Indian dry masala/Sookha masaala

Dry masala are those which are in their dry form and no additional liquid component is added to them. These masalas may be whole or brolied and powdered. They might also include those ingredients which are specifically dried. Some ingredients might also be specifically dried in order to be blended with other dry spices. For example, mint is dried and powdered to be used as an ingredient in kebab masala. Let us discuss some of these dry masalas below...

Aamchoori masala

Ingredients: Aamchoor, aniseed, cumin, ginger powder, coriander, red chilli, salt, ajowan.

This is the regional masala of Punjab. It adds a tangy flavour to the dish as it uses amchoor, which is the powder of raw mangoes. Aamchoori masala is mostly used in stuffing okra, baby brinjal or bitter gourd to create dishes.

Potli masala

Ingredients: cubeb pepper, cloves, stone pepper, allspice, cinnamon, mace, green cardamom, rootofbetel.

This can be classified as Indian sachet d'epices. In Hindi it literally means a pouch of spices. It is a bouquet of spices tied up in a muslin bag and left in a curry or liquid to let the flavours infuse. It is used to flavour curries and also to flavour the water or stock for biryani.

Khada masala

ingredients: cinnamon, cloves, green cardamon, black cardamon, cumin.

khada masala means whole spices. there can be various types of whole spices that are tempered into hot oil. the main purpose of khada masala is to flavour the oil.

Garam masala

Ingredients: cumin, black cardamom, black pepper, coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon, mace, bayleaf, green cardamom.

Garam masala is blended of aromatic spices, which is used to give flavour to the dish. This masala is used sprinkled on top of the dish before being served, to retain all the aromas. There could be a slight variation in the ingredients used in different parts of the country.

Chaat masala

Ingredients: cumin, pepper, black salt, dry mint leaves, kasthori menthi, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, asafoetida, tartaric acid, mace, dried Mango powder.

As the name suggests this masala is used with in Indian Street food called chaat. Chaats are mostly associated with sour, piquant, and spicy titbits that are eaten as snacks.

Channa masala

Ingredients: coriander, cumin, red chilli, ginger powder, dried Mango powder, cinnamon, black pepper, black cardamom, garlic, cubeb pepper, nutmeg, cloves, mace, dried pomegranate seeds.

This is a religion masala from Punjab. Many people make it at home, but mostly it was avaliable in market as a condiment. This masala is used in a flavouring agent in chickpeas curry in Punjab.

Pudina masala

Ingredients: dried mint, chilli powder, dried promagrante seeds, chaat masala, gram masala, black salt.

This masala is blend of dried mint powder with other spices. It is predominantly flavoured with dried mint powder. It is used for making flat Indian bread called pudina paratha.

Kebab masala

Ingredients: chaat masala, chilli powder, black salt, gram masala, kasthuri methi.

There can be varieties masalas made for kebabs. Usually kebab are sprinkled with chaat masala, but one can create unique kebab masalas. Toast the kasori menthi and crush to a Powder.

Amritsari machilli masala

Ingredients: cumin, coriander, mint powder, ajwan, asfoetida, amchoor, ginger powder, chilli powder.

This is again one of the religion masala from Punjab and typically used in the preparation of the amritsari machilli. The spices are individually brolied and crushed to a Powder.the fish is marinated in this spice blend and then batter fried.this spice is also can added in the batter that is made of besan.

Paanch phoran masala

Ingredients: anise, mustard, Cumin, fenugreek, nigella, radhuni.

This is a religion spice from bengal and used in tempering of vegetables, lentils, and fish. As the name suggests, this is a blend of five spices. Radhuri is optional, but most of the classical recipes include it's a part of paanch phoran.

Achari masala

Ingredients: anise, mustard, Cumin, fenugreek, nigella seeds.

It is also known as Indian pickling spice. The masala blended is used to flavouring pickles and hence the name. This is a combination of the above mentioned spices and it used in pickles.

Bhatti Da masala

Ingredients: ajwan, green cardamom, black cardamom, cloves, bayleaf, Cumin, coriander, mace , nutmeg, black pepper, ginger powder, kasthuri methi.

This is another religion spice from Punjab this masala is made by broiling. The spices individually and grinding them into a fine powder. In this masala, the spices are boiled until they attain a darker colour. This masala is used in kebabs grilled over open charcoal grill or sigri.

Dum Ka masala

Ingredients: anise, ginger powder, green cardamom, black cardamom.

It is blended of aromatic spices and it is suitable for dum cooking. Where the dishes is cooked covered with heat applied from both top and below. The slow heat in dum cooking helps to extract the flavours out of this masala. This masala is usually used for mughali foods cooked by the method of dum cooking.

Gunpowder masala

Ingredients: dried curry leaves, red chilli, chanadal, uraddal, sesame seeds, black pepper.

The name suggests that the masala is very hot. This is a religion masala from Tamil Nadu from South India. The ingredients are brolied separately and ground to a fine powder. The the powder is used to flavour boiled rice with ghee, which is eaten as a meal.

Bafat masala

Ingredients: red chilli, coriander, cumin, mustard, pepper, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon.

This masala is used in both vegetarian and meat dishes. It is a very popular masala from Mangalore religion of South India. Traditionally the spices used in this masala are dried from the sun almost a week and ground into powder.

Goda masala

Ingredients: coriander seeds,seseme seeds, dried grated coconut, dried red chilli, cumin, cinnamon, asafoetida, staranies, bayleaf, pepper, cobra saffron.

Goda masala is a religion masala from Maharashtra. It is used in many maharastian preparations and also used in konkani cuisine. This spice blend can be used to flavour meats and vegetables. Incase of non availability of cobra saffron, turmeric can be used.

Kolhapuri masala

Ingredients: red chilli, coriander, sesame, cumin, mace, cinnamon, dry ginger, green cardamom, black cardamom, mustard, cloves, bayleaf, dry coconut, garlic, poppy seeds, pepper, asfoetida, turmeric, fenugreek, staranies, nutmeg, oil.

This is one religion masala from maharashtra.its a reddish colour masala it's a hot due to large amount of red chilli in it. Heat a very little amount of oil and lightly fry the spices in oil one by one. Keep draining the spices in paper napkins to soak excess oil. Now grind the spices in powder and keep it the powder in an airtight jar in a cool dry place. This spice blend is normally used to flavour meats.

Rasam masala

Ingredients: red chilli, coriander, cumin, peppercorns, turmeric.

Rasam masala is a religion masala from South India and is used for flavouring a hot aperitif called rasam. This aperitif can be described as spiced lentil water, tempered and flavoured with rasam masala and other ingredients such as tamarind, lemon, pineapple, pepper etc...

BY:

-Chef Prakash Soma