MDH

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.

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.

MDH Garam Masala is a finishing blend of warm aromatic spices, not a chilli powder and not a dish-specific masala. Cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper and cumin give it fragrance and depth, and it adds almost no heat of its own.

Best for

• Finishing dals, chana and rajma
• Chicken and mutton curries of any style
• Vegetable gravies, keema and pulao

Using it

Add it in the last few minutes of cooking, or stir it in off the heat, because long boiling flattens the aroma it exists to provide. Half to one teaspoon is enough for a dish serving four. If you prefer a deeper flavour, bloom a small pinch in hot ghee and pour it over the finished dish. Use it alongside, not instead of, the main spicing.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Chicken Masala is a straightforward everyday blend for chicken cooked in an onion and tomato gravy. It is balanced rather than specialised, with enough chilli to register and coriander and warm spices filling out the body.

Best for

• Home-style chicken curry with onion and tomato
• Chicken cooked with yoghurt or coconut milk
• Chicken keema and dry chicken fry

Using it

Brown the onion well, add ginger and garlic, then the masala, and fry it in the oil for thirty to forty seconds before the chicken goes in. Around two and a half teaspoons suits half a kilo of chicken. Let the chicken take colour in the masala before you add water, then simmer covered for fifteen to twenty minutes and reduce uncovered at the end.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Meat Curry Masala is a dark, robust blend for slow-cooked mutton and lamb, where the spicing has to hold up over a long simmer. It is heavier and warmer than an everyday sabzi masala, with pepper and toasted whole-spice notes coming through.

Best for

• Mutton or lamb curry with onion and tomato
• Goat curry cooked in a pressure cooker
• Beef and other slow-braised meat dishes

Using it

Brown the meat first, then add the masala to the fried onion, ginger and garlic and cook it in the oil for a minute before any water goes in. Three teaspoons suits half a kilo of meat. Pressure cook for four to five whistles, or simmer covered for an hour, then reduce the gravy uncovered at the end so the spices concentrate.

Pack and storage

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

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 Pani Puri Masala is the sour, salty, mint-and-cumin blend used to make the spiced water for pani puri. It is built around tang rather than heat, with roasted cumin and black salt doing most of the work.

Best for

• Pani for pani puri and golgappa
• Jaljeera-style chilled drinks
• Sprinkling over chaat, fruit or boiled potato

Using it

Stir about two tablespoons into a litre of cold water with tamarind pulp and a little jaggery, then leave it for twenty to thirty minutes so the flavour comes together. Strain it, add chopped mint and coriander and chill it thoroughly before serving. Adjust tamarind and salt to taste rather than adding more masala, which can turn the water muddy.

Pack and storage

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

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.

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.

MDH Hyderabadi Biryani Masala is the blend for dum biryani in the Hyderabadi style, where the character is aromatic and warm rather than sour. Whole-spice notes of cardamom, clove and cinnamon lead, with moderate chilli behind them.

Best for

• Hyderabadi chicken or mutton dum biryani
• Marinating meat in yoghurt before layering
• Vegetable biryani and spiced rice dishes

Using it

Most of it belongs in the marinade. Mix about three teaspoons into yoghurt with ginger, garlic, fried onion and mint for half a kilo of meat, and leave it for at least an hour. Layer with rice boiled to seventy per cent, seal the pot and cook on the lowest possible flame for twenty-five minutes. Keep a pinch back to scatter between the layers.

Pack and storage

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

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.

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.

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.

MDH Jal Jeera Masala is a cold-drink blend rather than a cooking masala, built on roasted cumin, black salt and mint. It is sour and savoury, with a cooling finish and almost no cooking required.

Best for

• Chilled jaljeera served before a meal
• Spiced lemon water and shikanji
• Sprinkling over cut fruit, salad or curd

Using it

Stir about one and a half tablespoons into a litre of cold water with lemon juice and a little tamarind or jaggery, then let it stand for fifteen minutes before straining. Serve it very cold with chopped mint. Because it already carries salt, taste before adding any, and add sourness with lemon rather than more powder.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Pulao Masala is a gentle, fragrant blend for rice rather than a curry masala. It sits on warm whole spices of the cinnamon, clove, bay and cardamom family, so it perfumes the pot without adding real heat.

Best for

• Vegetable pulao with peas, carrot and beans
• Jeera or matar pulao served alongside a curry
• Light chicken or mutton pulao

Using it

Warm it in ghee or oil with sliced onion for about a minute before the rinsed rice goes in, so the aromatics open up. Use roughly one and a half teaspoons for two cups of raw rice feeding four. Add water at the usual ratio for your rice, season with salt, and leave the pot alone once it comes to a simmer. It is meant to be subtle, so resist doubling the quantity.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Sabji Masala is the everyday blend for dry and semi-dry vegetable dishes, built on coriander and cumin with moderate heat. It is the one you reach for when a sabzi needs rounding out rather than a specific regional character.

Best for

• Aloo gobi, bhindi and mixed vegetable sabzi
• Cabbage, beans and carrot stir-fries
• Simple potato and pea dishes

Using it

Add it once the onion and tomato have softened, with the pan still hot, and let it fry for thirty seconds before the vegetables go in. Two teaspoons is about right for 500g of vegetables serving four. For drier sabzis, sprinkle a little extra over at the end and toss, which keeps the aroma sharp. A splash of water stops it catching if the pan runs dry.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Shahi Paneer Masala is a mild, aromatic blend built for a rich cashew, tomato and cream gravy rather than a fiery curry. Warm spices such as cardamom dominate, and there is very little chilli heat.

Best for

• Shahi paneer in a creamy tomato gravy
• Malai kofta and other mild North Indian gravies
• Vegetable korma-style dishes

Using it

Bloom it briefly in ghee or oil with the onion and tomato base before any liquid goes in, which brings the cardamom forward. Around two teaspoons suits 250g of paneer serving four. Add the cream or cashew paste once the masala has cooked through, then slide the paneer in at the very end and warm it through rather than boil it, so it stays soft.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Sindhi Biryani Masala is the blend for Sindhi-style biryani, which runs hotter and noticeably more sour than the Hyderabadi version. Chilli and dried souring spices lead, with warm whole-spice aromatics sitting behind them.

Best for

• Sindhi mutton or chicken biryani with potato
• Tomato and yoghurt based meat curries
• Spiced rice layered with fried onion

Using it

Add it at the masala stage, not at the end. Fry onions until deep brown, add ginger, garlic and tomato, then stir in three to four teaspoons for half a kilo of meat and cook until the oil separates. Fold in yoghurt off the heat so it does not split, then layer with par-boiled rice and steam on a low flame. Taste before you add salt, as the blend is already well seasoned.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Tava Fry Masala is a dry-cooking blend made for food that is seared on a hot tava or shallow-fried rather than simmered in gravy. It leans tangy and hot, and is coarse enough to cling and form a crust on whatever you coat with it.

Best for

• Tava-fried fish and prawns
• Paneer and mushroom cooked dry on a griddle
• Shallow-fried potatoes, okra and aubergine

Using it

Use it as a rub rather than a stir-in. Mix about two teaspoons with a spoonful of oil, yoghurt or lemon juice into a loose paste, coat the fish, paneer or vegetables and leave them for fifteen to twenty minutes. Fry on a hot, lightly oiled tava and turn only once so the crust sets. If you are frying plain vegetables, scatter a little more over them in the last minute of cooking.

Pack and storage

Ground blend in a sealed pack. Store in a cool, dry place, sealed after opening.

Pack of 2 × MDH Jal Jeera Masala 100g.

Pack of 2 × MDH Shahi Paneer Masala 100g.

MDH Chutney Podina Masala is a dry blend made to go into fresh green chutney, so the chutney tastes balanced without you having to measure out four or five separate spices. It is minty and tangy, with a savoury salt edge.

Best for

• Green mint and coriander chutney for samosas and pakoras
• Chutney sandwiches and tikka accompaniments
• Spooning through curd as a quick dip

Using it

Grind a large bunch of coriander and a smaller handful of mint with green chilli, a little lemon juice and two teaspoons of the masala, adding water a spoon at a time so the grinder catches. Taste before adding salt, as the blend already carries some. Made fresh it keeps two or three days refrigerated in a sealed jar.

Pack and storage

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

MDH Fish Curry Masala is a tangy, chilli-led blend for fish cooked in gravy, where the spicing has to season the sauce in a short cooking time. Souring spices and pepper sit forward, which suits the tamarind and coconut styles fish curry usually takes.

Best for

• Fish curry with tamarind or kokum
• Prawn and crab curries
• Marinating fish before pan-frying

Using it

Build the gravy first. Fry onion, ginger and garlic, add the masala and let it cook in the oil for a minute, then add tamarind extract, coconut milk or tomato and simmer. Two teaspoons suits half a kilo of fish. Slide the fish in only at the end and give it six to eight minutes on a low flame, without stirring, so the pieces hold together.

Pack and storage

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