A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO INDIAN COOKING: ESSENTIAL MASALAS AND TECHNIQUES FOR DELICIOUS RESULTS
The highlight of Indian cuisine is that it uses different types of masala powders. In Hindi, "Masala" means "a blend of spices." A masala powder is a blended powder of a mixture of whole spices. As per Ayurvedic medicine, these spice powders elevate body temperature.
Each masala powder has one or more prominent ingredients that provide a unique flavor to the dish we use it in. To prepare a masala blend powder, we toast the ingredients in a skillet or pan (with or without oil or ghee) and cool them. It's then ground to a fine powder in a blender or mixer.
Coriander Masala Powder
This is the simplest masala powder. The main ingredient in this masala powder is coriander. Coriander powder is also used as a base ingredient in several other masala powders.
Uses: Coriander powder is suitable for daily cooking. It's also good for those who prefer a lighter spice blend.
Main ingredient: Coriander
All ingredients: Coriander, cumin seeds, cinnamon, and cloves
Garam Masala
Garam Masala is legendary in the Indian subcontinent. It's the most popular and used masala blend in India. “Garam” is “hot” in Hindi. In the West, Garam masala is available in supermarkets and grocery stores.
Origin: North India
Use: Daily cooking
Ingredients: Coriander, cloves, cinnamon, cumin, black peppercorns, fennel seeds, and green/black cardamom
Chaat Masala
This tangy masala is typical in Indian street food (chaat). A variant of this masala is called fruit chaat masala, which vendors use in fruit salads. Fruit Chaat Masala has less cumin, coriander, and ginger. Instead, it has more pepper, black salt, amchur, and asafetida.
Origin: Uttar Pradesh
Use: Chaat (Indian street food)
Main ingredients: Amchur, black salt, carom seeds
Other ingredients:
- Amchur (dried mango powder)
- Cumin
- Coriander seeds
- Dried ginger
- Black salt
- Black pepper
- Asafoetida
- Red chili powder
- Carom seeds
- Mint powder (dried and powdered mint leaves)
Tandoori Masala
This masala is important in Punjabi cuisine. Dishes like Tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and tikkas use this spice blend.
Origin: Punjab (North India)
Use: All Tandoori dishes
Main ingredients: Kasuri methi, red food color
All ingredients:
- Kasuri methi
- Coriander seeds
- Cumin
- Dry ginger powder
- Red chili powder
- Turmeric powder
- Peppercorns
- Cloves
- Garlic powder
- Bay leaf
- Cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Mace
- Amchur powder
- Red food color
- Sugar
- Salt
Biryani Masala
Biryani Masala has a strong smell. Indian recipes use this masala when making Biryani dishes.
Use: Biryani dishes
Main ingredients: Bay leaf, cumin (jeera), black cardamom, nutmeg, and star anise
All ingredients:
- Bay leaf
- coriander
- shah jeera (black cumin)
- cumin
- mace
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- cloves
- black and green cardamom
- star anise
- black pepper
- fennel seeds
Sambar Masala
Sambar is a famous curry from South India. It is a brown, spicy vegetable stew. There is no sambar without the sambar masala powder.
Origin: South India
Use: Sambar curry
Main Ingredients: Coriander seeds, asafetida, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds,
All ingredients:
- Coriander seeds
- asafetida
- curry leaves
- black pepper
- red chilis
- Bengal gram
- black gram
- toor dal (pigeon pea)
- fenugreek seeds
- cumin
- turmeric
Pav Bhaji Masala
Indian street food vendors use pav bhaji masala to make pav bhaji. It's a popular street food that originated in Mumbai. "Pav" is bread, and "bhaji" means a curry made with mixed vegetables in Hindi.
Origin: Mumbai
Use: Pav bhaji, Mumbai tawa pulao
Main ingredients: Amchur (dry mango powder), bay leaf
All ingredients:
- Coriander
- cloves
- cinnamon
- cumin
- black pepper
- bay leaf
- black cardamom
- fennel seeds
- turmeric
- amchur
- red chili powder
Panch Phoron
In the Eastern parts of India, the term "Panch phoron" means "a blend of five spices." ("panch" means "five," and "phoron" means "spices"). Panch Phoron is one of the more unique regional masala mixtures.
Origin: Eastern Indian states of Bengal, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam
Use: Panch Phoron is usually used in tempering. It's also used to cook vegetables, chicken, mutton, fish, lentils, and pickles.
Main ingredients: Nigella seeds, mustard seeds
All ingredients:
- Nigella seeds
- fenugreek seeds
- cumin
- black mustard
- fennel (used in equal parts, though some use fewer fenugreek seeds due to its bitterness)
Goda Masala
Goda masala is one of the most popular masalas coming from the state of Maharashtrian. This masala has a distinctive, sweet flavor due to the stone flower. In the Marathi language, goad means sweet. We roast all the ingredients in one or two teaspoons of oil except for sesame and coconut. They are then ground in a blender.
Origin: Maharashtra
Main ingredients: Dry coconut, stone flower, sesame, cassia buds
All ingredients:
- Coriander
- cumin
- cloves
- black pepper
- cinnamon
- mustard seeds
- stone flower
- dry coconut
- dried red chili
- asafetida
- sesame seeds
- fenugreek seeds
- cassia buds
Kolhapuri Masala
Kolhapuri masala is another famous spice blend from the Kolhapur region of Maharashtra. Kolhapuri Masala is spicy, hot, and fiery bright red. Kolhapuri masala contains the largest number of ingredients. The list can go up to 32 different components! We roast all the ingredients in oil before powdering.
Origin: Kolhapur region of Maharashtra
Main ingredients: Red chilis, Triphala, cubeb berries, dry ginger
All ingredients:
- Two to three types of dried red chilis (like Kashmiri red chili, lavangi chili, byadagi chili)
- coriander
- cloves
- Cumin
- cinnamon
- black pepper
- poppy seeds
- dry ginger
- bay leaf
- whole turmeric
- asafetida
- nutmeg
- star anise
- mace
- black and green cardamom
- carom
- cubeb berries
- Triphala
- black stone flower
- fennel
- sesame
- black mustard
- fenugreek
- oil
- salt
- dry coconut
- onion
- garlic
Chettinad Masala
Tamilians make this masala in the Chettinad region of Tamil Nadu, in South India. We can find Chettinad Masala in dishes like Chettinad chicken curry, fish fry, potato fry, etc.
Origin: Chettinad region in South India
Use: Tamil Nadu cuisine
Main ingredients: Fenugreek, Star anise, stone flower, fennel
All ingredients:
- Star anise
- stone flower (lichen)
- tamarind
- red chillis
- fennel seeds
- cinnamon
- cloves
- bay leaf
- black pepper
- cumin
- fenugreek
Chole/Chana Masala
Chole Masala is quite popular in North Indian cuisine. North Indians use this masala powder to make chole curry and Kabuli chana. Both dishes have chickpeas as the main ingredient.
Origin: North India
Use: Chole curry, Kabuli chana
Main ingredients: Kashmiri red chili, dry ginger, black salt, amchur (dry mango powder)
All ingredients:
- Kashmiri red chilis
- black and green cardamom
- cinnamon
- cloves
- nutmeg
- mace
- bay leaf
- coriander
- cumin
- fennel
- shah jeera
- black pepper
- dry ginger
- black salt
- amchur
Rajma Masala
Yet another masala from North India, the Rajma Masala, plays the central role in rajma (red kidney beans) curry.
Origin: North India
Use: Rajma (red kidney bean) curry
Main ingredients: Dry pomegranate seeds, carom seeds
All ingredients:
- Dry pomegranate seeds
- carom seeds
- amchur (dry mango powder)
- bay leaf
- coriander
- shah jeera
- cumin
- nutmeg
- black cardamom
- cloves
- black pepper
Masala Tea Powder
Masala tea is among the most popular beverages in India. Indians use this unique aromatic spice blend while making Masala tea.
Use: Tea
Main ingredients: Cloves, green cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon, dried ginger, nutmeg
Optional ingredients: Saffron, fennel, dried rose petals