Rai (noun.) Mustard seeds (in Hindi Rai) are yellow, black or brown in color. The seed oil is used as cooking oil in Indian cuisine, specifically, to get the strong spicy aromatic flavour. The nutty smoky taste enhances the flavour of meat dishes, pilau rice, chicken bhuna masala and vegetable pakoras.
Traditional Indian Bengali fish curry gets a creamy texture due to the presence of fresh paste made up of Mustard seeds or Poppy seeds (Khus Khus) which is made into a paste with ingredients like Red chilli powder (Lal Mirchi) or peppercorns (Kali Mirch), that give it a unique spicy taste.