4 Essential Spices for Indian Cooking

Spices are the foundation of a good meal. They can transform any boring dish into a delicious meal and provide life to even the simplest menu. Indian dishes are known throughout the world for their deliciousness and aroma. Needless to say, the same spices gives the Indian dishes the goodwill it stands for.

However, to those who never made any Indian dishes, it could be an intimidating experience to work with so many spices. Although, once you get to know them, you will be able to use those authentic Indian spices effortlessly and make mouth-watering tastes. So, let’s get started!

4 Essential Spices for Indian Cooking

Cardamom, or locally known as Elaichi, is an aromatic and sweet spice. It is a must-have ingredient for the Indian desert. However, it is also being used to other dishes for its incredible aroma. There are two variations of these Indian spices green and black. Green is more common, and it has a mild eucalyptus note. And the green Cardamom can be mixed and blended with the other spices. However, if you intend to make a sweet dessert, make sure to pop the pod open and lightly crush it.

Clove is a common spice for Indian made dishes. It is known as Laung locally. These spices also carry a soothing aroma with flavors. And it is harvested from the clove tree. The Cloves or Laung brings a strong, almost medicinal flavor derives from the high concentration of essential oils. Cloves or Laungs are flowers if we spoke of a technical term, and since it is used after drying, hence a lot of their essential oils are pressed out before using it for cooking. Cloves like Cardamom can also be used with other spice mixes. However, do not use a lot. Because the flavor of Cloves is strong, and if you use it a lot, it can overpower other delicate spices.

Cassia Bark, better known as Dalchini, is a classic Indian-made spices made from Cassia bark’s pice. These Indian made spices carry an unique & delicate sweet flavor. The Cassia Bark resembles quite a bit like cinnamon sticks. It adds earthy flavors to meat and world-famous curries. Moreover, these spices play a significant role in making spice blends. Cassia bark is also being used largely throughout the Indan to intensity the tea and hot chocolate taste. It is widespread to use cassia instead of true cinnamon in Indian dishes.

Black Peppercorns, known widely as Kali Mirch, play a significant role in making Indian foods. The Black pepper is a berry. And they grow on climbing vines. Mostly these berries are derived from the southern part of India. Compared to others, Black Peppercorns is a surprisingly hard spice to grow. The unripe green berries are harvested when they ripen and turn red and are then dried to what we commonly see in grocery stores. Black peppercorns bring an intense aroma, depth, and heat to the cuisine. This Indian-made spice is crucial for seasoning blends. For instance, it is used to make garam masala, a must-have in your pantry. Like many Indian spices out there, black pepper needs to be toasted before blending.

This is all for this blog! There are more actually a lot more! And we will keep adding new spices to share the information. I hope you find this guide for Indian spices helpful. Do not forget to share it with your family and friends. So, until next time!