5 Spices you should include in all your Curries

Spice market with colourful spices and produce.

Indian food can be a taste sensation when you know what spices to use. However, for the home cook, with so many spices to choose from, it can be a challenge to decide which ones you need to include. How do you ensure you get the right balance and achieve those sweet, tangy, and spicy notes?

Here at Penniblack, we absolutely love working with spices to create unique dishes which elevate the ingredients. Our experience has taught us that ultimately, the key to successful Indian dishes is to use the right spice mix and to ensure their full flavour is extracted by using the ‘blooming’ process.

Blooming means cooking the spices in oil, butter or ghee. This process enhances the flavour of the spices to really do them justice, bringing out their full aromatic and fragrant potential. Furthermore, if you use fresh spices and whole seeds, once bloomed, the process of grinding them in a pestle and mortar will further enhance their flavour.

So, whilst it may be a little daunting and seem quite complicated once you master the art of balanced spicing, you will be a curry making pro in no time at all.

To make a basic Indian curry spice mix, you will need the following spices. You can, of course, add more as your confidence grows. However, these will give you a delicious curry that packs bags of flavour.

Cumin

A jar of Cumin seeds.

This earthy and aromatic spice is the second most popular spice in the world! You can buy it in whole seeds or already ground.

To extract its fullest flavour potential, ideally, you will want to opt for the whole seed and grind it yourself with a pestle and mortar.

Turmeric

A bowl of ground Turmeric spice.

This vibrantly coloured spice is closely related to ginger and gives curries their distinctive yellow colour. The spice is mild and adds aromatic notes of both ginger and orange.

Turmeric is known for its natural anti-inflammatory properties so has much to offer. This spice can be purchased in whole root form or already ground.

Red Chilli

Fresh red chilli peppers on a wood kitchen board.

There are a range of chilli peppers you can choose from as they all vary in terms of heat. You can either use fresh chillies or opt for pre-ground.

With chilli be careful with your quantities though, smaller chillies are deceptive and it’s the little ones that can be ferocious!

Coriander

A jar of Coriander seeds.

Both the seeds and leaves of this spice can be used in Indian dishes. However, the seeds will be what is used in the spice mix. As with cumin, you can purchase this flavourful spice already ground or the whole seeds.

Coriander seeds produce a lemony citrus flavour which will add some wonderful sour notes to your curry base.

Ginger

Fresh Ginger root.

Brought either fresh or ground, this popular and versatile spice will add a lovely zing to your curry spice mix.

If you use the fresh root, you will find it to be extremely flavourful. The taste is described as fresh, peppery, and warming.