Cilantro and Mint: Fresh Herbs as Finishing Structure
Cilantro and mint are two especially useful fresh herbs in this style of cooking. They appear in chutneys and salads, but they also finish soups, curries, beans, raitas, and drinks.
Their timing is important. In many cooked dishes, cilantro is added as a garnish after the heat is off, preserving its fresh aroma. In chutneys, both cilantro and mint are blended raw so they become the main flavor.
That gives the herbs two jobs: they can be structural ingredients in a raw sauce or bright finishing notes on a cooked dish.
Ingredients
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh mint
- Lime or lemon for chutneys and dressings
- Oil or yogurt where the recipe uses them
- Cooked dishes that benefit from a fresh finish
Method
Add fresh herbs according to their role. Blend them raw when making chutneys, fold them into cold preparations when they need to remain vivid, and add them at the end of cooked dishes unless the recipe specifies otherwise. Avoid long cooking when the goal is a fresh herbal finish.