Cooking Essentials

Schani Food Colour Red is a vivid, food-safe red dye commonly used in Indian sweets, drinks, and dishes. Ideal for creating striking colours in tandoori marinades and desserts.

Fortune Mustard Oil is a cooking oil made from mustard seeds, commonly used in North Indian, Bengali and Eastern Indian cooking. It has a strong, pungent aroma and a deep golden colour, both of which are characteristic of mustard oil and come through in the dishes it is used in.

The oil has a sharp, distinctive flavour that softens slightly once heated, making it a common choice for curries, tempering and pickling, where a stronger flavour is often preferred.

How to use

• Heat the oil until it reaches smoking point, then let it cool briefly before adding spices, as is customary when cooking with mustard oil.
• Use for daily cooking, curries, frying or making pickles.

Pack size: 500ml. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

Heinz Mayonnaise is the brand's classic thick, creamy mayonnaise — smooth, mild and lightly tangy, without the sharp vinegar bite of a mustard-heavy German Remoulade.

It spreads cleanly on sandwiches and burger buns, holds its shape in potato salad, coleslaw and egg salad, and is the base most people start from for a quick dip: stir in garlic, sriracha, chopped herbs or a spoon of ketchup and it becomes something else entirely.

It is also the usual partner for pommes in Germany, alongside or instead of ketchup. Keep refrigerated once opened and use a clean spoon each time.

Ching's Schezwan Chutney is a spicy, tangy sauce from Ching's Secret, a brand known for Indo-Chinese cooking ingredients. Schezwan chutney is widely used in Indian homes and restaurants as a base for Indo-Chinese dishes, or as a spread and dip on its own.

The chutney has a hot, garlicky and tangy taste with a deep red colour, typical of Schezwan-style sauces, and a smooth, slightly thick consistency.

How to use

• Use as a spread on sandwiches, rolls or toast.
• Stir into fried rice, noodles or stir-fried vegetables for a spicy, Indo-Chinese flavour.
• Serve as a dip alongside snacks.

Pack size: 250g. Store in a cool, dry place, and refrigerate after opening.

Priya Tamarind Paste is concentrated tamarind ready to use straight from the jar, with no soaking, squeezing or straining of pulp. It is plain sour, with no spices added, so it goes into anything that calls for tamarind without changing the rest of the seasoning.

Best for

• Sambar, rasam and vatha kuzhambu
• Chutneys, sauces and chaat
• Tamarind rice and fish curries

Using it

Start with half a teaspoon dissolved in a little warm water for a pot of sambar or rasam for four, and adjust at the end once the dal is in, since tamarind reads stronger in a thin liquid than a thick one. Give it a few minutes of cooking; uncooked tamarind tastes flat and slightly harsh. For chutneys and sauces use it undiluted, a quarter-teaspoon at a time.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place; keep sealed and refrigerated after opening.

Gramarhein Tamarind 200g

Fortune Mustard Oil is a cooking oil pressed from mustard seeds, widely used in Indian cooking, particularly in North Indian, Bengali and Eastern Indian cuisines. It is known for its strong, pungent aroma and deep golden-yellow colour, which come through in dishes cooked with it.

The oil has a sharp, distinctive flavour that mellows slightly on heating, and is commonly used for everyday cooking as well as for pickling, where its strong flavour helps season vegetables.

How to use

• Heat the oil in a pan until it reaches smoking point, then let it cool slightly before adding spices or ingredients, a common step for mustard oil in Indian cooking.
• Use for everyday tempering, curries, frying or pickling.

Pack size: 1 litre. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.