Indian

TRS Poppy Seeds are the small cream-white Indian variety, khus khus — paler and milder than the blue-grey European type. Ground with water they make a thick, faintly nutty paste that thickens a gravy without any flour or cream.

Best for

• Korma, and Bengali and Hyderabadi gravies
• Aloo posto and other posto dishes
• Sweets, and sprinkling over naan and breads

Using it

Soak them in warm water for twenty to thirty minutes before grinding — dry seeds are too small and hard for most mills to catch. Grind to a smooth paste with a little of the soaking water and stir it into the gravy towards the end, then cook gently, as the paste can catch and scorch on the bottom of the pan.

Pack and storage

100 g. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

TRS Cloves are whole dried flower buds, dark brown and nail-shaped, with a powerful sweet-hot aroma and a numbing edge on the tongue. They are one of the strongest spices in the cupboard, so three or four are usually enough for a whole pot.

Best for

• Biryani, pulao and korma
• Garam masala, both whole and ground
• Masala chai, and slow-cooked meat curries

How to cook it

Fry whole cloves in hot ghee at the start, alongside cinnamon, bay leaf and cardamom, for a few seconds until they swell slightly. Take them out before serving if you can find them — a whole clove bitten into is unpleasantly strong. For chai, one or two crushed cloves simmered with the tea is plenty.

Pack and storage

50 g. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Thokku Pickle is made in the thokku style, grated and cooked down in oil until it becomes a thick, spreadable paste rather than a pickle of whole pieces. It is made without garlic, and it is sour and hot in roughly equal measure.

Best for

• Hot rice with a spoon of oil or ghee
• Curd rice and lemon rice
• Chapati, paratha and dosa

Serving

A thokku mixes straight into hot rice without needing to be chopped or mashed first, which is the main reason to keep one in the house. Use a dry spoon on every occasion and smooth the surface afterwards so the oil covers the pickle again. Start with a teaspoon for a plate of rice and add more to taste, since the salt level is high.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Haldiram's Veg Shami Kebab is a frozen patty of ground lentils, vegetables, herbs and spices, shaped small and flat and set at a medium heat level. The lentil base gives it a soft, dense centre with a crust that firms up as it cooks.

Best for

• Starters with mint chutney and onion rings
• Stuffing into wraps, rolls and buns
• Party platters

How to cook it

Cook from frozen without thawing. Shallow fry in a little oil over medium heat for three to four minutes a side until browned and hot through. In an air fryer, cook at 180°C for 10 to 12 minutes, turning once. In an oven, brush with oil and bake at 200°C for 15 to 18 minutes, turning halfway.

Pack and storage

300 g pack containing 12 pieces. Keep frozen at -18°C. Do not refreeze once thawed.

MDH Dal Makhani Masala is the blend for the slow-cooked Punjabi dal of whole black urad and kidney beans finished with butter and cream. It is warm and mild rather than hot, so it supports the dairy richness instead of cutting through it.

Best for

• Dal makhani with whole urad and rajma
• Kali dal and other slow-simmered lentil dishes
• Buttery tomato-based gravies

Using it

Soak the whole urad and rajma overnight, then pressure cook until completely soft, six to eight whistles. Add the masala to the fried onion, ginger, garlic and tomato base and cook it in the ghee before the dal goes in. Two teaspoons suits a pot for four. Then simmer it low and long, stirring often, and add butter and cream at the end.

Pack and storage

100g pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

TRS Gram Flour is besan, milled from split brown chickpeas — pale yellow, savoury, and naturally gluten-free. This is the 2 kg pack, the size that makes sense if you fry pakora regularly or cook for a large household.

Best for

• Pakora, bhajia and fritter batters in quantity
• Kadhi, besan chilla and dhokla
• Besan laddu, Mysore pak, and thickening gravies

How to cook it

Whisk the flour into the water gradually rather than the reverse — besan lumps at the first opportunity. Pakora batter wants the thickness of double cream and ten minutes of rest. For kadhi, blend the besan into cold yoghurt and raise the heat slowly, stirring, so it does not split. Either way, cook it a good ten minutes to lose the raw taste.

Pack and storage

2 kg. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

TRS Cumin Powder (Jeera) is ground cumin seed, warm and slightly bitter with the smoky note that runs through most Indian cooking. Ground cumin disperses through a gravy in a way whole seeds never do, so it works where you want the flavour everywhere rather than in bursts.

Best for

• Curry and gravy bases, alongside coriander powder
• Raita, chaat and jeera aloo
• Marinades, kebab mixes and spice rubs

Using it

Add it once the onions have softened and cook for 30 to 60 seconds before any liquid goes in — that short fry takes off the raw, dusty edge. A common ratio in north Indian gravies is two parts coriander powder to one part cumin. For raita or chaat, a dry-roasted pinch stirred in at the end is better than cooked.

Pack and storage

100 g. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Haldiram's Minute Khana Lachcha Paratha is a frozen flatbread coiled from a rolled rope of dough so it cooks into many fine, separate layers. Pressed while hot, it opens out into visible strands — the flakiest of the parathas, at a medium spice level.

Best for

• Serving with rich curries and kebabs
• Weekend meals where the bread matters
• Mopping up thick gravies

How to cook it

Cook from frozen — no thawing. Heat a tawa over medium heat and cook the paratha dry for about two minutes a side, then add a little ghee or oil and crisp each side for another thirty seconds. As soon as it comes off the pan, clap or crush it lightly between your palms so the layers open.

Pack and storage

360 g pack containing 6 pieces. Keep frozen at -18°C. Do not refreeze once thawed.

Aachi Kashmiri Chilli Powder is made from Kashmiri dried chillies, prized for their deep red colour and mild heat. It adds a rich crimson hue to dishes like tikka, rogan josh and tandoori preparations without excessive spiciness.

• Brilliant deep red colour, mild heat
• Essential for tikka, rogan josh and tandoori dishes
  

Townbus Madras Mixture is the Chennai-style snack medley: sev, fried lentils, peanuts and gram-flour strands tumbled together with curry leaves and spices. What makes a good mixture is the variety of textures in a single handful, and this one runs from fine threads to whole nuts. It is savoury with a steady chilli warmth behind it.

Best with

• Tea and filter coffee
• A snack bowl put out for guests
• Spooned over curd rice or bhel
• Evening snacking and travel

Pack and storage

170g pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening. Tip it into an airtight jar once the pack is open, as the fine sev in the mix absorbs moisture first and takes the rest of the mixture soft with it.

Schani Black Salt Powder (Kala Namak) has a distinctive sulphurous flavour widely used in Indian chaat masala, chutneys, and refreshing drinks like jal jeera.

Annam Black Gram (Urid Dal Chilka) is urad split in half with the dark skin left on, which is what the word chilka refers to. It cooks softer than whole urad but keeps more texture and a deeper, earthier taste than the skinless white dal.

Best for

• Urad chilka dal with ginger and garlic
• Mixed dal, panchmel dal and dhaba-style lentils
• Adding body to dosa and adai batters

How to cook it

Rinse until the water runs clear and soak for about an hour. Pressure cook one cup with three cups of water and a pinch of turmeric for four to five whistles, then finish with a tempering of cumin, garlic and chilli in ghee. It thickens as it stands, so keep a little hot water aside to loosen it before serving.

Pack and storage

1kg pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

TRS Ajwain / Lovage Seeds are tiny ridged seeds with a sharp, thyme-like pungency — the same compound that gives thyme its bite is what you taste here. They are strong, so a pinch goes a long way.

Best for

• Paratha, puri and savoury pastry dough
• Pakora and bhajia batter
• Fish and prawn marinades, and pickles

How to cook it

Crush the seeds lightly between your palms as you add them — whole and uncrushed they give up very little. A quarter teaspoon is plenty for a batch of dough or batter. In a tempering they go into hot oil for a few seconds only, usually alongside cumin.

Pack and storage

100 g. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Priya Lime Pickle in Lime Juice is lime pieces cured in their own juice and salt rather than in oil, which makes it sharper and cleaner on the palate than an oil pickle. The rind softens as the jar stands, and sourness leads, with chilli behind it.

Best for

• Curd rice
• Sambar rice and a South Indian thali
• Dosa, idli and chapati

Serving

Serve a piece or two at the side of the plate; this is a sharp pickle and a little sets off a whole meal. Use a dry spoon every time and press the pieces back under the juice before closing the jar, since fruit left above the liquid is what spoils first. There is no oil layer here, so the juice is doing that job and should never be poured away.

Pack and storage

300g jar. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Haldiram Kashmiri Mixture is a ready-to-eat namkeen built from fine gram flour sev, fried lentils, peanuts and raisins in a lightly spiced blend. The raisins give it a sweet-sour lift against the salt, so it eats milder and rounder than a Bombay or Punjabi mixture.

Best with

• Afternoon chai or coffee
• Scattering over bhel, chaat or curd rice
• Snack bowls when guests drop in

Pack and storage

200 g pack. Store in a cool, dry place and keep the pack sealed after opening so the mix stays crisp.

TRS Semolina Fine is durum wheat milled to a fine grain — smoother and more powdery than the coarse rava, closer in feel to flour. The fine cut absorbs liquid quickly and sets soft, which is what a smooth halwa or a batter needs.

Best for

• Sooji halwa and sheera
• Rava idli, and soft idli and dosa batters
• Sooji ka cheela, and light baking

How to cook it

Roast it in ghee over low heat for five to seven minutes until it turns a shade darker and smells nutty — fine semolina catches faster than coarse, so keep it moving. For halwa, use roughly 1 part semolina to 3 parts hot liquid, added slowly and stirred hard to stop lumps. Do not substitute it for coarse rava in upma; it goes sticky.

Pack and storage

500 g. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Annam Split Chickpeas (Chana Dal) are husked, split brown chickpeas, noticeably firmer than toor or moong. They hold their shape when cooked, so you get distinct pieces rather than a smooth purée, with a nutty, mildly sweet taste.

Best for

• Chana dal tadka and dal with bottle gourd
• Sundal, usili and dry South Indian sides
• Grinding into vada batter and stuffing for puran poli

How to cook it

Rinse and soak for at least an hour, longer if you can, as unsoaked chana dal takes a long time to give way. Pressure cook one cup with three cups of water and a pinch of turmeric for four to five whistles for a soft dal, or three whistles if you want the pieces intact. Salt at the end. For vada or sundal, soak but do not overcook.

Pack and storage

1kg pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

MDH Kasoori Methi is dried fenugreek leaf, sold whole rather than ground, and it is a finishing herb rather than a masala. It carries a distinctive faint bitterness and a savoury aroma that is instantly recognisable in Punjabi restaurant cooking.

Best for

• Butter chicken, paneer makhani and other creamy gravies
• Dal makhani, rajma and methi malai matar
• Kneading into paratha and naan dough

Using it

Crush it between your palms over the pan so the leaves break up and the aroma releases, and add it in the last two minutes of cooking. Around a teaspoon of crushed leaf is enough for a dish serving four. It is potent, and too much turns a gravy bitter, so start small. In dough, work half a teaspoon into each cup of flour.

Pack and storage

100g pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Haldiram's Bhelpuri with Chutney is a complete bhel kit — puffed rice and crisp sev in the pack with sachets of chutney to stir through just before eating. Add chopped onion, tomato and coriander if you have them, mix everything together and eat it straight away while it is still crunchy.

Best with

• A quick evening chaat at home
• Serving at parties as a make-it-yourself bowl
• Chai on the side

Pack and storage

350 g pack. Store in a cool, dry place and keep the pack sealed until you are ready to mix, as the puffed rice softens quickly once dressed.

Haldiram's Boondi Plain is gram flour boondi fried crisp and salted, with none of the masala coating. Because it is simply seasoned it takes on whatever you put it with, which is why it is the version cooks keep for raita and rice.

Best with

• Stirring into boondi raita
• Topping curd rice, dal or khichdi
• Plain snacking for anyone avoiding spice

Pack and storage

200 g pack. Store in a cool, dry place and seal the pack after opening.

Aachi Chicken Curry Masala is a rich, full-bodied spice blend for classic Indian chicken curry. Made with coriander, cumin, pepper and warming spices, it creates a deeply flavourful gravy every time.

• Rich spice blend for authentic chicken curry
• Balanced coriander, cumin and warm spice base
  

Townbus Avalakki Mixture is the Karnataka-style snack mix built on roasted flattened rice, or avalakki, with fried lentils, peanuts, curry leaves and spices through it. It is lighter than a gram-flour mixture because the poha stays airy rather than dense, and the seasoning is savoury and mildly hot. Every handful comes out slightly different depending on what you pick up.

Best with

• Tea or coffee in the afternoon
• A snack bowl for guests
• Topped over curd rice or a plate of chaat
• Long journeys and desk drawers

Pack and storage

150g pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening. Flattened rice softens quickly in damp air, so decant the mixture into an airtight jar once the pack is open.

Annam Red Parboiled (Matta) Rice is the bold, reddish-brown rice of Kerala, parboiled before milling with part of the red bran left on the grain. It has a distinctly earthy taste and a firm, chewy bite, and it is the rice that Kerala meals are actually built around rather than a substitute for white rice.

Best for

• Kerala meals with fish curry, sambar or thoran
• Kanji, the rice gruel eaten with pickle and pappadam
• Puttu and other ground rice preparations

How to cook it

It takes far longer than ordinary rice. Rinse, soak for an hour, then boil in plenty of water in an open pot for thirty-five to forty-five minutes until the grains are soft but still have bite, and drain. In a pressure cooker use one cup to three cups of water for five to six whistles. Keep the starchy drained water for kanji.

Pack and storage

5Kg bag. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Annam Toor Dal is split pigeon pea, the workhorse lentil of South Indian kitchens, in a smaller pack for households that cook dal a few times a week. It softens into a smooth, mildly sweet purée and takes a mustard-and-curry-leaf tempering well.

Best for

• Sambar for rice, idli and dosa
• Plain dal with tomato, garlic and green chilli
• Kootu, pappu and dal with spinach or gourd

How to cook it

Rinse well and soak for half an hour if you have the time. Pressure cook one cup with two and a half to three cups of water and a little turmeric and oil for three to four whistles, then whisk it smooth. Add salt and tamarind only once the dal is cooked, as both slow down softening if they go in at the start.

Pack and storage

500g pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.