Indian Masalas

The Dry Masalas (powdered Spice mixes or curry powders) are used to flavor lentils, vegetables, seafood, and meat. The ingredients are roasted over low heat until they release a faint aroma. A fine powder is made and they are stored in an airtight container.

Some of the popular spice mixes or masala used in Indian cuisines are given here:-

Below These are the some Indian Masala use in daily basis.

Types of Indian Masala

Biryani Masala

It is used for savory spiced colorful and flavorful rice.

Fennel Seeds	50 gm	Black Cardamoms	10 gm
White Poppy Seeds	40 gm	Star Anise	10 gm
Cumin Seeds	30 gm	Caraway Seeds	10 gm
Cinnamon Powder	30 gm	Bay Leaves	10 gm
Whole Cloves	20 gm	Mace	10 gm
Green Cardamoms	20 gm	Nutmeg	Powder of 2/4 piece

Chole Masala

It is used for chickpea curry.

Coriander Seeds	2 tbsp	Cloves	4-5
Cinnamon	1” piece	Cumin Seeds	2 tbsp
Black Cardamom	3-4 pods	Anardana (optional)	1 tbsp
Bay Leaf	1	Whole Dry Chilies (optional)	1 or 2
Black Peppercorns	1 tbsp

Check out the how to make Amritsari Choley.

Coastal Fish Masala

It is used for fish curry and fish fry.

Dry Coconut Grated	3 tbsp	White Pepper Corns	¼ cup
Sesame Seeds	1 tbsp	Green Cardamom Pods	½ cup
Mustard Seeds	2 tblsp	Cumin Seeds	¾ cup
Saffron Strands	¼ tbsp	Nutmeg Powder	¼ cup
Black Pepper Corns	¼ cup

Garam Masala

Garam masala (from garam(hot) and masala(a mixture of spices)) is a blend of different ground spices, It is a usual spice mix used in stews.

Coriander seeds	4 tbsp	Black Cardamom	3-4 large pods
Cumin seeds	1 tbsp	Cloves	2-3 pieces
Black Peppercorns	1 tbsp	Cinnamon	2 × 1” pieces
Black Cumin seeds	1 ½ tbsp	Bay Leaves	2 Crushed
Dry Ginger Powder	1 ½ tbsp

Kala(Goda) Masala

kala(Goda) masala is a Maharashtrian spice mixture (masala), very aromatic spice mix powder which is the base for most
Maharashtrian curries and dals.

Coriander Seeds	500 gm	Mace Flower	50 gm
Dry Red Chilies	250 gm	Cinnamon Bark	50 gm
Dry Coconut shredded	250 gm	White Poppy Seeds	50 gm
Dry Turmeric Roots	50 gm	Caraway Seeds	50 gm
Asafoetida Chunks	50 gm	Sesame Seeds	50 gm
Cloves	50 gm	Sesame Seeds	50 gm
Black Pepper Corns	50 gm	Bay Leaves	50 gm
Flower Stone	50 gm	Green Cardamom	25 gm
Whole Nutmegs	5 pieces	Black Cardamom	25 gm

Meat Masala

It is used to flavor chicken and lamb dishes.

Cumin Seeds	20 gm	Ginger Powder	5 gm
Coriander Seeds	8 gm	Garlic Powder	5 gm
Cloves	5 gm	Red Chili Powder	5 gm
Cinnamon	2” Stick	Turmeric Powder	5 gm
Orange food coloring	1 gm	Mace Powder	5 gm
Salt	5 gm

Pav-Bhaji Masala

It is used in a tangy stew paired with Pao(bun-shaped bread).

Red Chili	50 gm	Black Cardamom	4-5 pieces
Coriander Seeds	50 gm	Dry Mango Powder	25 gm
Cumin Seeds	25 gm	Fennel Seeds	10 gm
Black Pepper	25 gm	Turmeric Powder	1 tbsp
Cinnamon	25 gm	Star Anise	2 pieces
Clove	25 gm

Rajma Masala

It is used to spice kidney beans curry.

Cloves	4 pieces	Black Peppercorns	4 pieces
Cardamom	2 pieces	Cumin Seeds	1 tbsp
Cinnamon Stick	1” stick	Cumin Powder	1 tbsp
Bay leaf	1 piece	Ginger Garlic Paste	1 tbsp
Coriander Powder	1 ½ tbsp	Garam Masala Powder	½ tbsp
Red Chili Powder	1 tbsp	Dry Mango Powder	½ tbsp

Sambar Masala

It is used to flavor a curry named Sambar, Prepared with cooked pigeon peas, drumsticks, tomatoes, pumpkin pieces, and cubes of other vegetables. Sambar is one of the most delicious South Indian foods often served as a side with rice and vegetable stir fry, And also served with Idli, Urad Wada, Uthappam, or various types of Dosai.

Chana Daal	¼ cup	Black Peppercorns	¼ cup
Urad Daal (black gram)	¼ cup	Dry Red Broken Chili	¼ cup
Coriander Seeds	½ cup	Dry Grated Coconut	¼ cup
Cumin Seeds	¼ cup	Mustard Seeds	¼ cup
Fenugreek Seeds	¼ cup	Turmeric Powder	2 tbsp
Dried Curry Leaves	20 pieces	Asafetida Powder	2 tbsp

Tea Masala

It is used to prepare flavored tea.

Black Cardamom	1 pod	Black Peppercorns	¼ tbsp
Cardamom Seeds	From 25 pods	Dry, Ground Ginger Powder	1 tbsp
Cloves	4 pieces	Ground Cinnamon Powder	1 tbsp
Fennel seeds	½ tbsp	Carom Seeds (optional)	¼ tbsp

There is a very large variety of spice mixes for side dishes such as curd based salad named Raita, appetizers such as Jal-Jeera and Chhach, sweet-flavored milk named Thandai, and Indian street food named Chaat.

There are also some other spices such as pickle masala, A combination of five spices named panch-poran used in eastern states of India. The list goes on according to the taste preferences and diversity in cultures.