India, known as the land of spices, has a rich history and tradition of producing a variety of aromatic and flavorful spices.
Use of Masla spices
Spices are used as a medicinal ingredient in Ayurvedic practice and are essential in curing regular ailments such as headache, cough and cold. These have been an essential part of Indian cuisine for centuries, which is why you will find most of the major . They are commonly used in Indian foods and are famous for their characteristic spicy taste of Indian foods.
Health Benefits
Spices have many health benefits, most notably antimicrobial properties and disease-protecting nutrients with high concentrations of phytochemicals. They also have mood-enhancing and anti-depressant properties.
- Has anti-inflammatory properties
Our spices, like red pepper, bay leaf, black pepper, and nutmeg, have high anti-inflammatory properties. These reduce inflammation for those who have rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, and asthma.
- Rich in antioxidants and essential nutrients
Most of the Indian masalas have cereals and pulses, which are rich in iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, and potassium, as well as folate and carotene. These help in the proper functioning of your body by maintaining fluid levels and other vital roles in secretion and energy absorption
- Boosting metabolism and promoting weight loss
Daily ingredients such as garlic, fenugreek, red pepper, turmeric, and ginger are effective cholesterol-lowering agents. Several other spices have anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, and heart-healthy properties, which can increase the metabolism rate and make people brisker.
Research and Identify Popular Spices
Before diving into the export business, it’s crucial to research and identify the most sought-after spices in international markets. Common Indian spices include cardamom, black pepper, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and various masalas. Understanding market demand will help you focus on the right products.
Quality Assurance and Packaging:
Maintain high-quality standards for your spices. Proper cleaning, processing, and packaging are crucial. Invest in packaging that preserves the freshness and aroma of the spices. This is particularly important when dealing with bulk spices, as maintaining quality ensures customer satisfaction and repeat business.
Whole Spice vs. Spice Blends
Last piece of advice before we start talking about spices specifically. As you may have figured already, we use a lot of spices in Indian cooking. Name a dish, and you can surely buy a spice mix specific for this dish. Now, do you need to stock pav bhaji masala, dal makhani masala, tandoori masala and so on for every Indian dish you choose to make? I would say, no.
I recommend investing in whole spices and grinding them fresh to make spice mixes for whatever dish you are making. It’s more investment from both the cost and storage space perspective to begin with, but there are many advantages of this approach.
- Most spice mixes are blends of the same few spices in different proportions, so once you have these spices at hand (the intermediary and advanced spice list), you will be able to make custom spice blends for most Indian dishes.
- Blended or powdered spices lose their flavour over time, so if you’re planning to cook a special Indian dish, why not invest that extra few minutes to toast and grind the spices fresh? You can easily toast whole spices in a pan and pound them in a mortar and pestle or in a blender. They don’t have to be a perfectly fine powder like in the store. A coarsely ground masala is often preferred. It’s called khada masala.
- More control over your ingredients: Making blends yourself will also help you to know exactly what’s going into your food and leave out the anti-caking agents and preservatives added to packaged spice mixes. Plus, you can customise them based on what flavours you enjoy more.
- You can use these spices not just for Indian food but for a lot of other dishes as well. I am guessing you’re here because you like to cook. Why not have cardamom in your pantry instead of just having a blend that contains cardamom. You can use that cardamom to enhance your banana bread or make Swedish cakes. Or you could use these spices to make Chinese five-spice powder. The options then are endless.