A question that I hear so much from people is “What are the essential Indian spices I should buy?” It’s a deceptively hard question as although it seems straight forward, there are a lot of variables which can affect the answer:
- It depends on what style of Indian food you want to cook. These spices I’ve suggested are for traditional and authentic Indian cooking. If you want to cook BIR style – the way food is cooked in ‘British Indian Restaurants/Takeaways’, the spices required will be quite different.
- It depends on what Indian regional food you’ll be cooking. India is a huge country with 28 states, all of which have their own unique cuisine. The spices used in Punjab won’t be the same as those used in Maharashtra, Kerala, or West Bengal.
- It depends if you’re cooking ‘home-style’ or ‘restaurant style’. Different to the first point, this is a distinction used in India for the food which is cooked daily at home and the food which is served at hotels and restaurants. Home-style food is generally more simply spiced, whereas restaurant style is richer and creamier. The average family will not serve Malai Kofta regularly – they’ll serve a simple Aloo Sabji.
Knowing your spices makes the difference between great food and mediocre food.
With this in mind I’ve complied a list which has a good variety of spices which will allow you to cook a wide range of food, from North India to South India. As you become more comfortable with Indian cooking and explore your own tastes, you can slowly add to your collection of spices.
16 Spices might sound like a lot and may seem overwhelming – but I’ve done my best to keep it simple for you. I’ve included 4 choices from each of these 4 categories:
This article is meant to be an informative guide which details why these spices are used, what flavour they give to food, and what dishes they’re commonly used in. Once you have this knowledge you’ll be able to choose which spices you think you’ll use most in your own cooking.
Before we get onto the article, if you’re interested in learning more about Indian cooking do check out my Guide to Indian Lentils & Beans, my more in depth article about Whole Seeds and my list of Essential Indian Cookware.
How to Store Ground Spices:
Ground spices have an incredibly long shelf-life and don’t ‘go bad’. However, freshly ground spices are a lot more flavoursome and aromatic than ones which are several years old. That’s why many people suggest grinding your own spices for optimum flavour – but what you can do to keep your spices, home-ground or pre-bought, fresher for longer?
- Store them in air-tight opaque containers. Glass containers look good, but you really want to minimise the amount of light the spices are subject to. Similarly, the plastic packets or jars they come in pre-bought will have the same problem.
- In a similar vein, store your spices in a cupboard. Avoid bright windowsills or storage racks directly next to your stove. The sunlight from the window and fluctuating temperature from the stove are not good!
- Do use a spoon to take out your spices when cooking instead of shaking them over your meal to deposit the spice. Not only can you measure your spices better this way, but there’s no chance of steam rising from the stove and getting moisture into the spices. To keep them as fresh as possible for as long as possible, the key is keeping them dry!
- Always use a clean, dry spoon. This goes back to the point before – you want to avoid any possible contamination with other food particles or water.
How to Cook with Ground Spices:
Ground spices are the best choice for when you want an even spread of flavour all throughout your dish. They are widely used in Indian savoury dishes such as Vegetable Sabjis, as well as snacks, starters, and breads.
Most ground spices are added near the beginning of cooking, but not first. The first spices to cook should always be whole spices, never ground spices. They are prone to burn quickly – that’s why spices such as turmeric, coriander and red chilli powder are always added after you have fried your whole spices and garlic/ginger/onion. Some people also add them after adding the tomato. This ensures the spices will fry (since there isn’t any liquid yet added to the dish) and yet won’t burn.
Ultimately though, it depends on the recipe – of course snacks and breads will require you to mix them raw into a batter or dough before cooking.
The exception to this is Garam Masala – and most other spice blends. They shouldn’t be fried and should only be added near the end of cooking, when all ingredients have been added and your dish is just simmering. This ensures there is no overpowering flavour.
How to Cook with Whole Seeds:
Cooking Indian food is primarily about layering flavours to create a complex balance of flavour-notes when you eat. This ensures that no one spice is more overpowering than the others. Whole seeds are one of the predominate ways that we can layer a dish.
Whole spices are nearly always fried in oil at the beginning of making a savoury dish. This infuses the oil with their aromas and allows the spices to release their flavours. Cooking the spices whole in this way allows us to build flavour as when you eat there will be little bursts of flavour inside each seed, giving you both a taste and texture hit.
You can also sun-dry or dry-roast whole seeds and grind them into a fresh powder to use. This is not applicable to all seeds – for instance mustard powder is not used in Indian cooking.
Find out more about my top picks below.
How to Cook with Aromatic Spices:
Aromatic spices are generally used in very ‘rich’ (not home-style, everyday) meals. They have an unbeatable aroma and flavour which gently infuses into the gravy of your dish. As well as being used in savoury dishes, they are also commonly found in fragrant rice dishes like Pulao and Biryani. With a few aromatic spices in your arsenal you’ll be able to take your cooking up to another level.
With a small batch of aromatic spices you can also make a full range of Indian sweets, where Cardamon in particular is widely used. On top of that, if you’re partial to a cup of Masala Chai chances are you’re familiar with the stunning flavours and aromas from these spices!
Aromatic spices are also key ingredients of most Indian Masalas. If you’re confident enough to grind your own spice mixes, they’re worth investing in.
Make sure you remember to remove aromatic spices before you eat – they’re not meant to be eaten as they stay hard, so it can be an unpleasant experience otherwise!
How to Cook with Indian Herbs:
Indian herbs are generally used in four different ways:
- To garnish a meal, like adding fresh coriander on top;
- As a leafy-green and major ingredient in a dish, like fresh fenugreek or dill;
- To temper a dish (fried in oil with other spices), like curry leaves, and;
- To infuse into a dish, like Indian bay leaves.
To begin, you may only use coriander as a garnish to your meals. But if you want to make richly aromatic savoury dishes and fragrant rices, you’ll need bay leaves. If you want to dabble into South Indian food, curry leaves are a necessity. And dried fenugreek contributes an unmistakable smokey sweetness which is used in marinades and as a finishing ingredient.
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