Kings of condiments: Handy list of masalas & pastes
Editor’s note: Here's a new edition of our once-a-month community-sourced 'Buy' section—where we share the splainer fam's trustworthy recommendations. These are not the usual big brands that crowd the grocery stores. We give you tried and tested products from around the country with instructions on how to use them—from making delish coconut curries to whipping up some Maharashtrian dessert.
Suhana Spice Mixes: These premixed masalas have everything added including the whole spices. Lavisha swears by them and tells us they taste nearly as good as her mother’s food, even if not her grandmother’s. “Most recipes require minimal effort like frying tomatoes and adding chicken and the result is what you’d expect from an intermediate-level cook.” Sourabh is also a fan and recommends their chicken gravy masala, for a comforting chicken curry, best moped up with steaming hot rice.
Sri Kamadhenu Junnu Powder: For lovers of the Maharashtrian delicacy, Kharvas or junnu (a steamed pudding made of milk and cow or buffalo colostrum), Siddhesh recommends an instant mix. The colostrum milk powder can help you make instant kharvas, for all those post-meal sweet cravings.
Nasi and Mee: This popular Asian eatery in Bangalore, Chennai, and Kochi, sells a range of sauces to aid your kitchen experiments. Aparajita highly recommends their chili oil. She finds it better than other commercial brands, and it’s well-priced, too! Available on Swiggy in Bangalore, Chennai, and Kochi.
Chutnefy: Monica recommends the brand for all your chutney, chai, and soup cravings. The chutneys, especially the coconut and peanut varieties, she claims taste like the real thing. She also recommends the Calcutta chai premix that feels closest to ‘real chai’. She’s tried the soups, and they make for a great quick meal.
Commis Station: Sabah swears by these Bombay-based condiment kings, who offer everything from the classic—like schezwan and teriyaki—to the hatke—like salmon rillette and chicken liver pate. Their chilli peanut crisp and garlic spreads are her lifesavers on toast.
Jude’s East Indian Bottle Masala: A specialty from the East Indian community, Bottle Masala, can be used with a variety of meat and seafood. Joyjayanti recommends this one that comes in a pouch from Mumbai-based Jude’s. She says it has “a truly unique flavour”, it’s spicy but not hot, and makes for a lip-smacking curry with coconut milk.
Shan Masala: The Pakistani brand of masala and premixes has already achieved viral status in India, and South Asian communities everywhere. Akshita and Diya swear by the quality, especially when paired with fresh ingredients. Akshita especially recommends the biryani masala for its great flavour.
Namjai Thai Curry Paste: Illisha calls these Thai curry pastes lifesavers, and we couldn’t agree more. They come with the most authentic ingredients you need to recreate a Thai meal in a humble Indian kitchen. They also require minimal effort, and can be combined with a choice of protein, veggies, coconut milk, and ginger-garlic paste.
Grand Sweets: This brand is one of Aarthi’s childhood favourites as all her fave Tamil mixes and podis are bought from Grand Sweets store in Chennai. Whenever she’s in town, she grabs a bottle of the Pulikachal mix (for making tamarind rice), without fail. She says “the paste makes the best puliyogare ever.” The best part: they deliver all over India.
Murugan Idli Shop: Aarthi’s trips to Chennai are incomplete without a trip to the beach and then hitting this shop for yummy dosas and vadais—which are incomplete without their signature idli and dosai podis. She likes that they’re not very spicy and yet super flavourful. She strongly recommends checking out their products if you live or head to Chennai.
Mahajan Stores: On her latest trip to Amritsar, Aarthi and her mum came across masala packets from this brand and decided to try them out. She claims to have made the best channa, rajma and homestyle chicken with the assorted masalas from the store. The best part: You can just order them online and they deliver all over India!
Sri Krishna Sweets: This is Prachi’s secret to the best Tamil-style sambar that can be made away from the state. She picks up a bottle on trips to Chennai, or anywhere she can find an outlet of the chain. Besides sambar, she sprinkles some in a potato fry dish, for an instant punch.
Pickle Shickle: This has got to be the most versatile ingredient in Prachi’s pantry/ refrigerator. It’s a Burmese chili oil with slivers of garlic and onion that goes well with both Indian and Western cuisines. The makers call it Mere Piyaaz Gaye Rangoon, and when they suggest using it on everything, they mean it. Add a few drops when frying an egg or while cooking Maggi noodles. She also likes to top off a homecooked dal with it.
Ko Masale: These authentic cottage industry-produced masalas come from the fishing community in Mumbai. Prachi can’t get enough of the Koli masala, which is tangy and spicy, and makes for a great Tawa fish fry!
And the others…
If it’s ease of cooking you are looking for, Akshita recommends the pancake and dosa premixes from Slurrp Farm. They are made using millets! Diya trusts MTR and 777 for all South Indian mixes, and the supermarket favourite Ragu pasta sauce, but with a hint of Tabasco.
