Types of Indian Masala Powders
Types of Indian Masala Powders
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For preparing Indian cuisine, you need different types of masala powders. The word masala means blending of spices. Masala Powders are nothing but the coarse grounding of the whole spices. According to Ayurveda, each powder comes with various benefits and helps to cure different human body problems. Every Masala powder features primary ingredients to deliver a unique taste and flavor to the recipe where they get used. All the whole spices are slightly toasted in the pan, cooled down, and ground in a mixer/blender. In other words, various types of masala powders are nothing but a mixture of spices in perfect combination. In this article, we have compiled a masala powders list, frequently used in the Indian kitchen for cooking various cuisines.
Coriander Masala
There are very few dishes that you can make with no touch of coriander powder. It comes with a lovely aroma and pleasant savor that adds a fruity and tart flavor to the dishes. Coriander powder includes outstanding health benefits. If you consume it with water, the spice can remove gas problems and helps in the digestion process. The powder is suitable for everyday cooking and appears as the base masala for many blending powders.
Garam Masala
Garam Masala is another famous masala in Indian cooking, originated in North India, and is an ideal partner of everyday recipes. This powder is a perfect combination of cumin, fennel seeds, cinnamon, coriander, black peppercorns, cardamom, and cloves. The term garam means hot is given to the powder due to the spiciness it adds to the dish in the end.
Tandoori Masala
In this Indian masala powder list, it is the most unconventional spice powder used in cooking. You can use this powder to create any tandoori dish for an alluring aroma and mind-blowing taste. It is one of the most vital spice blends of Punjab for cooking tandoori chicken, tandoori fish, or tandoori paneer. The smokiness of the tandoor or earthen oven with this spice powder creates a heavenly taste of the dishes. The masala consists of coriander, peppercorn, ground ginger, bay leaf, cardamom, red chili powder, turmeric powder, cumin, cloves, ground garlic, Kasuri methi, cinnamon, and dry mango powder or amchur.
Biryani Masala
Biryani masala is one of the most fragrant blendings of spices that help you to create the perfect aroma of a restaurant like biryani. It is an ideal amalgamation of bay leaf, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, star anise, coriander, nutmeg, cardamom, fennel seeds, and black pepper. It comes with a strong smell and gives the same aroma to the dish.
Chaat Masala
Chaat masala is a blend of spices commonly used to produce a tangy flavor in the street food of India like papdi chaat, bhelpuri, pani puri, and many more. It has originated in Uttar Pradesh and can be used in any dish to enhance its flavor. There is another different variety of chaat masala present, which are used in making fruit salads. This flavorsome masala powder consists of dry mango powder, red chili powder, coriander seeds, mint, cumin, black pepper, asafetida, and carom seeds.
Sambar Masala
Sambar is one of the most common and popular dishes in South India. It is nothing but a vegetable stew made with lentils. Freshly made sambar masala powder uplifts the taste of the dish instantly. You can also use this masala to make other dishes like Sadam, palya, and curries. It is a mixture of coriander seeds, red chili, curry leaves, black pepper, turmeric, Bengal gram, fenugreek, cumin, and asafetida.
Chana Masala
Chana masala is the chickpea dish and the spices, which is a patent dish of North India. It is created by blending spices like Kashmiri red chili, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, ginger, cardamom, clove, coriander, black pepper, and fennel.
Masala Tea Powder
Among various types of masala powders, masala tea powder is quite different from the other spices mentioned in this Indian masala powder list. It will help you make a perfect cup of masala tea or chai, a famous and comfortable drink in India. The integral spices enhance the tea flavor and deliver an aroma to the drink.
Goda Masala
Goda Masala is one of the most mandatory Kolhapuri spices for creating Maharashtrian cuisine. In the Marathi language, goda means sweet, this masala includes sweet, subtle, and distinctive flavors that are primarily due to the inclusion of the stone flower or Dagat fool. You can use this powder in making various dal and dry subzis. It is made by blending different spices like coriander, cloves, cinnamon, stone flower, dried red chili, sesame seeds, cassia buds, cumin, black pepper, mustard seeds, dry coconut, asafetida, and fenugreek seeds.
Kolhapuri Masala
Kolhapuri masala is a well-liked Maharashtrian blending of whole spices from the region of Kolhapur. This Masala powder contains the highest number of 32 ingredients. It is bright red, exceptionally spicy, and hot. It includes Kashmiri chili, byadagi chili, black pepper bay leaf, asafetida, clove, cinnamon, green and black cardamom, cubeb berries, black stone flower, sesame, fenugreek, oil, dry coconut, garlic, and many more.
Chettinad Masala
Chettinad is a famous cuisine of South India, and this masala enhances the flavors of the dish. It gets used to make dishes like Chettinad chicken curry, Chettinad fish curry, and many more. Star anise, tamarind, fennel seeds, cloves, black pepper, fenugreek, lichen stone flower, red chilies, cinnamon, bay leaf, and cumin are the primary ingredients present in this masala powder.
Pav Bhaji Masala
Pav bhaji masala is used to make the most popular street foods of Mumbai, that is Pav bhaji. The unique flavor of this spice is primarily due to the permutation of different types of masala powders like coriander, cinnamon, black pepper, black cardamom, turmeric, red chili powder, cloves, cumin, bay leaves, fennel seeds, and amchur.
Rajma Masala
It is another masala powder from North India, playing a key ingredient in red kidney beans or rajma curry. It consists of dry pomegranate seed, dry mango powder, coriander, cumin, black cardamom, black pepper, carom seeds, bay leaves, shah jeera, nutmeg, and cloves.
Rasam Masala
Rasam masala is one of the traditional and classic spices of South India that is used every day in making rasam in each south Indian household. Rasam is an appetizing south Indian soup made from tomato and tamarind juice together with lentil broth. You can enjoy it as an appetizer or mix it with plain rice. Rasam powder comes with various medicinal properties that help to cure different problems in the human body. The primary ingredients of rasam powder are coriander, black pepper, pigeon pea, cumin, curry leaves, and dry red chili.
Final Words
The altitude of Indian masala powders in cooking Indian food is overwhelming due to the mixture of different flavors and spices. Spices are the heart of every Indian recipe and the essence of taste. So make sure to include all of the spices mentioned in this list to cook any dish from various regions of India.
Manjunath Kandra
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Digital Marketing Expert, consultant, Mentor and Director of KandraDigital Marketing Solutions Pvt Ltd.
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