10 Indian Spices Every Kitchen Should Have

Indian cooking is built on layering spices. Not just throwing a jar of curry powder into a pan. Each spice does a specific job, and if you understand ten of them, you can cook most of the food from the subcontinent at home.

These are the ten we consider essential. All of them are on the shelves of our Indian grocery section at Booval.

1. Turmeric (Haldi)

The yellow base of almost every Indian curry. Anti-inflammatory, earthy, slightly bitter if you overdo it. Half a teaspoon in a curry for four people is usually enough. More is not better with turmeric.

Fresh turmeric root is also worth trying. Peel, grate, use the same way. The flavour is sharper and more citrusy than the powder.

2. Cumin Seeds (Jeera)

Warm, earthy, nutty when toasted. Cumin seeds are used whole for tempering, or ground into powder for curry bases. Both belong in the pantry. Whole seeds crackling in hot oil is how most Indian cooking starts.

Toast whole cumin in a dry pan for 30 seconds before grinding. The flavour difference is dramatic.

3. Coriander Powder (Dhania)

Mild, citrusy, the backbone of most curry bases. Coriander powder is gentle enough to use in large quantities. A tablespoon in a curry for four is normal.

This is the spice that rounds out turmeric and cumin. Missing coriander and your curry will taste one-dimensional.

4. Red Chilli Powder

Two varieties matter. Kashmiri chilli is mild, bright red, used for colour more than heat. Regular chilli powder is hotter and is used for, well, heat.

A lot of Indian home cooks use both in the same dish. A teaspoon of Kashmiri for that deep red colour, a quarter teaspoon of regular for actual spice.

5. Garam Masala

A finishing spice blend, not a cooking spice. Cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf, mace, nutmeg. Every family has its own ratio.

Add garam masala in the last minute of cooking. Adding it early kills the delicate aromatics.

6. Mustard Seeds (Rai)

Essential for South Indian cooking. Black mustard seeds pop in hot oil and release a nutty, slightly sharp flavour. They are the opening note of most Southern tadkas and many Maharashtrian dishes.

Add them first to hot oil. When they stop popping, the temperature is right for the next ingredient.

7. Fenugreek Seeds (Methi)

Bitter on their own. Aromatic and transformative when used right. A pinch of whole methi seeds in a tadka for aloo methi, or ground methi in a pickle masala. Dried methi leaves (kasuri methi) are a different thing and worth buying separately, especially for butter chicken and paneer dishes.

8. Cardamom (Elaichi)

Green cardamom for sweet dishes, chai and biryani. Black cardamom for meat and heavier curries. They are different spices, not different sizes of the same thing.

Crush green cardamom pods lightly before using to release the oils. A pod or two flavours a full pot of chai.

9. Cinnamon (Dalchini)

Sticks for biryani, curry and slow-cooked dishes. Ground for desserts and sweeter preparations. True cinnamon (Sri Lankan) is milder and more complex than cassia cinnamon. Either works, but they are not identical.

10. Bay Leaves (Tej Patta)

Indian bay leaves (tej patta) are slightly different from Mediterranean bay leaves. They are used for fragrance in rice dishes, curries and slow cooks. Add two or three to a pot of biryani or pulao. Remove before serving.

Where to start if you have none of these

If you are building a spice rack from scratch, buy turmeric, cumin (whole and ground), coriander powder, Kashmiri chilli and garam masala first. That is enough to cook dal, most curries and a reasonable biryani.

Add mustard seeds, fenugreek and cardamom when you are ready to expand into South Indian or more ambitious recipes.

Come to our Indian grocery section at Booval and our team can help you pick specific brands. We stock multiple options for the same spice because home cooks have preferences, and we listen to them.