How to Build an Indian Spice Cabinet

In addition to being fresh, spices need to be dry roasted to release all of their beautiful flavors.

Some spiceslike cardamomhave to be popped open andthendry roasted in order for them to be effective.

In fact, you may as well omit the spices entirely if youre not going to roast them first.

Buy the green cardamom pods and crush them slightly to pop the pods open before roasting them gently.

Cloves

You may have noticed that cloves look like little flowers.

Slow roasting cloves releases their aroma and oils.

Turmeric is a root that is indispensable in Indian cooking.

to make it release their spicy flavor, mustard seeds must beroasted in oiluntil they pop.

Once they popdont worry, youll hear itthey can be added to savory dishes.

Mustard oil is widely used in the north and north-east of India for cooking.

This is because it is very hard to grow, and each peppercorn only contains a single seed.

One of my favourite spices, cumin is a critical addition to spice mixes.

The spicy, almost nutty tasting seeds can be used whole in dishes, or ground to a paste.

Its uses are varied and its smoky tastewith slightly bitter undertonesis distinctive.

Burnt cumin will have to be thrown away and that would be a dreadful waste.

Cumin is a vital ingredient in many spice mixes such as curry powder and garam masala.

Ginger and garlic are a fairly obvious addition to this list.

you might use them fresh, ground to a paste, or in powder form.

However, that is a personal preference, and the dried stuff can be used with perfectly fine results.

Although Ive titled this cinnamon, Indian cooking actually employs cassia bark, or Chinese cinnamon.

Ive left the most expensive spice to the very end.

Saffron is not a common ingredient in everyday dishes; it is a special occasions sort of spice.

Saffron is very hard to grow and is hand-picked, making it worth more than its weight than gold.

To get the most out of saffron, it is soaked in warm water or warm milk.

The soaking liquid is then added to dishes such as saffron chicken, kesari bhat, and rasmalai.