Indian Spices And Their Uses

Black cardamom (kali elaichi)

Black cardamom is quite different from green cardamom in both appearance and taste and the two are not interchangeable. While green cardamom is used in savoury and sweet dishes, black cardamom is only used in savoury dishes.

The pods are large, dark brown and wrinkled. It is their drying process where they are dried over large open fires, that give them their distinctive smoky flavour. The entire pod is used whole to release flavour gradually then removed before serving, as biting into one can be overpowering. Whole pods are sometimes toasted then ground to distribute flavour in dishes. Inside the pod are aromatic sticky seeds which have a bold, smoky, camphor-like flavour compared to the citrusy flavour of green cardamom.

Black cardamom is used in garam masala blends, curries, dals and biryanis, where it adds a deep, smoky background flavour.

A note on substitutions: black cardamom is not a substitute for green, just as green cannot be used instead of black. If a recipe calls for one, using the other will take the dish in the different direction.

Try it in my recipes for chicken do pyaza, Punjabi chicken curry

Black cumin (shahi zeera/jeera)

Black cumin is often confused with other seeds, but it is distinct from all of them. It is not the same as nigella (kalonji), which is frequently sold as 'black cumin' as this is a completely unrelated seed; nor is it caraway, which it only resembles in appearance. True black cumin is a smaller, darker and more slender relative of ordinary cumin. It is milder and slightly sweeter, with a delicate, almost smoky nuttiness that develops once the seeds are heated.

It is prized in the Mughlai cooking of Northern India and used to flavour biryanis, pilaus and rich meat dishes, where its subtlety suits refined, aromatic recipes.

If you can't find it, regular cumin is the best substitute. Use a little less as black cumin is more delicate. Don't substitute with caraway or nigella, despite the shared names, as both have very different flavours that will change the dish.

Black Indian salt (kala namak)

This is a kiln-fired Indian rock salt with a distinctive sulphurous smell. It is often described as being a 'volcanic salt', but that is a common misconception - kala namak is actually a mined rock salt from the Himalayan region and there are no volcanoes in the Himalayas. It is traditionally fired in a kiln with charcoal and herbs, giving it a dark colour and its characteristic aroma. The crystals range from black to deep violet and pink but when ground produce a greyish-pink colour.

You will often see it described as lower in sodium than ordinary salt, but it contains the same amount of sodium as table salt, so this isn't a genuine low-sodium substitute. What it does have is a strong, distinctive flavour so you will need less as a little goes a long way.

Kala Namak is in chaat masala, Jiralu, pickles and chutneys. It has a slightly salty, umami taste and its sulphurous, egg-like flavour makes it popular with vegans for creating egg-free dishes. Try it sprinkled on cooked meats, fried food, raita and salads.

Black salt is just one type of culinary salt - see how it compares with sea salt, rock salt, kosher and flaky finishing salts in my guide to the types of edible salt.

Black mustard seeds (rai)

They are tiny black round seeds with quite a spicy pungent flavour when raw, which mellows to a nutty, earthy taste once cooked. They are normally dry roasted, or tempered in hot oil (a technique called tadka) on a low flame till they start popping to release their flavour, before adding other spices. They are also used to temper dals, and in pickles.

Try them in my recipes for masoor dal and turmeric pickle

Black pepper (kali mirch)

These dried small round berries add a delicious hot peppery flavour to any dish. Whole berries can be added at the beginning of cooking, or crushed and added as garnish at the end so they keep their flavour. For best flavour, dry roast them first before grinding to release their oils.

There are quite a few varieties of peppercorns - black, white, green, red and pink. Each brings a different type of aroma, intensity and flavour to the dish, which I cover in my guide to the types of peppercorns.

Try it in my recipes for zigni, feta dressing and baharat spice blend

Cinnamon (dalchini)

Most of what is sold as cinnamon, particularly in powdered form, is actually cassia - a cheaper, related bark from China and Indonesia. True cinnamon, sometimes called Ceylon cinnamon, comes from Sri Lanka and is a different spice: its quills are thinner, paler and made of many delicate, papery layers rolled together, and the flavour is more fragrant and complex, less harshly hot than cassia. Cassia is thicker and harder, rolls from both sides into a scroll shape, and has the bolder, more familiar 'red hot' cinnamon punch.

For most everyday cooking either will work, but they aren't identical and it's worth knowing which you have - particularly because cassia is high in coumarin, a compound that can harm the liver in large amounts. If you use a lot of cinnamon regularly, choose true Ceylon cinnamon.

Cinnamon is used in both sweet and savoury cooking for its warm, sweet flavour. Use it whole or ground - dry roast the whole bark to release its oils, or fry it briefly in hot oil at the start of cooking to flavour the oil. It's a key spice in garam masala and appears in meat dishes, rice, chutneys and desserts.

Try it in my recipes for gajar halwa, chicken tikka and cranberry mocktail.

Cloves (laung/lavang)

Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of an evergreen tree, picked while still green and dried until hard and dark brown. They are one of the most intensely aromatic spices, with a warm, sweet pungent flavour and a distinctive numbing warmth that comes from eugenol. This compound is used in clove oil as a traditional remedy for toothache.

A little goes a very long way. Cloves can easily overpower a dish, so they are used sparingly, whole or ground. Dry roast them briefly or fry the whole buds in hot oil at the start of cooking to release their aromatic oils and flavour the dish.

They are a key spice in garam masala and appear across meat dishes, biryanis and pilaus, as well as in chai, mulled drinks and sweet baking. If you use them whole it is worth fishing them out before serving, or warning your guests as biting directly into a clove delivers a burst of a numbing intensity that catches people off guard.

A tip: because whole cloves are so hard they keep their flavour far longer than ground, which usually fades quickly as the oils are exposed to air. Buy them whole and grind as needed for the best aroma.

Try it in my recipes for masala chai, chicken do pyaza and chicken machboos

Coriander leaves/cilantro and seeds (dhaniya)

The coriander plant has two culinary uses: its fresh leaves and dried seeds. They taste quite different form each other and are used differently.

The fresh leaves (hara dhania) are known as cilantro in the US and have a refreshing, citrusy flavour. Heat destroys that freshness so the leaves are used raw - blended into chutney, stirred through salads, or scattered over curries as a garnish at the end of cooking.

Interestingly, a small proportion of people carry a gene variant that makes coriander leaves taste of soap rather than citrus, so if you have a guest who insists it tastes like washing-up liquid, they are not being difficult, they genuinely perceive it differently.

Coriander seeds are small and round, pale brown, hollow and crunchy. Crushed or ground, they give a warm, earthy, citrusy flavour quite distinct from coriander leaves, forming the base of countless curries, dals and pickles. As with most spices dry roast them briefly in a hot pan first to release their oils and deepen the flavour, then grind them fresh. Ground coriander loses its flavour quickly as the oils are exposed to air, so it is better to buy the whole seeds and grind them as required rather than keeping it as a powder. Ground coriander is often paired with ground cumin as the base of many Indian dishes.

Try them in my recipes for coriander chutney and berbere spice mix

Cumin (zeera/jeera)

Cumin, sometimes called white cumin to distinguish it from black cumin, is an essential spice for any masala box. The seeds are long, flat and ridged, pale brown and are often confused with caraway, which looks similar but tastes quite different - the two aren't interchangeable.

Cumin has a distinctive, warm, earthy and slightly bitter aroma. Its robust flavour is particularly good at cutting through the gaminess of meats like lamb and goat and it goes very well with potatoes.

It is important to know is how to toast them. Dry roasting the seeds over a low flame transforms them, intensifying the flavour with nutty warmth, but they burn easily. Burnt cumin turns acrid and bitter and can't be rescued, like burnt garlic, it can ruin the dish and you have to start again. So keep the heat low, keep them moving and take them off the moment they are fragrant and just a shade darker.

Whole seeds are lightly fried in warm oil in a technique called tadka or tempering, to flavour the oil for dals and curries and they are worked into breads like roti and paratha.

Ground cumin is used to make garam masala and other spice blends, into yogurt dishes and lassi, and into refreshing drinks like Jeera Pani. As with all spices, it's best to buy whole seeds and grind them fresh, as ground cumin loses its aroma quickly.

Try them in my recipes for Hyderabadi chicken 65 and baingan bharta

Curry leaves (kari patta)

These have an earthy curry and citrus flavour with a mild bitter after taste. Lightly fry them in oil to release their citrus notes.

The fresh leaves have a better flavour than the dried leaves and can be found in Asian supermarkets. They are used whole or dried and crushed and the leaves can even be frozen.

Despite its name, curry leaves have nothing to do with curry powder. Curry leaves are the aromatic leaves of a tree native to India, from the citrus family and they carry their own distinctive flavour: earthy and citrusy with a faint, pleasant bitterness. They are fried briefly in hot oil so the heat releases their aroma and flavours the whole dish. They are a classic part of a South Indian tempering (tadka) for dals and curries.

Fresh curry leaves are far better than dried, as they lose much of their fragrance as they dry out, so it is worth looking for them in Asian and Indian grocers. The good news is they freeze beautifully so buy a big bunch, freeze what you don't use and freeze the rest in small batches, so you always have them to hand. The leaves are used whole and though they are edible, some prefer to pick them out of a dish rather than eating the leaf.

Try them in my recipes for masoor dal and Hyderabadi chicken 65

Fennel (saunf)

Fennel seeds are pale green to golden colour; they are warm and aromatic, with a sweet, liquorice-like flavour similar to star anise but much milder and more delicate. Dry roasting them lightly, or frying them in oil at the start of cooking, brings out their sweetness and softens any sharpness.

They can be used whole or ground, and are especially common in Kashmiri and Gujarati cooking, in savoury dishes, spice blends and pickles. Fennel is one of the five seeds in panch phoran, the Bengali five-spice blend and it pairs particularly well with fish and with rich meats, where its sweetness balances the fat.

Fennel also has a long history as a digestive. That is why in India, sugar-coated fennel seeds (saunf mukhwas) are offered after a meal, served in restaurants and homes alike, as both a breath freshener and a gentle aid to digestion. Chewing plain roasted fennel seeds after eating does the same job.

Try it in my recipe for Mughlai lamb

Fenugreek - leaves (methi/kasuri methi) and seeds (methi dana)

The fenugreek plant gives two different ingredients: the leaves and the seeds, both sharing a characteristic bittersweet, maple-syrup flavour but used quite differently.

The leaves are aromatic and slightly bitter, with that distinctive sweet, maple-like quality. Fresh fenugreek leaves (methi) are treated almost like a vegetable, cooked in dishes such as aloo methi (potatoes with fenugreek) or worked into methi parathas. The dried leaves, known as kasuri methi, are far more concentrated in flavour and you'll only need a small amount at a time. When crumbled in during the last few minutes of cooking, it adds a wonderful savoury depth. Kasuri methi is the secret behind the distinctive aroma of many restaurant-style curries, including butter chicken.

The seeds (methi dana) are small, hard, angular and mustard-yellow, with an intense bitterness that mellows dramatically once cooked. This is how to use them: toast them briefly in a dry pan or in warm oil to extract their nutty, maple aroma and reduce any the bitterness, but watch them closely as they turn very bitter and eventually inedible if allowed to burn. They are used whole or ground in pickles, dals and vegetable dishes and are one of the seeds in both panch phoran and sambar powder.

A quick note on that maple flavour: fenugreek contains a compound called sotolone, the same aromatic compound found in maple syrup, which is why the two smell so alike and why fenugreek is sometimes used to make artificial maple flavouring.

Try them in my recipes for tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and niter kibbeh

Ginger (adarak)

Ginger is ubiquitous in Indian cooking, adding a clean, pungent, warming heat that lifts almost any savoury dish. It is a fresh root that is used very commonly whether peeled and grated, minced, or crushed into a paste. It is very often cooked together with chopped garlic as the aromatic base of a dish, in equal parts or in a ready-made ginger-garlic paste, which is a staple shortcut in many Indian kitchens.

Fresh ginger is worlds apart from dried ground ginger - the two are not really interchangeable. Fresh ginger is bright, juicy and sharply pungent, while dried is warmer, mellower and more suited to baking and spice blends. For most Indian cooking, you will want to use fresh ginger.

A quick tip: the skin of fresh ginger is thin, so there is no need to peel it with a knife and waste the flesh underneath. Instead, just scrape off the skin with the edge of a teaspoon, which slips around the knobbly bits easily.

Add minced ginger early in cooking, with the onions and garlic, so its rawness cooks off, or slice it into fine juliennes and scatter it over the top at the end as a fresh, zingy garnish (as in the dish haleem). Look for firm smooth roots with a taut skin, as older ginger becomes increasingly fibrous and stringy as it loses moisture.

Try it in my recipes for shami kebabs and lamb tikka

Green cardamom - elaichi

These green pods hold small, dark, sticky seeds inside and it is the seeds that carry the flavour. You can use the whole pod lightly crushed in slow-cooked dishes and infusions, or remove the pods and grind the seeds fresh for a more intense hit. Grind them yourself whenever you can as pre-ground cardamom loses its flavour incredibly quickly.

Cardamom is very aromatic and gives a wonderful clean, sweet and lemony flavour.

Cardamom is intensely aromatic with a clean, floral, slightly citrusy flavour and a cooling, eucalyptus-like note. It is often called 'sweet', but this is an aromatic sweetness rather than actual sweet taste, in the same way vanilla smells sweet. That fragrant quality is why it works so well in both savoury dishes and desserts making it a very versatile spice, used in curries and rice dishes to desserts and masala chai.

A quick tip: fish out the whole pods before serving or warn your guests, as biting into one is an intense experience 🙂 Also, don't confuse green cardamom with black cardamom. Black cardamom is larger, smoky and quite different, the two are not interchangeable.

Try it in my recipes for butter chicken, kheer and masala chai

Indian Bay leaf (tej patta)

Indian bay leaves are often confused with European bay (laurel) leaves found in most supermarkets, but they are an entirely different leaf from a different tree and the flavours aren't remotely alike.

Tej patta are a lighter colour with three distinct veins, compared to bay leaves which are darker and have more veins. European bay is herbal (similar to oregano and thyme) and slightly sharp while Indian bay is warm and sweetly aromatic, with a fragrance closer to cinnamon and cloves. This matters in the kitchen: if a recipe calls for tej patta, don't use an ordinary bay leaf, as it will take the dish in the wrong direction and vice versa.

The reason for the resemblance in flavour is that Indian bay comes from the cassia family, the same family as cinnamon, which is exactly why it carries those warm, sweet, cinnamon-clove notes.

The leaves are used whole, browned briefly in warm oil at the start of cooking to release their aroma, then left in to flavour curries, dals, biryanis and pilaus. They can also be dried and ground into spice blends like garam masala. As with curry leaves, the whole leaves are usually left in the dish and pushed to the side of the plate rather than eaten.

They may be hard to find so if you can't find Indian bay leaves, a small piece of cinnamon or cassia bark is a far better substitute than European bay, as it will be similar to those same warm, sweet notes.

Mace (javitri)

Mace and nutmeg come from the same fruit. It is one of the few spices where a single seed yields two distinct spices. Nutmeg is the hard inner seed while mace is the bright red, lacy webbing (the aril) that wraps around it. When the fruit is harvested this crimson lace is peeled away, flattened and dried. It fades to a warm amber and either it is sold in small delicate pieces called 'blades', or it is ground to make mace powder.

Nutmeg and mace share a warm, sweet, aromatic character, but mace is more delicate and refined, it is lighter, more floral and slightly peppery without the heavier, muskier depth of nutmeg. Because it is so fine, mace suits savoury cooking particularly well, adding fragrance without dominating.

It is used ground or as whole blades in biryanis, pilaus, pickles and rich red-meat curries and it is a component of many garam masala blends. You will only need a tiny amount as its flavour is gentle but impactful, so it is easy to spoil a dish with too much.

Try my recipe for butter chicken

Mango powder (amchoor)

Amchoor is made from unripe green mangoes, which are sliced, sun-dried and ground to a pale, fibrous powder. Green mangoes are quite sour and the powder delivers a sharp, sour, tangy fruitiness - it is a way of adding acidity to a dish without adding liquid, such as with lemon juice or vinegar. This makes it especially useful in dry dishes, spice rubs and marinades, where you want sourness but no liquid.

It has a sour, slightly resinous fruitiness with a faint sweetness underneath, so it is used to freshen and balance rich or heavy dishes. Stir it into curries, dals, marinades and chutneys, sprinkle it over roasted vegetables or samosas, or use it in spice blends like chaat masala, where the tang is essential.

You will only need a small amount and it is usually added towards the end of cooking, because prolonged heat dulls its sourness. If you don't have it, a squeeze of lemon or lime juice is the closest substitute, but be aware that you will be adding liquid, so adjust accordingly.

Try it in my recipe for jiralu

Nigella seeds (kalonji)

Nigella seeds are tiny, jet-black, angular seeds, often confused with black cumin or onion seeds, but they are neither. They come from the flowering nigella plant (love-in-a-mist) and although they are frequently sold under misleading names like 'black cumin' or 'black onion seeds', they are unrelated to either. You may have seen the little black seeds on top of a naan - those are nigella seeds.

Their flavour is distinctive and hard to describe: they are pungent and slightly bitter, with a warm, nutty, oniony, faintly peppery quality that's often compared to a mix of onion, oregano and black pepper. Toasting them briefly in a dry pan or in warm oil brings out their aroma and reduces any bitterness.

They are used whole far more often than ground, scattered over and into Indian breads like naan, sprinkled on savoury pastries and used to temper dals and vegetable dishes. They are one of the five seeds in panch phoran, the Bengali five-spice blend and are excellent in pickles, with fish and red meats where their sharpness cuts through rich fats.

Nutmeg (jaiphal)

Nutmeg is the hard, brown, egg-shaped seed found at the centre of the same fruit that gives us mace - the two are, unusually, a pair from a single source, with nutmeg the inner seed and mace the lacy red covering around it. Where mace is delicate and floral, nutmeg is warmer, sweeter and muskier, with a rich, almost woody depth.

It is potent, so it is always used sparingly. The best way to use it is to grate it fresh from the whole seed as you need it. A whole nutmeg keeps its aroma almost indefinitely, whereas ready-ground nutmeg loses its fragrance quickly. A few runs across a fine grater is all a dish needs. It is grated into biryanis, rich meat curries, spiced rice and garam masala blends and it also crosses easily into sweet cooking such as desserts, milky puddings like kheer and spiced drinks.

One important caution worth knowing: nutmeg is warming and wonderful in the small amounts used in cooking, but in large quantities it is genuinely toxic and can cause unpleasant effects. There is no risk at all in normal culinary use as you would never grate that much into a dish and too much would ruin a dish, but it is a reason to use it sparingly.

Try it in my recipe for berbere spice mix and zigni

Red chilli powder (lal mirch)

Red chilli powder made from ground Indian red chillies. There are different varieties of red chillies in India, the mildest being Kashmiri red chillies (deghi mirch). This variety is very popular chilli adds wonderful colour to a dish.

Bird's eye chilli powder packs quite a punch so it should be used carefully. Jwala (meaning 'an intense flame') chillies are the most popular variety of hot chillies in India.

Red chilli powder is used throughout Indian in marinating meats (tandoori chicken), in curries and vegetable dishes.

Find out how to make Indian Red Chilli Paste - an essential ingredient for many Indian dishes, adding mild heat, depth of flavour and red colour.

Saffron (kesar)

Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world and there is a reason for it. Saffron are the dried stigmas of a crocus flower and each flower yields just three tiny threads, all of which must be picked by hand. It takes many thousands of flowers to produce a single ounce, which is why real saffron is sold in such small quantities and such a high price.

Its flavour is intense and distinctive, it is floral and honeyed, with a warm, hay-like earthiness and it gives dishes a beautiful orange-golden colour and an unmistakable aroma. Only a pinch is needed at a time.

The key to using saffron is to let it bloom first. Soak the threads in a little warm (not boiling) or cold water for around 20-30 minutes before using. This draws out the colour, flavour and aroma far more effectively than adding the threads directly and you can use the fragrant liquid as well as the threads. Lightly crushing the threads before soaking helps even more.

Saffron is used across both sweet and savoury cooking for milk-based desserts like kesar kulfi and phirni, in halwas and Indian sweets and to perfume rice dishes, biryanis and richer curries.

A word on buying it: because it is so valuable, saffron is one of the most commonly adulterated spices, often bulked out with safflower, dyed corn silk or other lookalikes. Genuine saffron threads are trumpet-shaped, deep red with slightly orange tips and it colours water slowly and steadily rather than instantly. Buy whole threads rather than powder, from a source that you trust.

Try it in my recipes for carrot halwa, moong dal halwa and kheer

Star anise (chakra phul)

Star anise is one of the most striking-looking spices. It is a hard dark brown, eight-pointed star and in each point is a pod holding a small seed. Both the pod and the seeds are aromatic and it is used whole, broken into points, or ground to a powder. Dry roast it or fry it briefly in warm oil at the start of cooking to release its fragrance into the dish.

Its flavour is boldly liquorice-like, it is the same sweet, aniseed character as fennel but much stronger and more intense, with a warm, almost medicinal depth. Despite the similar taste, star anise is completely unrelated to aniseed or fennel botanically; it comes from an evergreen tree native to China and Vietnam. A single point or two is usually enough to perfume a whole pot of food.

It is a warming spice suited to long slow cooking, where it has time to infuse. Star anise is wonderful with rich meats and in biryanis and pilaus, it is a component of garam masala and Chinese five-spice and brings its distinctive sweetness to masala chai. Because it is so potent use it sparingly and if used whole, remove the pieces before serving.

Try it in my recipes for masala chai and chicken curry

Turmeric (haldi)

Turmeric is a workhorse of Indian cooking. It is a root related to ginger and although it can be used fresh, it is most often dried and ground into the familiar vivid yellow powder that goes into the base of countless savoury dishes.

It has a warm earthy, gently peppery and slightly bitter flavour. Its main job in most dishes is colour and background depth rather than assertive taste. Too much turmeric will make a dish bitter, so it is usually added in small amounts along with the other ground spices early in cooking.

A quick tip: it stains everything - hands, boards, worktops and clothes - so wipe up spills promptly.

Fresh turmeric root, which looks like small orange skinned ginger, can also be sliced and used to make the popular turmeric pickle of Gujarat, where it is appreciated for its earthy flavour.

Turmeric has a long history in Ayurvedic medicine and is widely studied for its active compound, curcumin, which is being researched for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. I have written more about the health benefits of turmeric if you would like to read further. It is worth knowing that curcumin is poorly absorbed on its own, but warming it with black pepper dramatically improves its absorption and bioavailability. This may be one reason why they are both used so freqently together in Indian cooking.

Try it in my recipe for turmeric pickle