Umami: the fifth taste hiding in your biryani and sambar

First, there was sweet. Then sour. Then salty. Then bitter. Everyone thought the taste party was over—until umami crashed in with a slow-cooked mutton curry and said, “Move over, I brought depth.”

Umami (say it with feeling: ooo-mah-mee) is the mysterious fifth taste that makes food feel extra. Not spicy. Not tangy. Not creamy. Just... deeply, deliciously satisfying. Like the moment when your spoon hits the bottom of a bowl of dal makhani and you seriously consider licking it clean.

But what even is umami?
Let’s not get too sciencey, but here’s the gist: Umami is the taste of savouriness. It comes from naturally occurring compounds like glutamate, and your tongue knows exactly what to do with it. It’s why cheese tastes better melted, why soup gets tastier the next day, and why your grandmother’s chicken curry ruins you for all other food.

It was first identified in Japan, but let’s be honest—Indian food has been riding the umami wave since before wave metaphors were even a thing.

Umami is primarily attributed to the presence of glutamate, an amino acid found abundantly in various foods. This taste is detected by specific receptors on the human tongue, notably the T1R1/T1R3 heterodimer and certain metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) .

Sneaky Indian foods that are basically umami in disguise:

Tomato-onion masala
You’ve made this a hundred times. But when those tomatoes get jammy and the onions caramelize just right? That’s not just flavour. That’s umami turning up the bass.

Dosa batter
Left overnight, fermented into bubbly joy, and crisped golden on a hot tawa. Plain? Sure. Boring? Never. Fermentation = instant umami upgrade.

Butter chicken
If umami were to build a temple, it would be made of butter, cream, grilled chicken, and simmered tomato gravy. Possibly topped with a swirl of nostalgia.

Rasam
Tamarind. Tomato. Garlic. Hing. A broth so full of character it deserves its own Netflix series.

Pickles
The older, the funkier, the better. Mango, garlic, lime, fish—whatever your style, a good achaar is basically umami preserved in oil.

Kebabs
Charred outside, juicy inside, packed with spices and meat that’s been marinated longer than your last relationship. That’s protein-driven umami at its finest.

Dal tadka
Humble yellow lentils meet a sizzling ghee tempering. What starts as comfort food ends in a flavor mic drop.

Hing (asafoetida)
Smells like a prank. Tastes like magic. Just a pinch in hot oil turns your whole dish into a flavour banger.

Honorary mention: Haleem
Oh, haleem is a full-blown umami powerhouse.

Forget subtle hints—haleem is the kind of dish that grabs umami by the hand, slathers it in ghee, and slow-cooks it for hours until it melts in your mouth like a savory dream.

So, is umami real or just a foodie buzzword?
It’s real. As real as your craving for biryani at midnight. Your tongue actually has taste receptors for it. Scientists gave it a name, but your grandmother already knew about it. She just called it “flavour.”

You don’t need truffle oil or a block of Parmesan to experience umami. You need a bowl of sambar, a swipe of garlic pickle, maybe a piece of fried fish on the side. Indian food has had umami on lock since forever. So go ahead, embrace the fifth taste. It’s been waiting in your lunchbox this whole time.