To follow the recipes on this blog, you'll need a fairly well-stocked spice rack as well as fresh and frozen ingredients (and a couple of tinned things as well...Oy!) Everything can be bought in a packet, but nothing is as good as grinding masala yourself from scratch. Invest in a good dry grinder. A coffee bean grinder will do - under 20 quid on Amazon. If you buy in the UK, East End, TRS, Natco - all equally good brands. Laziza and Shan for tandoori mixes. Try and grind at least the dhania, jeera and saunf at home yourself. As well as garam masala. (Separate blog on garam masala to come.) I get my mixes from Roopak Stores in Karol Bagh. If you go to Delhi or have a friend willing to make the trek to KB, give it a 'dekko'. The list may look long, but a single trip to a desi shop will get you everything in under 20 quid. If you don't have requisite storage jars/bottles, get some IKEA clips to seal the packets after use.
Must have:
Coriander seeds (dhania)
Ground coriander
Cumin seeds (jeera)
Ground cumin
Roasted ground cumin
Aniseed (saunf) seeds
Ground aniseed
Dried ginger powder (saunth)
Dried mango powder (amchoor)
Garam Masala (Schwartz do a grinder with whole spices)
Heeng - asafoetida powder
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Black pepper mill
Garlic Powder (I like Schwartz, but any supermarket brand will do)
Green cardamom (hari elaichi)
Black cardamom (badi elaichi)
Cloves (laung)
Cinamon sticks (dalchini)
Fried/Dried onions - available at any desi shop
If possible also stock:
Brown mustard seeds - large (rai)
Bay leaves (tej patta)
Fresh curry patta - freeze as soon as you get home. It keeps really well in the freezer
Desiccated coconut (coarse).
Tamarind paste
If you like daal:
Pink Masoor daal
Yellow Moong daal
(Both cook quickly and don't cause erm... 'bloating')
Small pack of Channa daal
Stock up on Waitrose chopped frozen onions. Other stores have them too, but the Waitrose ones are finely chopped, and brown evenly. You'll never be put off cooking again. Chopping onions can be a real pain, I know.
Always have in your freezer frozen ginger/garlic cubes. Available in any large store (Any desi shop, Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda etc. Try not to buy bottled ginger/garlic - or at least check that they don't have preservatives in them.) Of course fresh is best, but if you had the time for that, you wouldn't be reading this blog!
Always have at home:
Napolina chopped tomatoes (tins). Italian plum tomatoes are sweeter than Indian/desi tomatoes. Use less than any (external to this blog) recipe asks. Add a bit of lime/lemon to get the tartness you are used to at home.
Napolina chickpeas (channa)
Napolina red kidney beans (rajma)
And if you like them:
East End Kala channa
East end Black eyed beans (Punjabi=raungi)
I'll keep updating this post when I find useful ingredients for 'Under 10 minutes' full of flavour and taste cooking.
Must have:
Coriander seeds (dhania)
Ground coriander
Cumin seeds (jeera)
Ground cumin
Roasted ground cumin
Aniseed (saunf) seeds
Ground aniseed
Dried ginger powder (saunth)
Dried mango powder (amchoor)
Garam Masala (Schwartz do a grinder with whole spices)
Heeng - asafoetida powder
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Black pepper mill
Garlic Powder (I like Schwartz, but any supermarket brand will do)
Green cardamom (hari elaichi)
Black cardamom (badi elaichi)
Cloves (laung)
Cinamon sticks (dalchini)
Fried/Dried onions - available at any desi shop
If possible also stock:
Brown mustard seeds - large (rai)
Bay leaves (tej patta)
Fresh curry patta - freeze as soon as you get home. It keeps really well in the freezer
Desiccated coconut (coarse).
Tamarind paste
If you like daal:
Pink Masoor daal
Yellow Moong daal
(Both cook quickly and don't cause erm... 'bloating')
Small pack of Channa daal
Stock up on Waitrose chopped frozen onions. Other stores have them too, but the Waitrose ones are finely chopped, and brown evenly. You'll never be put off cooking again. Chopping onions can be a real pain, I know.
Always have in your freezer frozen ginger/garlic cubes. Available in any large store (Any desi shop, Sainsburys, Tesco, Asda etc. Try not to buy bottled ginger/garlic - or at least check that they don't have preservatives in them.) Of course fresh is best, but if you had the time for that, you wouldn't be reading this blog!
Always have at home:
Napolina chopped tomatoes (tins). Italian plum tomatoes are sweeter than Indian/desi tomatoes. Use less than any (external to this blog) recipe asks. Add a bit of lime/lemon to get the tartness you are used to at home.
Napolina chickpeas (channa)
Napolina red kidney beans (rajma)
And if you like them:
East End Kala channa
East end Black eyed beans (Punjabi=raungi)
I'll keep updating this post when I find useful ingredients for 'Under 10 minutes' full of flavour and taste cooking.
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