33 Ingredients for Traditional Indian Cooking

Layering spices is one of the best-known features of Indian cuisine. Buy whole spices to maximize flavor; ground spices oxidize and lose their flavor. Use a mortar and pestle or a small electric coffee grinder to grind spices as you need them.

1. 1. Cumin: Cumin seeds are tiny, crescent moon-shaped brown seeds. They're an important flavor in North Indian vegetable dishes such as aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower) and papadum, crispy flatbreads made with chickpea flour.
2. 2. Cardamom: There are two types of cardamom: large green cardamom pods and small, smoky black cardamom pods. Green cardamom is more common, but both types can be used interchangeably in savory and sweet dishes such as masala chai, biryani, and marinades for meats.
3. 3. Garam masala: Literally "warming spices," garam masala is a spice mix of cinnamon, mace, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and cardamon pods. You can buy garam masala pre-ground from the store, but it's easy to make a more flavorful spice blend at home if you have whole spices. Garam masala is used in Punjabi chana masala, Anglo-Indian chicken tikka masala, and Old Delhi-style butter chicken.
4. 4. Turmeric: Turmeric is a rhizome that looks like ginger, but it has bright orange flesh and an earthy flavor. You can grate fresh turmeric, but it's more often sold ground into a golden powder that serves as the main ingredient in most commercial curry powders. Use it in khadi (turmeric yogurt soup) and chicken dishes.
5. 5. Coriander: Coriander seeds are the dried seeds of cilantro. Coriander seeds have a citrusy flavor essential to Punjabi saag paneer. Cilantro, the green, herbaceous part of the plant, is useful as a garnish for many Indian dishes. The stems have just as much flavor as the leaves, so chop them up and add them to the mix.
6. 6. Mustard seeds: There are three colors of mustard seeds: yellow, black, and brown. Each contains sulphur compounds that give mustard its sharp flavor. Tempering mustard seeds by heating them in ghee or oil will mellow their flavor and add a slight nuttiness. Black mustard seeds and fresh curry leaves are perfect for flavoring potatoes or chickpeas. Both black mustard seeds and mustard oil are used in Gujarati-style methia keri (mango pickle).
7. 7. Fresh curry leaves: Curry leaves are fragrant, shiny leaves from a tree in the citrus family. Like bay laurel, they are sold both fresh and dried and add subtle floral flavor to stews and soups. Tempered in oil or ghee with black mustard seeds and cumin, they are lovely spooned over dal or potatoes. You can also use them in chutneys.
8. 8. Tamarind: Tamarind, often sold as a paste, comes from the seedpods of the tamarind tree, a member of the legume family. Tamarind has a distinctive sour flavor used in chutneys and sambar, a South Indian lentil and vegetable stew often served with vada (doughnuts) or idli (rice cakes).
9. 9. Chaat masala: Chaat masala is an umami-filled, tangy spice blend that always includes amchoor (dried unripe mango) and may also include asafetida, mint, ginger, ajwain, cayenne, black salt, black pepper, cumin, coriander, and dried pomegranate seeds. It’s used as a seasoning for chaat, street food snacks like dahi vada, aloo tikki, and samosa chaat.
10. 10. Ajwain: Ajwain, also known as carom, is a tiny seed-like fruit that tastes like a combination of oregano, anise, and black pepper. Ajwain is used to flavor parathas, naan, and bhindi (fried okra).
11. 11. Fennel seeds: Fennel seeds, known as saunf, are the dried seeds of the fennel plant, whose bulbs and fronds are eaten as a vegetable. The seeds have a licorice-like flavor and are small and delicate enough to enjoy whole in dishes featuring okra or in a marinade for meats.
12. 12. Fenugreek: Fenugreek seeds, also known as methi, have a musky, celery-like flavor and are yellow-brown in color. To bring out the flavor, heat fenugreek seeds slowly—they burn easily, becoming bitter. Dried fenugreek leaves are used in dishes such as Delhi tandoori chicken.
13. 13. Indian bay leaves: Indian bay leaves, also known as tejpat leaves, come from the Indian cassia tree (Cinnamomum tamala). They taste like a mixture of clove and black pepper—quite different from bay laurel, which is sometimes used as a substitute. In Kerala, Indian bay leaves are used as the wrapper for chakka appam, which are jackfruit and rice flour dumplings sweetened with jaggery.
14. 14. Asafetida: Also known as hing, Asafetida is the dried sap of the ferula plant. It has an onion-like flavor that works well in a variety of dishes, from dal to aloo gobhi and matar paneer. Tempering asafetida in ghee or oil brings out its flavor.
15. 15. Dried chiles: Dried chiles such as Kashmiri chiles can be used a variety of ways but are often toasted in ghee or oil with other spices, then spooned over a finished dish. Chile powders made from cayenne or Kashmiri chiles are another easy way to add heat to Indian dishes.
16. 16. Star anise: Star anise is a star-shaped seedpod from a tree in the magnolia family. Like anise, it has a licorice flavor, but the two plants are not related. Star anise can be used in both sweet and savory applications.

Pulses, grains, and dairy are essential to many Indian dishes and worth keeping on hand. Round out your Indian pantry with some Indian condiments, which you can buy at the grocery store or make at home.

1. 1. Split red lentils: Split red lentils, also known as masoor dal, are salmon pink and quickly cook down into a soupy consistency.
2. 2. Chickpeas: Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans or chana, are typically sold dried and feature in the popular Punjabi dish chana masala. Chickpeas are also sold split, as chana dal, and as a flour called besan or gram flour. Chickpea flour is used in kadhi (a yogurt and turmeric soup), as a breading for vegetables, and in papadum (crisp flatbreads).
3. 3. Mung beans: Whole mung beans, also known as green gram, have a green outer layer and are light yellow inside. The whole beans can be ground to make dosas, but they’re usually sold split. Split green mung beans with their skins on are called mung dal, and they’re used to make khichdi (lentils and rice).
4. 4. Black lentils: Black lentils, also known as black gram or urad beans, aren’t actually lentils. They’re beans that are closely related to mung beans. Black on the outside and white on the inside, split black lentils, known as urad dal, are an ingredient in the batter for South Indian idlis and dosas. Whole urad dal is used to make dal makhani.
5. 5. Split yellow pigeon peas: Split yellow pigeon peas, known as toor dal, are the second most popular type of dal in India, after chickpeas. They’re often cooked into a simple puree served with rice, or added to soups such as sambar.
6. 6. Naan: Naan is a leavened flatbread cooked in a tandoor. Associated with Punjabi cuisine, naan likely came to India via the Mughal Empire. (Nan means “bread” in Persian.) You can make homemade naan with all-purpose flour, yeast, and yogurt. When it comes out of the oven, brush naan with ghee for a flavor boost.
7. 7. Roti: Roti is a general term for unleavened Indian flatbreads. One of the best known is chapati, an unleavened, whole-wheat North Indian bread cooked on a curved griddle called a tava. Chapatis are dunked in soups and gravies and used to scoop up dry foods.
8. 8. Dosa: Dosas are South Indian crêpe-like pancakes made from a batter of soaked, fermented lentils and rice. Dosas are perfect for breakfast with sambar and coconut chutney. Filled with vegetables and rolled up, they are known as masala dosa.
9. 9. Basmati rice: Basmati rice is used in rice dishes such as biryani and can be served as a side dish for almost any Indian recipe. Learn more about basmati rice here.
10. 10. Paneer: Paneer is a crumbly curd cheese with similar flavor and texture to feta. Paneer holds its shape well, so it can be cubed and fried. In North Indian cuisine, paneer is often substituted for meat to make dishes vegetarian. It's also the star of popular dishes like palak paneer and matar paneer.
11. 11. Yogurt: Yogurt is an essential Indian ingredient that can be swirled into dishes like chana masala at the end of cooking for richness and acidity. You can also use it as a main ingredient in condiments like raita and drinks like lassi.
12. 12. Ghee: Ghee, or toasted, clarified butter, has a higher smoke point than regular butter, which makes it ideal for the Indian cooking technique of tempering spices. To temper spices, heat ghee in a pan or butter warmer, then briefly sauté spices. This has the dual benefits of toasting the spices to produce a nutty flavor and producing an aromatic cooking fat that you can use to sauté other ingredients. In North Indian cuisine, dishes that feature butter are called makhani, such as in murgh makhani (butter chicken) or dal makhani. Learn more about ghee in our complete guide here.
13. 13. Chutney: Chutney is a tangy-sweet, jam-like condiment that can feature a variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs. It's typically served alongside samosas and dosas. You can buy mint chutney or mango chutney at the grocery store, but it’s not hard to make your own.
14. 14. Pickles: Indian pickles, known as achaar, are unique in that they typically feature oil (mustard oil in the north and sesame oil in the south). Whether made from lemons, limes, mango, or carrots, Indian pickles are fermented and packed with spices.
15. 15. Coconut milk: Coconut milk—a fat-in-water emulsion just like cow’s milk—is primarily used in South Indian dishes like appam (coconut crêpes from Kerala). If coconut milk separates, the fatty top can be skimmed off for use as a coconut oil.
16. 16. Coconut oil: Before coconut oil became a “superfood,” it was a popular frying oil in South India. Learn more about coconut oil in our guide here.
17. 17. Mustard oil: Mustard oil comes from pressed mustard seeds and is a common frying oil in northern India. You can use mustard oil to make pickles.

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