Spices & Masala Blends

Aachi Kashmiri Chilli Whole is the mild dried red chilli kept for colour rather than heat. Whole chillies hold their colour and aroma far better than a ground powder does, so grinding or soaking them as you need them gives a noticeably deeper red than a jar of powder that has been open for months.

Best for

• Tandoori and tikka marinades
• Butter chicken, rogan josh and other rich North Indian gravies
• Chilli pastes, pickles and chutneys

Using it

For colour, soak four or five chillies in hot water for twenty minutes, drain, and grind to a smooth paste, then fry that paste in oil until the oil itself turns red. A wet paste gives up far more colour than dry powder. For tempering, drop one or two in whole and take them out before they darken. If the dish also needs heat, use these for the colour and a hotter chilli for the bite.

Pack and storage

100g pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening, in an airtight jar away from light.

MTR Lemon Rice Powder is a ready-made seasoning mix for preparing lemon rice, also known as chitranna, a popular South Indian rice dish flavoured with lemon, mustard seeds, curry leaves and peanuts. Instead of preparing the tempering and spice mix from scratch, this powder is simply mixed into cooked rice.

The finished dish has a tangy, citrusy flavour balanced with the nutty crunch of peanuts and the mild heat of curry leaf tempering, and is often eaten on its own or packed as a travel meal.

How to use

• Cook plain rice and let it cool slightly.
• Mix in the lemon rice powder along with a little oil, tossing gently until evenly coated.
• Adjust the amount of powder to taste and serve at room temperature or slightly warm.

Pack size: 100g. Store in a cool, dry place.

MDH Karahi Chicken Masala is the blend for chicken cooked quickly in a karahi with tomato, ginger and green chilli. It is pepper-forward and lightly tangy, meant for a thick clinging masala rather than a thin, slow-simmered gravy.

Best for

• Chicken karahi and kadai chicken
• Quick tomato-based chicken dishes
• Dry-fried chicken with capsicum and onion

Using it

Fry the chicken in hot oil until it colours, add chopped tomato and cook it down, then stir in two to three teaspoons for half a kilo of chicken. Keep the flame high and stir until the oil separates and the masala coats the pieces. Add julienned ginger and green chilli at the end, and keep water out of it so the gravy stays thick.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Pav Bhaji Masala is the blend behind Mumbai's mashed vegetable bhaji, and it is more tangy than hot. Dried mango and black pepper give it the sharp finish that makes the dish taste of the street cart rather than of a plain vegetable curry.

Best for

• Pav bhaji with potato, peas, capsicum and tomato
• Masala pav and tawa-fried vegetables
• Spiced potato fillings and toasted sandwiches

Using it

Fry it in butter with the onion and tomato until the mixture darkens, then mash the boiled vegetables straight into the pan. About two and a half teaspoons suits a bhaji for four. Keep mashing on a low flame so the masala works right through, and add a small extra pinch with a squeeze of lemon just before serving to lift the tang.

Pack and storage

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

Aachi Fish Curry Masala is a coastal-style spice blend with tamarind, kokum and warming spices that perfectly complement fish and seafood. It creates rich, tangy South Indian fish curry gravies with minimal effort.

• Coastal spice blend with tamarind notes
• Perfect for South Indian fish curry and gravy
  

Aachi Tandoori Chicken Masala is a classic clay-oven inspired marinade spice blend that gives chicken its unmistakeable smoky, charred red colour and flavour. Perfect for tandoor, oven or grill cooking.

• Authentic tandoori colour and smoke flavour
• Suitable for oven, grill and BBQ cooking
• Wholesale tray: 100g x 10 packs per tray

Aachi Chilli Chicken Masala is an Indo-Chinese spice blend that perfectly replicates the bold, saucy flavour of restaurant chilli chicken. Featuring soy, pepper and aromatic spices, it's ideal for the classic dry or gravy version.

• Indo-Chinese chilli chicken spice profile
• Suitable for both dry and gravy-style chilli chicken
  

Aachi Hyderabadi Dum Biryani Masala is a carefully balanced spice blend capturing the royal flavours of Hyderabadi dum biryani. It combines star anise, kewra, saffron notes and warm spices for an authentic result every time.

• Authentic Hyderabadi dum biryani spice profile
• Contains whole spice extracts and saffron notes
  

MDH Chana Masala is the tangy blend used for North Indian chole, where dried mango and pomegranate seed do more work than chilli does. That sourness is what gives cooked chickpeas their dark colour and sharp finish.

Best for

• Chole served with bhature, puri or steamed rice
• Dry pindi-style chickpeas with very little gravy
• Chickpea chaat with onion, tomato and lemon

Using it

Soak dried chickpeas overnight and pressure cook them soft, six to seven whistles, keeping the cooking water. Fry the onion, ginger, garlic and tomato base, then add three teaspoons for 250g of dry chickpeas and let it darken in the oil. Add the chickpeas and their water, simmer twenty minutes and crush a spoonful against the side of the pan to thicken the gravy.

Pack and storage

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

MTR Vangi Bath Masala is a spice powder for making vangi bath, a South Indian rice dish made with brinjal (eggplant/aubergine) and a distinctive spice blend. The masala saves the effort of roasting and grinding individual spices at home, giving a consistent flavour each time.

Vangi bath made with this masala has a robust, spiced and slightly tangy taste, with the softened brinjal absorbing the flavours of the spice mix through the rice.

How to use

• Cook rice separately and let it cool slightly.
• Saute chopped brinjal and onions in oil, then add the vangi bath masala and a little water, cooking until the vegetables soften.
• Mix the cooked rice into the brinjal mixture until evenly coated, then serve warm.

Pack size: 100g. Store in a cool, dry place.

TRS Fenugreek Methi Seeds are the small, hard, amber seeds with a maple-like aroma and a pronounced bitterness. This is the 1 kg pack — the size for pickle-making and for grinding your own sambar and rasam powders rather than for occasional tempering.

Best for

• Mango, lime and mixed pickles in quantity
• Homemade sambar powder and rasam powder
• South Indian tempering, fish curries and sprouting

How to cook it

In a tempering they go into hot oil first but for a second or two only — past golden they turn harshly bitter and there is no rescuing the dish. A quarter teaspoon is right for a family-sized pot. For idli and dosa batter, soak a teaspoon with the rice; it helps the batter ferment and gives a softer result.

Pack and storage

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

Aachi Pav Bhaji Masala captures the iconic buttery, tangy and mildly spiced flavour of Mumbai's famous street food. Use it to make authentic pav bhaji from mixed vegetables in minutes.

• Buttery tangy spice blend for Mumbai Street food
• Balanced spice profile for the whole family
  

Aachi Idicha Sambar Powder is a freshly ground style sambar spice blend with a coarser texture that adds an extra layer of flavour and aroma to your sambar. Ideal for traditional home-style cooking.

• Coarser ground sambar powder for extra flavour depth
• Traditional home-style sambar recipe
  

Aachi Paneer Butter Masala is a rich, creamy spice blend for the beloved North Indian cottage cheese dish. Its tomato, butter and cashew-inspired flavour profile creates a restaurant-quality, mildly spiced gravy at home.

• Creamy tomato-butter spice profile
• Restaurant-quality results at home
  

Aachi Kulambu Chilli Masala is a tangy, bold spice blend for South Indian kulambu (thick tamarind-based gravies). It balances chilli heat with tamarind tartness and aromatic spices for an authentic flavour.

• Tangy tamarind-based gravy spice blend
• Perfect for chettinad kulambu and tamarind curries
  

Aachi Rasam Powder is a South Indian spice blend ground for rasam, the thin peppery tamarind broth served over rice. Black pepper and cumin lead it, with coriander, red chilli and asafoetida behind them, so it tastes sharp and aromatic rather than heavy.

Best for

• Tomato, pepper and lemon rasam
• Seasoning thin tamarind broths and clear soups
• A pinch stirred into dal, buttermilk curries and vegetable stir-fries

Using it

Allow about one heaped teaspoon per two cups of rasam. Bring tamarind extract to a boil with chopped tomato, salt and a pinch of turmeric, stir in the powder and let it boil two or three minutes so the raw edge cooks off. Add the thin water from cooked toor dal, then pull the pan off the heat the moment it froths at the edges — rasam turns bitter if it boils hard once the dal is in. Finish with a tempering of ghee, mustard seeds and curry leaves, and fresh coriander.

Pack and storage

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

Aachi Fish Fry Masala is a crispy coating spice mix that gives fried fish a beautifully spiced, golden crust. Packed with chilli, turmeric and aromatic spices, it is the go-to masala for South Indian fish fry.

• Crispy coating spice mix for pan or deep-frying
• Bold chilli and turmeric flavour profile
• Wholesale tray: 100g x 10 packs per tray

Aachi Special Bombay Biryani Masala captures the tangy, aromatic style of Mumbai's iconic Bombay biryani. Featuring dried plums, potatoes and a vibrant spice blend, it delivers a unique sweet-spicy flavour profile.

• Authentic Bombay biryani spice profile
• Notes of dried fruit and tangy spices
  

Priya Rasam Masala is the ground blend for rasam, with pepper and cumin forward and coriander and dried chilli behind them. Rasam is the thin, sour, peppery broth eaten with rice towards the end of a South Indian meal, and this blend is built for that rather than for a thick gravy.

Best for

• Tomato rasam and pepper rasam
• Rasam rice with a spoon of ghee
• Drinking as a clear broth on its own

Using it

Simmer tamarind water with chopped tomato, salt and a teaspoon of the masala for four servings until the raw tamarind smell is gone, about five minutes. Add thin dal water or plain water, and take the pot off the heat the moment it froths at the edges. Rasam should never reach a rolling boil, which dulls the pepper. Temper mustard seeds and curry leaves in ghee, pour them over, and add fresh coriander at the last moment.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Butter Chicken Masala is a mild blend for the creamy tomato gravy of murgh makhani, built for richness rather than heat. Dried fenugreek leaf and warm spices give it the slightly bitter, buttery edge that distinguishes butter chicken from an ordinary tomato curry.

Best for

• Butter chicken with grilled or pan-fried chicken
• Paneer butter masala and makhani gravies
• Marinating chicken in yoghurt before roasting

Using it

Split it between the marinade and the gravy. Use about a teaspoon in yoghurt with ginger and garlic for half a kilo of chicken, then another two teaspoons in the tomato base once it has cooked down and been blended smooth. Add butter and cream at the end on a low flame, and keep it below a boil so the sauce stays glossy.

Pack and storage

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

Aachi Pepper Chicken Masala is a bold, peppery spice blend for the popular South Indian dry pepper chicken dish. Featuring whole cracked black pepper, fennel and aromatic spices, it delivers intense heat and fragrance.

• Intense black pepper-forward spice blend
• Ideal for dry-style South Indian pepper chicken
  

Aachi Paneer Tikka Masala is a smoky, tandoori-inspired spice blend for marinating and grilling paneer. It gives cottage cheese the classic charred exterior and bold flavour of restaurant paneer tikka.

• Tandoori-style marinade for paneer
• Bold grilled and charred flavour profile
  

Aachi Madras Sambar Powder is a traditional Tamil Nadu-style sambar spice blend combining roasted coriander, cumin, red chilli and curry leaves. It creates the classic tangy, aromatic sambar in minutes.

• Classic Madras-style sambar spice blend
• Made with roasted coriander, cumin and curry leaves
  

Aachi Prawn Fry Masala is a coastal seafood spice blend designed to create perfectly marinated, pan-fried prawns with a bold, spiced crust. Ideal for both dry fry and semi-gravy prawn preparations.

• Coastal seafood spice blend for prawn dishes
• Bold chilli and pepper for crispy coating