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Indian Spice Guides: Tadka, Grinding, Storage, Substitutes

Practical guides to cooking with Indian spices: tempering, whole vs ground, storing spices, the masala dabba, chillies, saffron, hing and regional styles.

Indian spices for beginnersStarting to cook Indian food? The 12 spices that cover most everyday dishes, in the order to buy them, and which ones to buy whole.How to make a tadkaTadka, also called tempering, chhonk or baghaar, is how Indian cooks get the most from whole spices. The order, the heat and the timing, st…Whole vs ground spicesWhen Indian cooks use whole spices and when they use ground, how long each keeps, and how to roast and grind spices at home for the best fl…How to store spicesLight, heat, air and moisture ruin spices. How long whole and ground spices keep, where to store them, and how to tell when they are past t…What to put in a masala dabbaThe seven spices most Indian households keep in their masala dabba, how regional kitchens change the line-up, and a starter list for beginn…Indian chillies explainedKashmiri chilli for colour, Guntur for heat, Byadgi for both: a plain guide to Indian dried chillies and chilli powders and when to use eac…How to tell real saffron from fakeSaffron is the world’s most expensive spice, so fakes are common. Simple checks for colour, shape, smell and soaking, and how to use real s…Hing (asafoetida) explainedHing smells strong in the jar but cooks into a savoury, onion-garlic flavour. What it is, how much to use, gluten-free hing and why some di…Spice styles of India, region by regionHow Indian regions use spices differently: Punjabi garam masala, South Indian tempering, Bengali panch phoron, Kashmiri fennel and dry ging…Indian spice substitutesOut of a spice? The closest swaps for cumin, coriander, cardamom, amchur, kasuri methi, asafoetida, curry leaves, ajwain and more, with how…