Ideally, whole spices are best - they may be used whole as a natural spice sachet and removed when having the meal. They may be ground them as you need them in a coffee grinder or in a mortar. Most spices quickly lose their flavor exceptions are chili powder, asafetida, turmeric, ginger powder and mango powder. Spices are best stored in airtight containers and kept in a cool dark place, preferably a wood cabinet.
Cooking with Indian Spices
Basic or essential Indian spices-
When doing Indian cooking there are the basic spices which go into most dishes - We take a pot - add ghee in it then we add cumin seeds or mustard seeds and asafetida till they sizzle, (at this time we may add some complementary basic spices given below) we then add red chili powder, coriander seeds and turmeric powder. We then add our vegetables and steam.
Cumin seeds (jeera, jeeragam, jilakara, black cumin, kala jeera, royal cumin, shah jeera)
- A basic Indian spice. Used mainly in
- One of the five spices in the Bengali panchporan (five spice) mixture
- They can be fried whole in oil, or ground, or roasted and ground, or ground and then roasted, all with different results.
Turmeric (haldi)
- A basic Indian spice.
- Used mainly for its medicinal properties, and lovely color that it gives to the dishes.
Coriander seeds (dhaniya)
- A basic Indian spice.
- Used mainly for its fresh, cooling and soothing taste
Chili Powder -
- Now a basic Indian spice.
- Used mainly for its pungent and fiery taste - one may use fresh green chilies instead.
Mustard seeds (black)
- A basic Indian spice.
- Used mainly in South and
- one of the five spices in the Bengali panchporan (five spice) mixture
Asafetida (hing, heeng), also spelled asafetida
- A basic Indian spice. Used as a digestive and for its flavor
- Used mainly for its strong sulfur taste on the lines of garlic.
Other Indian spices to complement the above - at the time we add cumin or mustard seeds as specified above we also could add fennel seeds, nigella seeds ( for root veggies we may add ajwain seeds). We may also flavor the dish with ginger after we add the turmeric and coriander powder as mentioned above.
Fennel seeds (sounf)
- A basic but not essential Indian spice. Used mainly in
- One of the five spices in the Bengali panchporan (five spice) mixture
- They can be fried whole in oil, or ground, or roasted and ground, or ground and then roasted, all with different results.
Fenugreek (methi)
- A basic but not essential Indian spice which is actually a lentil. Used throughout
- One of the five spices in the Bengali panchporan (five spice) mixture
- If it is burnt it gets very bitter and should be thrown away.
Dried Ginger (adrak, or sont)
- A basic but not essential Indian spice. Used mainly in
Nigella Seeds or Kalonji
- A basic but not essential Indian spice. Used mainly in
- One of the five spices in the Bengali panchporan (five spice) mixture
- often sprinkled on naan (bread)
Carom (ajowain)
- A basic but not essential Indian spice. Used mainly in
- One of the five spices in the Bengali panchporan (five spice) mixture
- Used to flavor breads and root vegetables.
Aromatic or Secondary Indian spices (also called garam masala) to enhance the above 2 sections - we may or may not add these to our dishes - we add them for tomato curries and thick onion curries.
To the above spices we would add chopped onions, tomatoes and herbs and any of the following secondary spices. Then add potatoes, meat, cauliflower or ingredient for your curry and steam with a bit of water.
Green cardamom pods (eliachi)
- A secondary and not essential Indian spice. Used throughout
- One of the spices in Garam masala
- It is best to grind small quantities at home using a coffee mill. Cardamom loses its natural oils quickly, it also loses its flavor. Cardamom is an expensive spice.
- Used to flavor curries, masala chai and certain vegetables and Indian desserts
Black cardamom (kala eliachi)
- A secondary and not essential Indian spice. Used in North Indian Cooking. Used for its mellow and warm flavor.
- This larger dark brown variety is used flavoring meat, poultry and rice dishes. The inner seeds are often used for making Garam masala.
Cinnamon (dalchini)
- A secondary and not essential Indian spice. Used throughout
- One of the spices in Garam masala
- Used to flavor curries, masala chai and certain vegetables and Indian desserts
Cloves (lavang or laung)
- A secondary and not essential Indian spice. Used throughout
- One of the spices in Garam masala
- It is best to grind small quantities at home using a coffee mill. It easily loses its flavor.
- Used to flavor curries, masala chai and certain vegetables
Nutmeg
- A secondary and not essential Indian spice. Used throughout
- One of the spices in Garam masala
- It is best to grind small quantities at home using a coffee mill. It easily loses its flavor.
- Used to flavor curries, masala chai, coffee and certain vegetables and Indian desserts
Mace (jaivitri)
- A secondary and not essential Indian spice. Used throughout
- One of the spices in Garam masala
- It is best to use the blades whole and remove them after cooking
- Used to flavor curries, masala chai and certain vegetables and Indian desserts
available whole or ground
Garam masala
- powdered blend of spices that may include cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, black peppercorns, nutmeg, mace.
- garam means "hot", but not chili hot, hot in the sense that these spices are said to increase body temperature. Interestingly, many of these spices are used in deserts in western cooking (i.e. cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace)
- different regions use different mixtures (masalas) and proportions. Garam masala will also vary from household to household.
- powdered garam masala is often added at the end of cooking in small quantities
whole garam masala is used in north Indian cooking, especially meat dishes.
- A whole garam masala could include whole cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom (black or green), whole mace, and black peppercorns.
- Often these are fried in hot oil before other wet ingredients such as meat, onions, garlic, and/or ginger are added.
Cooking with these spices release a wonderful botanical odor that fills your house and neighborhood.
Other Flavorings used as per the region in India and depends on the dish that is being prepared - Many Indian dishes may go light on the secondary spices and heavy on fresh spices and seasonings. They are the following and are called wet spices as they are ground with some water and added to the dish
Coconuts
- important in South Indian curries
- available dried flakes, or as canned coconut milk
Garlic (lahsun)
- A basic Indian seasoning. Used in North and
- One of the essential seasoning in Indian wet masala or an herbal concoction added to curries
- Garlic is also believed to have many health benefits and first aid applications
Fresh or dry Mint leaves
- use fresh or dry
- easy to grow and dry
- used in North Indian cooking especially with eggplant and in Biryanis,
- has a fresh, cooling taste and is excellent with warming spices.
Dry - Fenugreek leaves
Fresh cilantro leaves
Indian Sweeteners in our Store for Indian cooking - we also may make our dish sweet especially vegetables like squash and zucchini and some lentil dishes.
Jaggery (palm sugar)
raw (unrefined) sugar
often sold in conical blocks
Gur - dried sugarcane juice
Indian ingredients to sour dishes for Indian cooking- we also make our dishes tart with the following.
Mango, dried (amchoor)
raw, dried, ground mango is tangy and sour, in a pinch, lemon can be substituted
Tamarind (imli)
We have tamarind pate in our store
Yogurt
yogurt is used a souring ingredient in many dishes and is often cooked in sauces.
Lime Juice
Other Indian spices and flavors in our Store for Indian cooking
Black peppercorns (kali mirchi)
Poppy seeds (khus khus)
Saffron (kesar or zafran)
very expensive because of the short harvest season (10 days per year!) and intensive labor needed for harvest some cooks soak the threads in hot milk for about 15 minutes before using to bring out the colored in fancy Mughal dishes, not usually in everyday cooking
Sesame seeds (til)very small seeds generally roasted and then ground. It has a very distinct nutty taste.
Black salt (kala namak) actually pinkish-brown used in pickles and Chat Masala (a northern Indian spice mix sprinkled over fresh fruit)
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Keep up the good work.
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