Being either a professional or a novice home cook there are 7 main ingredients one must stock to bring a taste of India in to your home. I was once told that ‘The key is to understand how a particular spice can affect your dish. Think of spices as musical notes. Get to know a few main players, and your dishes will sing with flavour.’ And how true that is… here are 7 basic spices for an Indian pantry.

Smokey Cumin Seeds

Belonging to the parsley and dill family this seed has a distinctive aroma, and warmly bitter flavour. Did you know it is one of the most popular spices in the world.

Lemony Coriander Seeds

Available throughout the year this seed has a subtle flavour with a slight citrus hint. Coriander is one of the oldest herbs and spices used.

Robust Brown Mustard Seeds

The tiny little bundles of heat are used as a tempering exotic flavour and tempting aroma to Indian foods. Did you know there are around 40 different types of mustard plants.

Earthy Tumeric

This vibrant, yellow powder is believed to be used for over 3000 years, during the ancient Vedic times. It has a slight peppery and warm flavour and is also used as a preservative, in cosmetics and medicines! #superspice

Sweet Cinnamon

This versatile spice can be used for marinades, stews, soups, cakes and pies. Prepared by roasting and grinding down in to a powder. Cinnamon is the inner bark of the Tropical Evergreen Tree!

Aromatic Cardamom

glorified as the Queen of Spices or the Grain of Paradise, this little capsule of pungent warmingness is the most common spice used in India next to black pepper. Used widely for culinary and medicinal purposes.

Spicy Red Chilli Pepper

Well this is where things get lively. The fire in Indian cuisine is fanned with this marvellous spice. Add heat and flavour to your dishes