What are some "must have spices" for cooking indian food pls?I am ordering spices online?

Question

and am presently learning how to cook fine flavorful Indian dishes.

YUM!

Thanks! :o)

Answer 1

I'm not a chef, but I LOVE to make Indian dishes... and my must have are GARAM MASALA, TANDOORI MASALA, CURRY POWDER.

I can find all the other spices at my regular grocery store, like cumin, saffron, ginger, cinnamon sticks, cardamom, ect.

Answer 2

curry

Answer 3

I prefer the more aromatic indian cookery. These are the staples I'd never be without:

Jeera (cumin) power and seeds

Dhania (coriander) powder and seeds

Elaichi (cardamom) pods

Kassia (similar to cinnamon) bark or just cinnamon powder

Haldi (turmeric) powder

Chili powder

The best way to get seriously aromatic spices is to make your own 'garam masala' mix. You can buy this ready made, but every company makes it differently, so I prefer to mix my favourite aromatic blend. I take three tbsp of dhania and 2 tbsp of jeera seeds and dry fry them in a pan until they start to pop - this releases the aroma. Then I pour them into a pestle and mortar and grind them into powder. I then add 2 tsp cinnamon powder, 1 tsp black pepper and grind the seeds from three cardamom pods and add it to the mix. It's a fabulous mix to add aroma and flavour to any dish. You can then add the 'heat' by adding chili powder (or fresh chilies) separately.

Answer 4

50 gms Red chilies hot whole

50 gms red chili powder hot

50 gms Red Chilies Kashmiri (for colour)

50 gms Turmeric powder

50 gms each Cumin whole and powder

50 gms mustard seeds whole

50 gms each Coriander seeds whole and powder

20 gms Cloves whole

20 gms Peppercorn whole

20 gms Cinnamon sticks

10 gms Cardamon pods green

10 gms Cardamon pods black (Big Cardamon)

20 gms Bay leaves

50 gms ginger powder

50 gms garlic powder

3-4 Nutmeg whole

10 gms Nutmeg flower

25 gms sesame seeds

25 gms Poppy seeds

10 gms star anees

25 gms onion seeds

50 gms Aniseeds

25 gms caraway seeds

100 gms Ready garam masala powder (if you dont want to make it at home)

5 gms Saffron

25 gms Mango powder

25 gms Black salt

100 gms Tamrind whole or pulp

250 gms Dessicated coconut

200 gms Cashew nuts

50 gms Melon seeds

This is not all but enogh to start with

Answer 5

With the ingredients listed below, you can make any subji, dal or curry.   Real Indian cooks NEVER use curry powder.

mustard seeds

cumin seeds

turmeric

red chili powder (Indian)

garam masala

ground cumin powder

ground coriander powder

Optional:  some of these are ingredients in garam masala

Curry Leaves

Bayleaf

Green Cardamom pods

Cloves

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Coriander Seeds

Black peppercorns

Also optional, used by people who cook alot of Indian food daily:

Methi Seeds (fenugreek seeds)

Asafetida (Hing)

Kasoori Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Saffron

Mace

Star Anise

Answer 6

I would answer but I unfortunately only really know the names of the spices in Hindi, not English! I'm sorry!

I know this doesn't answer your question, but listen to what the person "mangal" said - it may seem like a lot but people who aren't familiar with Indian cooking just get the ready made stuff and it's a big no-no if you want to cook the really good authentic stuff!

Just putting my two cents in...

Answer 7

There a literally hundreds of spices but the very basics which are used in most Indian food are as follows

GROUND, (powdered spices)

Haldi,    turmeric powder

Lanka,  Chili powder

Jeera,    Cumin powder

Dhania,  Coriander powder

Garam Masala, powder

WHOLE

Elaichi, cardamoms

Dalchini, cinnamon sticks

jeera, cumin seeds

kalonji, onion seeds

Dry chillies

Bay leaves

cloves

nutmeg

Using just these spices you can cook lots of different dishes. Indian cuisine varies depending on where the dish originates from, but these spices are the most commonly used. I cook mainly Bengali food which is much more subtle flavor than most Indian food and these spices are all i need, most of the time.

Answer 8

Saffron, its super expensive, but worth the money, just put it in some rice

also try some red chili powder

Answer 9

This is my fave brand and style of curry for Indian cooking

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p...

and their cumin...

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p...

You HAVE to get Cumin whole though, and grind with Mortar and pestle right before use, otherwise you loose the essence

and the INDIAN Cardamom

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p...