For a long time I refused to cook Indian food - the sheer list of ingredients was enough to scare me away. And then on one visit back to India I remembered that my mom (and pretty much every Indian family) has a spice box that contains a few essential spices. These basic spices show up in the bulk of Indian recipes, making that ingredients list a little less daunting.
So if you want to try cooking Indian food at home, here are the 7 essential spices you want in your pantry.
Indian chili powder or cayenne
whole mustard seeds (you want the brown ones)
In addition to these, you should also expect to use fresh ginger and/or garlic and diced or pureed onions in most recipes.
The links I shared above are the brands I use personally so these names should be readily available in your local Indian store - you can mix and match the brands mentioned if you so choose.
Please also note that if you use the links above to buy these spices on Amazon, I will receive a tiny commission through Amazon’s affiliate program, although it will not impact the price you pay in any way.
Where do you buy Indian spices?
Most of the spices mentioned here are widely available at your local grocery store, especially Whole Foods.
That said, your best, and most economical option is to go to your local Indian store, where you will find the spices in large bags for well under $10/bag. There are several Indian stores in the Cleveland area, my favorites are Rimi’s Bakers and Grocers on the West Side and Laxmi Plaza on the East side.
It’s best to buy these and then split the packet with a friend or family member who is also interested in Indian food. I strongly recommend using these glass spice jars to store your spices. A curated package of jarred spiced with an Indian cookbook would also make an excellent gift. Just saying.
My Indian cookbook recommendations are available here.
If you live in a spot with no Indian store nearby, you can buy these on Amazon and have them delivered to your home. Either way you choose, don’t let the ingredients list scare you away from trying to cook Indian food at home!!!
Photo by Akhil Chandran on Unsplash