Spice Up Your Food With These Masalas!

If you are finding methods to add flavour to your dish without adding more fat or salt, spices or khada masala are the way to go. There are many types of spices available in the market and they exude a lot about a culture’s cuisine. Spices combo are also used in a lot of varieties to give the dish a distinct smell and taste. Even a tinge of spice can make a bland recipe super tasty! Bark, fruit, roots, sterns or seeds, spices come from any of the aforementioned source. Spices not only make the dish look appealing but also come with added health benefits. They add instant taste and a particular flavour to the recipe.

Spices are to be considered as an extension to your regular salt and pepper and that is the best way to navigate your way around. To make an ethnic dish, there is a particular spice that you need to use. Starting with the most common spices is one way you can get used to cooking with them. Herbs and spices combo also help in enhancing the taste. These spices can be bought from your nearby supermarket, and some are essential to use while you cook.

The most common spices are, Cumin seeds, Cinnamon, Whole green cardamom pods, Ground cumin powder, Ground coriander powder, Turmeric, Paprika, and Garlic powder or flakes. The most common herbs you can find are, Basil (fresh or dried), Dried Oregano, Italian seasoning, Parley (fresh or dried), Fresh Cilantro, and Thyme (Fresh or dried). Here’s a little bit of the kinds of spices combo you may find locally.

Allspice tastes like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves combined. That’s the reason it is called “allspice”. It is used for savoury and sweet dishes and adds a particular flavour to baked items. If you are looking to give your dish a sweet licoricey flavour, then you must go for Anise. It is commonly used in beverages like hot mulled tea.

Cardamom does have a certain and strong aroma thanks to its spicy-sweet flavour. Usually used in rice dishes, pastries, and puddings. Cayanne is also very commonly known as red pepper and is extremely spicy. This can be mixed with a dish you would want to add a little heat to like a squash dip.

Chinese five spices combo as the name suggest is five spices combined. The spices are cinnamon, fennel seeds, star anise, cloves and Szechuan peppercorns and are often used in Chinese recipes. A fragrant bark that has a sweet, fruity and woody flavour. Cinnamon is commonly used in sweet dishes, savoury stews and soups.

If you want to get the most of your spices combo pack, try and purchase them in tiny quantities and make use of them quickly. To get the most flavour, grind the whole spices instead of buying the powder already in a packet. An electric coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle can be used to grind them. Ground and whole spices can be stored in an airtight container and in a dark and cool place for up to 6 months. Lastly, spices are healthy as they add taste and aroma without added fat, calories or sodium. You can try different spices to know what suits your taste buds the best.