Powdered Spices

TRS Chilli Powder Kashmir is ground Kashmiri chilli, prized for the deep red colour it gives a dish rather than for heat. It is noticeably milder than ordinary chilli powder, so you can use a generous spoonful without the gravy becoming fierce.

Best for

• Rogan josh, butter chicken and tandoori marinades
• Rajma, chole and other tomato-based gravies
• Tempering, where colour matters as much as flavour

Using it

Bloom it in warm oil or ghee for a few seconds before the onions or tomatoes go in — that is what releases the colour. Keep the heat moderate; even a mild chilli powder turns bitter if it burns. If a recipe calls for both, use this for the body of the colour and a small pinch of hot chilli powder for the heat.

Pack and storage

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

TRS Haldi / Turmeric Powder is ground turmeric root, deep yellow and slightly bitter with an earthy, musky aroma. It goes into almost every Indian savoury dish, usually in small quantity, as much for colour as for taste.

Best for

• Dals, sambar and everyday vegetable curries
• Marinating fish and chicken before frying
• Rice dishes, pickles and spice pastes

Using it

A quarter to half a teaspoon is enough for a family-sized dal — too much turns the dish bitter and muddy. Add it early, with the onions or straight into the cooking dal, so it has time to lose its raw taste. It stains cloth and plastic readily, so wipe spills straight away.

Pack and storage

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

TRS Chilli Powder is ground dried red chilli and nothing else — no salt, no blended spices. It is there for heat rather than colour, which is what separates it from the Kashmiri grade.

Best for

• Curries, gravies and masala bases
• Marinades for meat and fish
• Pickles, chutneys and dry rubs

Using it

Add it to hot oil alongside the other ground spices for a few seconds only — it scorches fast and turns bitter if left. Start with less than you think you need; more can always be stirred in later. For a dish that looks red but eats gently, use Kashmiri chilli powder for most of the quantity and a pinch of this for the bite.

Pack and storage

100 g. 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.

TRS Amchur Powder is dried green mango, ground to a pale beige powder. It is a souring agent — sharp and fruity, with none of the wetness that lemon juice or tamarind would add to a dish.

Best for

• Chana masala, chaat masala and aloo chaat
• Dry vegetable stir-fries and stuffed parathas
• Marinades, and samosa and pakora fillings

Using it

Add it near the end of cooking rather than at the start — long heat dulls the sourness. Half to one teaspoon will sharpen a family-sized dish. Because it is dry, it is the right choice for anything that must not go watery, such as a paratha stuffing or a dry sabzi. A squeeze of lemon can stand in, but the flavour is fruitier, not the same.

Pack and storage

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

Schani Cumin Powder is ground jeera — warm, earthy and faintly bitter, one of the two or three spices an Indian kitchen never runs out of. 100g.

Ground cumin goes in where whole seeds would be too coarse: into curry and sabzi masalas, dal, chole, rajma and kebab mixes, into raita, buttermilk and jaljeera, and dusted over chaat and fruit. It is also a backbone of garam masala and of most Middle Eastern and Mexican spice blends.

Add it to the pan with the onions and tomatoes rather than at the very start, since ground cumin scorches faster than the whole seed. Keep the pack tightly closed in a cool, dark cupboard — ground spice loses its aroma quickly once air gets to it.

Aachi Dhal Garlic Rice Powder is a savory seasoning powder made with roasted dal, garlic, chilli and spices to transform plain rice into the South Indian favourite 'dal rice'. Quick, easy and packed with flavour.

• Instant dal-garlic seasoning for plain rice
• Rich garlicky and spiced flavour
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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.

TRS Cumin Powder (Jeera) is ground cumin seed — warm, earthy and faintly smoky, and one of the two ground spices most Indian gravies are built on. This is the large 400 g catering-size pack for a kitchen that goes through it steadily.

Best for

• Everyday curry and gravy bases
• Jeera aloo, raita and chaat
• Kebab mixes, marinades and dry rubs

Using it

Fry it with the softened onions for 30 to 60 seconds before adding tomatoes or water, so the raw edge cooks off. Two parts coriander powder to one part cumin is a reliable starting point for a north Indian gravy. Because the pack is large, decant a few weeks' worth into a small jar and keep the rest sealed — ground spice fades once air gets at it.

Pack and storage

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

TRS Cinnamon (Dalchini) Powder is cinnamon bark ground to a fine powder — warm, sweet and woody, and ready to measure by the spoon rather than snapped off a quill. Ground cinnamon spreads evenly through a batter or a gravy in a way whole bark cannot.

Best for

• Garam masala and homemade spice blends
• Cakes, porridge and baking
• Masala chai, and rich meat curries

Using it

A quarter to half a teaspoon is enough for most dishes — cinnamon dominates quickly and turns soapy if overdone. In a curry, add it with the other ground spices and fry for only a few seconds before the liquid goes in. Ground cinnamon loses its aroma faster than whole bark, so keep the jar closed and buy in the size you will get through.

Pack and storage

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

Lucullus Black Pepper Ground 50g

TRS Black Pepper Powder is ground black peppercorn — sharp, woody and pungent, with a heat quite unlike chilli. It is the everyday pepper for seasoning, ready ground so you are not reaching for the mill mid-recipe.

Best for

• Pepper chicken, pepper rasam and Chettinad dishes
• Soups, omelettes and everyday seasoning
• Masala chai, garam masala blends and marinades

Using it

Pepper loses its aroma with long cooking, so add it in the last few minutes rather than at the start. In a tempering, let it hit the oil only briefly. For rasam and pepper chicken, a heavier hand is the point — it is the pepper, not the chilli, doing the work.

Pack and storage

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

TRS Garlic Powder is dried garlic ground fine — sharp and savoury, with a drier, mellower flavour than fresh cloves and none of the peeling or chopping. It disperses evenly through a dry rub or a marinade in a way crushed garlic never will.

Best for

• Dry rubs, tandoori and kebab marinades
• Indo-Chinese sauces and noodle dishes
• Seasoning fries, popcorn and savoury snacks

Using it

Roughly a quarter teaspoon stands in for one fresh clove. Add it with the other ground spices rather than straight into hot oil, where it burns within seconds and turns acrid. For marinades, mix it into the yoghurt or oil first and give it a few minutes to hydrate before the meat goes in.

Pack and storage

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

TRS White Pepper Powder is ground from peppercorns with the outer skin removed, leaving a pale powder. The heat is cleaner and more direct than black pepper, without the woody, aromatic note, and it disappears into a pale sauce rather than speckling it.

Best for

• Cream sauces, soups and mashed potato
• Indo-Chinese dishes, sweetcorn soup and stir-fries
• Marinades for chicken and fish

Using it

Add it towards the end of cooking, as the heat fades with long simmering. Use a lighter hand than you would with black pepper — white pepper hits harder and can turn a sauce harsh. In Indo-Chinese cooking it is often the only pepper used, stirred in just before the dish leaves the wok.

Pack and storage

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

TRS Coriander / Dhania Powder is ground coriander seed — mild, citrusy and faintly sweet. It is used in larger quantity than most ground spices because it does the thickening as well as the flavouring in a gravy.

Best for

• Curry and korma bases, paired with cumin powder
• Chana masala, rajma and vegetable curries
• Marinades, and homemade masala blends

Using it

Add it after the onions have browned and fry for under a minute before the tomatoes or water go in. Two parts coriander to one part cumin is the usual balance in a north Indian gravy. If a curry tastes too sharp, another spoonful of coriander powder rounds it out better than sugar.

Pack and storage

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

LG Hing Powder (Asafoetida) is a pungent spice essential in Indian vegetarian cooking. Even a pinch adds a distinctive savoury depth to dals, curries, and pickles.

MDH Kashmiri Mirchi Powder is a single ground chilli rather than a blend, and it is used mainly for colour. It gives a deep red gravy with only mild heat, which is why it is the chilli of choice where the dish should look fiery but taste gentle.

Best for

• Rogan josh, butter chicken and tandoori marinades
• Tomato gravies that need depth of colour
• Pickles, chutneys and stuffed vegetables

Using it

Bloom it in hot oil or ghee for a few seconds off a high flame, as the colour releases into fat far better than into water. Keep the pan moving so it does not scorch and turn bitter. A teaspoon or two colours a curry for four. When you want real heat as well, pair it with a hotter chilli powder rather than simply using more of this one.

Pack and storage

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