Building up your Spice collection

Up to this point we have been introducing spices, and looking their application in both local and Indian cuisines. Understanding these and their combinations would help the average Trinidadian seeking to experience the flavours of India slowly transition to minimise a culture shock.

Of course, I personally found these foods to be quite overwhelming at one point, but having the craving (also being adventurous) for them kept me focused on seeking out the multiplicity of flavours. Even now after 30 years, I still try to find new and unique foods to sample. India is so vast that each State has its own culture and  its own cuisines. It therefore means that we can in later posts examine various samplings from throughout the region since spices and its combinations are unique to the various regions.

The recipes thus far, such as the Tandoori chicken and Chicken Tikka belong the period of the Moghul Emperors and is referred to as Mughlai cooking. Here the usage of highly aromatic spices and yogurt is widely used. In other States there is less usage of the aromatic spices and greater preference for more earthy flavours such as from cumin, fennel, coriander etc.

GET A COFFEE GRINDER

A good investment for your kitchen would be a coffee grinder. Why? spice can be purchased whole and only ground when needed. Powdered spices loose their aroma within a short period; as short as 6 months. I found a very affordable coffee grinder by Proctor Silex.

Coffee Grinder

SPICE STARTER PACK

As we move forward, let's start building the collection of spices. Don't worry, this is just the first list. Try to get the whole spices; I generally buy both powders and whole seed versions. I am including also the Indian names, so here's your starter pack:

Whole and ground Spices

Cumin (jeera)

Coriander (dhania)

Turmeric powder (haldi)

Chilli powder (mirchi)

Dried red chillies

Fenugreek (methi)

Mustard (sarso)

Ajwain

Fennel (saunf)

Cloves (lawang)

Cinnamon (dal chini)

Cardamom (ilaichi)

Black peppercorns (kali mirchi)

Onion seeds (kalonji)

Curry leaves 

REMEMBER TO KEEP ALL SPICES IN AIR TIGHT CONTAINERS IN A COOL AND DRY PLACE!

All spices can purchased from the Little Store Ltd., Curepe.

Until next time. Let me know how your the outcome of your spice hunting!