About Indian Spices
Walk into any Indian kitchen and you’ll find a small steel container with multiple compartments, called a masala dabba – a spice box. This is the heart of the kitchen. And while getting all the ingredients for your own masala dabba might seem daunting at first, there’s really no mystery to spices in Indian food, just strong flavors and a rich history. It doesn’t take much to understand the role of spices in Indian cookery, and once you do, you’re on your way to delicious meals.
Of course, you don’t have to have every spice in the world right away! Instead, let’s just start with five. Master this Indian cooking spices list, and you’ll be able to make 80% of the dishes you love.
The Essentials
1) Cumin (Jeera)
If you can only buy one Indian spice, let it be whole cumin seeds. If you’ve ever wondered “what spice does Indian food use?” that distinctive taste you’re thinking of is likely cumin. They’re warm, earthy, and slightly smoky. In Indian cooking, we don’t sprinkle cumin on at the end like one might with salt and pepper. Instead, it’s the cornerstone of our recipes. The first thing that happens in countless Indian kitchens is this: hot oil, a teaspoon of cumin seeds, and then a few seconds of sizzling. It smells beautiful. The process of “blooming” spices in hot oil is called tadka, and it’s one of the reasons Indian food has so much flavor.
Try it tonight: Cooking with cumin doesn’t have to be complicated. Heat a tablespoon of oil, add a teaspoon of cumin seeds, wait until they sizzle and turn a shade darker, then pour the whole thing over a bowl of plain yogurt with a pinch of salt. Eat with rice, and you have a perfect snack.
2) Turmeric (Haldi)
You’ve probably heard of turmeric – it’s having its moment in the limelight as a healthy element of the Indian cooking spices list. But that’s not all that it is. It’s earthy, and usually used in small amounts. It’s not strong in flavor the way cumin is, but it gives curries their warm golden color and adds a subtle earthiness that you’d miss if it wasn’t there.
Tip: Turmeric needs fat and heat to bloom. Add it early on, with onions and oil, and let it cook for at least a minute to get the most flavor out of it.
3) Coriander (Dhania)
Ground coriander is citrusy, slightly sweet, and gentle. It’s the spice that rounds everything else out, bringing balance to the flavors. The role of spices in Indian cooking, especially coriander, isn’t to make any dish taste like the spice itself, but to create balance. If you ever taste a homemade curry that feels like it’s “missing something,” it’s almost always coriander. Buy it in powder form, or grind the coriander seeds as needed for a fresh taste. You can store it in an airtight container in dark cupboard. Don’t be shy with using it. A tablespoon in a curry for four people is normal.
4. Garam Masala (Hot Spice Mix)
One of my favorite spices in Indian food, garam masala is not a single spice, but a blend. It usually consists of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf, and a few others, toasted and ground together. Every family has its own recipe, even every person. My grandmother’s was just a bit different from my mother’s, which is just a bit different than yours. Luckily, you don’t need to perfect your blend right away – though that’s a good challenge for advanced cooks. Till you perfect your own recipe, you’ll find readymade Garam Masala in most Indian grocery stores. Find the brand that is to your heat level and then stick to it.
Garam masala is a finishing spice, like fresh herbs. It typically goes in near the end of cooking, or even after everything is plated. Sprinkle half a teaspoon over a finished curry, stir, cover the pot for two minutes, and serve. The aroma alone will tell you why we save it for last.
5. Mustard seeds (Rai)
Mustard seeds are the secret weapon of Indian cooking. They’re small, black and brown, and when they hit hot oil they pop like tiny fireworks. That might be intimidating at first, but it’s exactly what you want them to do. They’re particularly prevalent in South Indian cooking. To keep hot oil from splashing, keep a lid ready.
Where to buy Indian Spices
You can find all five of these common spices in Indian food at any Indian grocery store, and increasingly at Whole Foods, Wegmans, and even some Trader Joe’s. Indian grocery stores sell large quantities at reasonable price.
How to Store Spices that are used in Indian cuisine
If you buy spices from Indian Grocery stores, you may end up with larger packages that you may not use immediately. Store the dry spices in airtight containers, away from light, humidity and heat. The spices can last for a long time in these conditions. If you have spices that have been hanging out in the cabinet for a long time, dry roast for a short time to get them to smell fresh again.
Now what?
In this post, I have summarized the 5 dry spices above, there are many more spices that make up Indian Cooking. We will discuss these (including whole spices) in my classes.
If you’re staring at a new spice cabinet wondering where to start, that’s exactly the moment that I love. In my classes, we cook with all of these (and more). For my virtual (on-line) class, I mail you the spices you will need for the 4 weeks. Of course, we provide the spices in the in-person class. The best way to experience these spices is to cook with them. When you take a virtual cooking class or an in-person Indian cooking class in Boston, that’s exactly what you’ll be doing.
Please contact me in case you have questions!
Happy Cooking!