Used all the time in Indian food both ground and whole. I tend to have jars of both as though its easy to grind cumin either in a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle, its easier!

Whole cumin keeps its flavour longer than ground cumin.

Cumin can be roasted before use which gives a deeper and, well, “roasted” flavour to a dish. Simply dry fry in a hot pan until they start to change colour and steam, then grind.

Black cumin seeds are smaller than regular ones and I generally don’t grind them but use whole.

Coriander seeds - Dhiana

Also used a lot, coriander seeds are usually ground first before use. I have jars of both whole and ground. Use a coffee grinder rather than mortar and pestle as they are tough little chaps that’ll make your arms ache.

Coriander leaves

Used pretty much in every Indian dish they’re pretty much essential. Best used fresh if possible but I always have some dried in my cupboard for emergencies. Coriander freezes pretty well so I’ll often freeze some in handful sized portions.

Mustard seeds

Add character to many dishes and are usually fried in hot oil or ghee (clarified butter) till they start popping before either adding to a rice or dhall dish (known as tempering) or before adding other ingredients in a dish.

Turmeric - haldi

Nearly always bought powdered, turmeric is a right nightmare to get out of clothing – all of my t-shirts have yellow stains in them that wont come out. Anyway, I digress.

Turmeric is a slightly bitter yellow powder that imparts a wonderful, earthy flavour to dishes. It also aids digestion and is an antiseptic. Bargain eh?

Pepper

Is used in Indian cooking both whole and freshly ground. It is another aromatic and forms part of garam masala.

Cardamon (green)

Is used a lot too, mostly whole. It is an aromatic that imparts a fragrant, scented aspect to dishes. You wouldn’t normally eat them so remove them at the end of the cooking process. Unless you’re my mate Jason of course who likes to eat them, but he is, as far as I know, a one-off here

Cardamon (black)

Much bigger than green cardamom, they have a stronger flavour and you’d generally only use one or two in a dish.

Ginger

Ginger can be used fresh or dried in Indian dishes but the flavour is different. Generally you want to get fresh root ginger and grate or blend before use often combined with garlic.

Powdered ginger is quite sweet and better suited to sweet dishes I reckon.

Garlic

You can get powdered garlic but I find it’s a bit overpowering so I normally use it fresh though I guess its handy to have a packet for emergencies. Either that or have a tube of garlic puree in the cupboard.

Asafetida

Smelly stuff this and used sparingly in dishes but it works well in dhalls or a pinch in hot oil before adding other ingredients. Its supposed to aid indigestion too, much like turmeric. You can generally get by without it.

Chillies

Mmmm. What would we do without them? I don’t even want to contemplate that!

There are hundreds of varieties of chilli but I’m not going to describe them all here.

I have use dried, powdered and fresh chillies in my cooking.

Chilli powder or cayenne pepper is available everywhere and it’s a matter taste how much you use. My personal favourite is kashmiri chilli powder which is not insanely hot and has a lot of flavour.

Dried chillies are often added to hot oil before other ingredients or they can be roasted and then ground much like cumin.

Fresh chillies add a more complex flavour to dishes so I try and have them in my fridge at all times. Or grow some! They grow easy enough in the UK (though beware of frost). If you’re lucky enough to have a greenhouse, even better.

Cloves

Used whole generally and not meant to be eaten. They add aroma and a “clovey” flavour to a dish – no, really?

Cinnamon sticks & cassia bark

These are another aromatic generally used whole and removed before eating. They can be used interchangeably.

Garam masala

This is an aromatic spice mixture often used at the end of the cooking process as a final garnish. It is a combination of cardamom seeds, cinnamon, cumin, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper all ground up.

Fenugreek

I never seem to be able to find fresh fenugreek leaves anywhere which is a shame as it gives a lovely flavour to dishes. It’s easy enough, however, to get dried leaves from online spice suppliers, which I transfer to an air-tight jar.

The seeds are rock hard and can also be ground into a powder – use a coffee grinder unless you’re pop-eye and have just munched through a tin of spinach.

Fenugreek is quite pungent so I tend to go a bit easy on it but it adds a depth of flavour and taste to a dish.

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