When you talk about Indian foods, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? For us at Licious, it is definitely the rich varieties of spices. They are what describe Indian foods the best. Every Indian dish is prepared with the use of different spices in portions that best suits every dish. The distinct aromas and flavours of every spice give every dish its unique taste, making Indian recipes one of the most loved cuisines in the world.
From the basic everyday dal (lentil soup) and dry vegetable dishes to luxury curries and fried delicacies, you will see the use of spices in every Indian dish. This practice not only helps enhance the flavours of a simple recipe but also offers a series of health benefits. Indian spices are known to cure several health concerns including improving digestive health and boosting the immunity system.
How Is Complete Spice Mix Different From Other Masalas?
The word ‘Masala’ is a Hindi word that translates to ‘spices.’ Now, this ‘masala’ word can be used to denote either one type of spice or a mix of many spices. Additionally, masala is further used to denote spices that can be in dry ground form, whole spice form, and even in paste or wet form that may include a mix of onions, tomatoes, and other ingredients.
What Makes Licious Meat Masala Different From the Rest?
- They come in single-use sachets to maintain the freshness of the masala every time you use one for your meat dishes.
- The spices are ground at very cold temperatures using cryogrinding technology, which helps lock-in the aroma of the spices by maintaining the loss of essential oils, while also maintaining flavour and medicinal values. It also ensures uniformity in spice grinding and size distribution.
- The masalas have natural meat tenderisers, which helps make your cooking process effortless and quick, by reducing the marination time of the meat.
- Every time you use our meat masala, you will enjoy the same aroma and colour to prepare your dishes.
What are some classic masalas and how are they made?
Some common and classic masala mixes that you can come across in every Indian household as well as the kitchens of foreign lands today are mentioned below. These spices, individually, are unique and the basics of Indian cuisine:
Garam Masala: This is the most common of all masala variants that you can come across. A garam masala comes with a powerful and pungent aroma, due to the presence of strong flavours of spices like green cardamom, black cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, and bay leaves.
Chicken Curry Masala: The use of this masala may not be common every day, but it is certainly used to enhance the taste of a basic Indian dish. It features a versatile earthy flavour perfect for multipurpose and includes spices like turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.
Tandoori Masala: Everyone loves a tandoori dish and a tandoori masala serves to bring just the right tandoori flavour. Be it vegetables, chicken, mutton, paneer, or anything you would like to put into the tandoor, a tandoori masala enhances the flavours as it contains green cardamom, garlic and ginger powders, cinnamon, Kashmiri red chilli powder, cloves, mace, cumin, and coriander.
Fish Masala: This masala may be restricted to households where fish recipes are common, but having a fish masala definitely enhances the flavours, be it curry, pan-fried, or deep-fried. The usual ingredients of a fish masala include coriander, chillies, garlic, onion, cumin, turmeric, dry ginger, green cardamom, fenugreek, black pepper, cassia, cloves, ajwain, and asafoetida.
Biryani Masala: A biryani masala is considered to be one of the most versatile masalas to prepare all kinds of biryanis, no matter the choice of protein and vegetables. Its common spices include fennel, cumin, and caraway seeds along with cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, nutmeg, black peppers, mace flower, black and green cardamom, and coriander seeds.
Meat Curry Masala: While the name says ‘meat masala’, many vegetarian dishes have this secret ingredient to enhance their flavours. Like every other masala, this too comes with a variety of spices like coriander seeds, red chillies, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, dried ginger, garlic, fennel seeds, cassia, mustard seeds, fenugreek leaves, cloves, nutmeg, green cardamom, amomum, mace, and asafoetida.
Conclusion:
Unlike other cuisines across the globe, Indian cooking involves a more traditional form of cooking. Every bite of an Indian dish gives a burst of flavours and aroma that is pungent, rich, spicy, and strong at the same time, making it one of a kind. And to make Indian cooking easier and its flavours accessible to all, Licious has come up with an incredible list of masalas that have been carefully crafted by experts.