Spices & Masala Blends

MDH Kitchen King Masala is an all-purpose blend for vegetarian gravies, meant to be the single jar you use when a dish has no masala of its own. It is rounded and aromatic rather than hot, so it fills out a gravy without pushing it in one direction.

Best for

• Mixed vegetable and paneer gravies
• Aloo matar, kofta and everyday dal
• Pulao and stuffed vegetable dishes

Using it

Add it once the onion and tomato base has cooked down and the oil has started to separate, and fry it for half a minute before the liquid goes in. Two teaspoons is about right for a dish serving four. It works well alongside a plain chilli powder, which lets you set the heat separately from the aroma. A small pinch stirred in at the end refreshes the fragrance.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Chana Masala is the blend for Punjabi chole, and its defining character is sourness rather than heat. Dried mango and pomegranate seed give it the dark, tangy finish that chickpeas need, with cumin and coriander behind them.

Best for

• Chole with white chickpeas, served with bhature or rice
• Pindi chole cooked dry with very little gravy
• Chickpea and potato chaat

Using it

Soak the chickpeas overnight and pressure cook them until they yield easily, six to seven whistles. Fry onion, ginger, garlic and tomato, then add about three teaspoons of the masala for 250g of dry chickpeas and cook it in the oil until it darkens. Add the chickpeas with some of their cooking water and simmer twenty minutes, crushing a few against the pan to thicken.

Pack and storage

Ground blend in a sealed pack. 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.

Udhaiyam Asafoetida Powder, or hing, is a pungent resin powder used in tiny quantities at the start of a dish. Straight from the jar the smell is sharp and off-putting; fried in hot oil for a second or two it turns savoury and rounded, and that transformation is the entire reason it is used.

Best for

• Tempering for dal, sambar and rasam
• Vegetable poriyal and kootu
• Pickles, and cooking for households that avoid onion and garlic

Using it

A pinch is the measure, not a spoon. Add it to the hot oil after the mustard seeds have popped and before anything else goes in, and move quickly, because it burns within seconds and turns acrid. In dishes cooked without onion or garlic it does much of the savoury work on its own. Keep the jar tightly shut and stored on its own, as the aroma will get into anything nearby.

Pack and storage

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