Under €2

Lemon is called nimbu in Hindi and Zitrone in German. The variety sold here is the familiar yellow lemon, with a firm rind, juicy acidic flesh, and a sharp sour flavour.

In Indian cooking it is squeezed over dals and curries just before serving, used to make nimbu pani (lemon water) or achaar (pickle), and added to marinades. In German cooking it flavours dressings, cakes, and drinks.

How to use

• Roll firmly on the counter before cutting to release more juice.
• A squeeze of lemon added at the end of cooking, rather than during, keeps its flavour brighter.
• Store at room temperature for a few days or in the fridge for two to three weeks.

Aachi Egg Curry Masala is a specially formulated spice blend for egg-based curries, delivering a rich, flavourful gravy that complements both boiled eggs and egg fry dishes.

• Tailored spice balance for egg curry
• Creates rich, flavourful gravy
  

Priya Idli Karam is the dry spice powder eaten with idli and dosa across Andhra and Telangana, ground from lentils and red chillies with salt. It is coarse, pungent and properly hot, and it is served dry at the table with oil or ghee added on the plate rather than cooked into a dish.

Best for

• Idli and dosa with a spoon of sesame oil
• Upma and pesarattu
• Hot rice with ghee

Using it

Put a teaspoon on the plate, mix it with sesame oil or ghee to a loose paste, and dip the idli or dosa into it; mixing at the table is what keeps the powder dry in the jar. It can also be sprinkled over a dosa on the tawa before folding, or stirred into hot rice with ghee. Use a dry spoon, as any moisture will cake the powder.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Rajmah Masala is the blend for the Punjabi red kidney bean curry eaten with rice. It is warm and moderately tangy, with enough body to season beans that are simmered long and mashed slightly to thicken their own gravy.

Best for

• Rajma chawal with red kidney beans
• Mixed bean and chickpea curries
• Lobia and other whole-pulse dishes

Using it

Soak the kidney beans overnight, then pressure cook them in fresh water until soft enough to crush, around six whistles. Fry onion, ginger, garlic and tomato, add two and a half teaspoons of the masala for 250g of dry beans and cook until the oil separates. Add the beans with their liquid, mash a few against the pan and simmer twenty minutes so the gravy thickens.

Pack and storage

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

Aubergine, 1 piece — the large purple variety, known in Indian kitchens as brinjal, baingan, vankaya or kathirikkai, and in German simply as Aubergine.

The flesh is mild and spongy raw and turns silky and almost creamy once cooked, which is why aubergine is treated as a body-giving vegetable rather than a flavouring one. Roast it whole over a flame and mash it for baingan bharta; cube it for a Bengali or Andhra curry; slice and fry it for bhaja, for a batter-fried bajji, or for the Mediterranean dishes it belongs to equally — moussaka, parmigiana, baba ganoush.

Choose a firm, glossy one that feels heavy for its size. Salting the cut slices for twenty minutes and patting them dry keeps them from soaking up oil. Store in the fridge and use within a few days.

TRS Rose Water is a clear, rose-scented water used as a flavouring in Indian and Middle Eastern sweets. It is a fraction of the strength of rose essence or concentrate, so it is measured in spoons rather than drops.

Best for

• Gulab jamun syrup and rasmalai
• Kheer, falooda and lassi
• Barfi, halwa and sweet biryani finishes

Using it

Add it at the end, off the heat — the aroma is volatile and simmering drives it straight off. A teaspoon or two is enough for a full batch of syrup or a litre of milk. Start with less and taste, because too much rose tips a dessert from fragrant to soapy and there is no taking it back out.

Pack and storage

190 ml bottle. Store in a cool, dry place away from direct light, and keep the cap closed tightly.

TRS Madras Curry Powder — Hot is the fuller-strength blend in the Madras range, built on coriander, cumin, turmeric, fenugreek and a heavier hand of chilli. It carries real heat, not just colour.

This is the Hot grade. If you would rather have the aroma without the burn, the Mild version of the same blend is the one to reach for.

Best for

• Madras curries with lamb, chicken or fish
• Dry-fried potato and vegetable dishes
• Marinades, and seasoning for rice and lentils

Using it

Fry the powder in a little oil for 30 to 60 seconds before adding onions or tomatoes. That short bloom takes away the raw edge and brings the aroma out properly.

Pack and storage

100 g. Keep sealed, away from heat and light.

Bad Reichenhaller Iodized Salt + Fluorine 500g

Priya Extra Hot Mango Avakaya Pickle is the Andhra avakaya made at a higher chilli level: raw mango pieces cured in mustard, chilli powder and oil, cut so the pieces hold their shape. Take the name literally. This is a genuinely fierce pickle and the mustard sits right behind the heat.

Best for

• Hot rice with a generous spoon of ghee
• Curd rice, which takes the edge off
• Plain dosa or pesarattu

Serving

A quarter-teaspoon is a serving for most people, so start smaller than you would with a milder pickle. Use a dry spoon at every serving and press the pieces back down so the oil covers the pickle before the jar is closed, because the part that sits above the oil is the part that spoils. Always serve something plain and cooling next to it.

Pack and storage

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

Priya Tender Mango Pickle is whole baby mangoes, vadu mangai, cured in salted brine rather than in oil. The small fruit stay firm and are eaten whole, and the brine itself turns sour and salty enough to be spooned over rice on its own.

Best for

• Curd rice
• Plain rice with a little of the brine spooned over
• Lemon rice and other tiffin rice dishes

Serving

Lift out two or three mangoes at a time with a dry spoon, never with fingers, and push the remaining fruit back under the liquid before closing the jar, as anything left standing above the brine will spoil. The brine is part of the pickle and should not be drained off. This one is particularly good served cool with curd rice in warm weather.

Pack and storage

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

Spring onion is called hari pyaz in Hindi and Fruehlingszwiebel in German. It has a small white bulb with a mild oniony bite and long green stalks with a fresher, milder flavour than mature onion.

Both the white and green parts are used in Indo-Chinese cooking such as fried rice and manchurian, chopped raw as a garnish over chaat and salads, and stirred into a quick vegetable stir-fry. In German cooking it is common raw in salads or as a topping.

How to use

• Trim the root end and any wilted tips, then rinse well.
• The white bulb can be cooked briefly for flavour while the green tops are best added at the end or used raw.
• Keep in the fridge wrapped loosely and use within about a week.

Carrots, called gajar in Hindi and Karotten in German, are firm orange roots with a sweet, earthy flavour, crunchy when raw and softening when cooked.

In Indian cooking they go into gajar ka halwa, a sweet carrot dessert, into a simple carrot sabzi or poriyal, and into mixed vegetable curries and pickles. In German cooking they are a common base for soups, stews, and Rohkost salads.

How to use

• Scrub or peel before use, depending on preference.
• Grate for salads and halwa, or cut into rounds or sticks for cooking.
• Store in the fridge, ideally in a bag; they keep for two to three weeks.

Vegetables 

Aachi Pani Puri Kit brings together the crisp hollow puris and the masala for the spiced water, so the street-food snack can be put together at home without hunting down the parts separately. The masala is sour and salty with mint and cumin behind it, which is the flavour people are actually after when they order pani puri.

Best for

• Pani puri and golgappa at home
• Party and gathering snacks, since guests assemble their own
• Using the masala on its own over fruit chaat or salad

How to cook it

Stir the masala into cold water, taste it, and let it stand for twenty to thirty minutes so the flavour comes out fully; adding fresh coriander, mint and a squeeze of lemon lifts it further. Chill the water well, as lukewarm pani is the usual disappointment. Boiled potato and soaked chickpeas make the standard filling. Crack the top of each puri, fill it, dip and eat it in one, and assemble only as you go, because a filled puri collapses within seconds.

Pack and storage

133g 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 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
  

Weihenstephan Joghurt Natur 3,5 % Fett

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.

Barilla Fusilli No.98 Pasta 500g

Priya Gongura Onion Pickle takes the same sour roselle-leaf base and cooks onion into it, which rounds off the sharp edge and gives the pickle more body and a faint sweetness. It is made without garlic, and it is the gentler of the gongura pickles.

Best for

• Hot rice with ghee or sesame oil
• Curd rice and dal rice
• Chapati, dosa and paratha

Serving

Because the onion softens the sourness, this one takes a fuller spoonful than plain gongura and works better as a spread on a chapati or roll. Use a dry spoon at every serving and press the pickle down so the oil settles back over the top before closing the jar. Never return leftover pickle from a plate to the jar.

Pack and storage

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

Haldiram's Dakshin Express Madras Mixture is a south Indian style namkeen of thin sev, fried lentils, peanuts and curry leaves in a coconut-and-chilli seasoning. The curry leaf and the heat are more pronounced than in a northern mixture, giving it a drier, spicier finish.

Best with

• Filter coffee or chai
• Evening snacking with a bit of heat
• Serving alongside upma or curd rice

Pack and storage

180 g pack. Keep in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.