Tamarind, tomatoes, garlic, pepper |
Simmering, tempering |
Idli & Dosa |
Rice-lentil batter |
Fermentation |
Naga Smoked Pork |
Pork fat, smoked chillies, bamboo shoot |
Smoking, slow cooking |
Gongura Pachadi |
Gongura leaves, garlic, chillies |
Roasting, slow reduction |
Shutki Maach |
Dried fish, mustard oil, chillies |
Drying, frying, fermentation-like concentration |
Chana Masala |
Tomatoes, onions, tea/black cardamom (optional) |
Bhuna masala, slow cooking |
These Indian recipes give a clear idea of how umami has always been part of the nation’s cooking culture, even if different terms or words were used to describe it. Whether it was under the watchful eye of seasoned home cooks or chefs going back to their roots when building new dishes, umami has always been part of Indian cooking, and will continue to be so.
Umami is the deep, savoury, mouth-filling flavour often found in foods like slow-cooked meats, tomatoes, mushrooms, soy sauce, and fermented dishes. It is considered the fifth basic taste after sweet, salty, sour, and bitter.
