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Whole vs ground spices

By SpiceIndia editors · Updated · About SpiceIndia

Nutmeg fruit with red mace on a hand
Photo: Vis M, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Most Indian kitchens keep both whole and ground spices, because they do different jobs.

Whole spices

  • Flavour oil or ghee in a tadka, or rice in pulao and biryani.
  • Release their flavour slowly, so they suit long cooking.
  • Keep for about a year.

Ground spices

  • Disperse evenly through gravies, marinades and dry dishes.
  • Burn quickly in hot oil: add them with onions or tomatoes, or with a splash of water.
  • Lose their aroma in a few months.

Roasting and grinding at home

  1. Dry-roast whole spices in a heavy pan on low to medium heat, stirring, until they smell toasty and darken by a shade. Larger, harder spices (coriander, dried chillies) take longer than small ones (cumin, fennel), so roast them separately.
  2. Spread on a plate to cool completely. Grinding warm spices makes a damp paste.
  3. Grind in a spice or coffee grinder kept only for spices. A mortar and pestle works for small batches.
  4. Sieve for a fine powder and grind the coarse bits again.

Freshly ground cumin and coriander taste noticeably brighter than shop-bought powders. Try our blend recipes, which you can scale to any batch size.

Frequently asked questions

Are whole spices better than ground?

Neither is better: whole spices suit tempering and rice, ground spices suit gravies and marinades. Whole spices keep longer, so many cooks grind small batches as needed.

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