INDIAN MASALAS FOR EVERY OCCASION: SEASONING YOUR MEALS FOR HOLIDAYS, FESTIVALS, AND MORE

When it comes to flavorful, spicy, aromatic food, Indian spices burst through the mind, and spicy, flavorful Indian food has a nostalgic role. Whenever we make a dish like biryani, vegetable curry, or fried rice, we try adding suitable spices to enhance its taste and aroma. Appropriate masala blends add flavor and aroma to all kinds of food we cook at home and give you a restaurant-like flavor. 

Let's now look at the best-rated pure Indian spice blends for different recipes to help you choose the right kind of masala.

Garam Masala

Garam Masala ("hot spice blend" in Hindi) uses fresh and natural ingredients to provide a mouthwatering aroma and flavor. Using this masala powder adds a natural flavor to the recipes that you like. It is prepared using the precise proportions of many spices to make each recipe unique. 

Garam Masala is the most famous spice in Indian cuisine, originating in northern India. It's an ideal partner in everyday recipes. The Garam Masala powder combines coriander, cumin, black pepper, fennel seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves. Garam (i.e., "hot" in Hindi) indicates that the powder is heated when added to any dish.

For instance, using top-quality garam masala powders like Alcoeats Garam Masala powder adds a uniquely delicious aroma and flavor to any Indian food.

Tandoori masala

Tandoori Masala powder is among Punjab's most important spice blends for cooking most tandoor-based dishes, including tandoori chicken, tandoori fish, or tandoori cheese. In any list of iconic Indian spice powders, this masala ranks amongst the most delicious spice powders used in cooking. You can use this powder to make any tandoori dish for an irresistible aroma and mind-blowing taste. 

Smoking any tandoor dish in the tandoor oven or earthenware with this spice powder generates a heavenly taste of food. The ingredients used to prepare Tandoori Masala are black pepper, coriander, red chili powder, turmeric powder, ginger, cumin, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, garlic, Kasuri fenugreek, cinnamon, and dried mango powder.

Coriander Masala

There are very few Indian food items that you can make without coriander powder. Coriander masala brings a nice, pleasant aroma and adds a fruity and tart flavor to Indian dishes. 

Coriander powder is most suitable for everyday cooking and is the base spice for many other mixed powders. Coriander powder has excellent health benefits. Drinking water mixed with coriander powder eliminates the problem of spice gas and helps in the process of digestion.

Top-quality Coriander powder, like Alcoeats Coriander powder, is often used in different cheeses, curry powders, butter, and mustard, as its aroma is relatively mild and has an aroma similar to ginger and orange.

Red Chili Powder (Lal Mirch Masala)

Red chili is an Indian spice made from red chili peppers and is different from Mexican cuisine's chili powder spice. Red chili, or "Laal Mirchi" contains cayenne and other Indian spices and adds an incredibly spicy kick to the dish. 

Besides its fiery factor, the best red chili powders like Alcoeats Red Chili powder also add that famous red color to Indian dishes.

Biryani Masala

Biryani Masala is among the most fragrant spices that help you create restaurant-like biryani’s delicious, mouthwatering aroma. This masala combines coriander, cumin, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, black pepper, star anise, nutmeg, cardamom, and fennel seeds. Biryani Masala has a strong aroma and imparts biryanis the same fragrance.

Tikka Masala

Tikka masala is a delectable blend of savory and aromatic spices. The authentic blend includes at least eight main flavorings, like Kashmiri red chili powder, coriander, black peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, green cardamom, and cumin. And it also has some unique ingredients like black cardamoms (i.e., Badi Elaichi).

The Tikka Masala spice mix is used to prepare mainly chicken, paneer, or fish tikka dishes. When you combine this blend of spices with meat, vegetables, fish, or paneer, you don't need any other dish to enjoy an entire plate of rice, bread, or roti. 

Apart from its mouthwatering flavor, the finest tikka masala powders like Alcoeats Red Hot Chili powder add incredible aroma and spicy kick to Indian non-vegetarian dishes.

Sambar Masala

The delicious Sambar Masala is one of the most common and popular masala powders used across South India. Sambar is a spicy brown vegetable stew made with lentils. 

Freshly made sambar spice powder instantly enhances the flavor and aroma of sambar. You can also use the Sambar Masala spice powder to make other spicy foods. Sambar Masala is a mix of coriander seeds, curry leaves, red pepper, asafetida, turmeric, black pepper, fenugreek, and cumin.

Chaat masala

Chaat Masala is a blend of spices commonly used to get a uniquely tangy flavor found in Indian street food, such as Bhel Puri, Paani Puri, Dahi papdi chaat, and many other chaat foods. 

Chaat Masala originated in Uttar Pradesh. You can use it in any food to enhance its taste. Chaat Masala powder contains dried mango powder, coriander seeds, black pepper, red chili powder, asafetida, mint, cumin, and carom seeds. There is another variation of this delicious spice blend, which is used while making fruit salads.

Rajma Masala

Rajma Masala is another spice powder from North India, a key ingredient in rajma curry (red kidney beans curry). The ingredients for making Rajma Masala are coriander, cumin, black pepper, dried pomegranate seeds, bay leaves, dried mango powder, black cardamom, carom seeds, cumin, nutmeg, and cloves.