Our Moms may have made it look easy, but if you are new to cooking things can get tricky if you don’t know what the main ingredients of South Asian cooking involve.
Ajwain is strong in flavour, a little pinch goes well in tadka for green beans.
Jeera tastes good in so many daals and sabzis and can also be bought in a powder.
Mustard seeds can go flying once they start to pop in oil and are used in vegetable dishes and pickles.
Turmeric is the magic potion that leaves your fingers yellow after a yummy Indian meal. A little goes a long way in giving South Asian cooking its colour and haldi as it is known, is supposed to be good for your health.
Red Chilli Powder is applied to vegetables, meats and daals depending on your spice level. Made of crushed red chilies, it is what has you reaching for more water.
Garam Masala is a blend of spices like pepper, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom and is very pungent. It goes well with rice, veggies and meats.
Start your own spice collection with the hammered copper spice tin, available at Williams Sonoma.
