Regional Indian, Pakistani, and Bangladeshi Masale (Spice Blends)

[Tan Can Cook]

As-salaam alaikum everyone. Namaskar(am). Vanakkam. Adaab. Sat sri akal. Greetings from Northern California (USA). My name is Ronald N. Tan, but when cooking, I use my food name of "Tan Can Cook." I would like to start this post and topic for sharing and showcasing the various regional spice blends from India.

 

There is more to spice blends from India than your garam masala, curry powder, etc. I would like to start my post with what I consider to be spice blends that showcases and epitomizes not only India's affluent culinary history, but the collective khansamas and bawarchis culinary creativity. To showcase the complex and layered spice blends, I will share them in the form of mise en place, along with the full recipe of the ingredients. As a masalchi, I am learning and exploring regional spice blends from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran.

 

If you have questions or clarifications, please ask in this topic. The recipes are sourced from my personal library of cookbooks sourced direct from India.

 

Lazzat-e-Taam from Dastarkhwan-e Awadh: The Cuisine of Awadh

 

लज़्ज़त-ए-ताम

 

By Tan Can Cook
Modified and Adapted from Sangeeta Bhatnagar and R. K. Saxena

 

Ingredients

 

7 g green cardamom

5 g black cardamom

5 g barberries [Berberis vulgaris]

5 g sandalwood powder, culinary/edible grade [Santalum album]

5 g coriander seeds

5 g lemongrass [Cymbopogon spp.]

5 g cumin seeds

5 g black cumin seeds [Elwendia persica]

5 g cubeb [Piper cubeba]

5 g grated coconut

5 g black pepper

5 g white pepper

5 g poppy seeds

5 g cloves

5 g fox nuts [Euryale ferox]

5 g anise seeds

5 g fennel seeds

3 g mace

1 whole nutmeg

3 g dried rose petals

2 g cinnamon

1 g Indian bay leaves [Cinnamomum tamala]

Dried fennel leaves

13 g (1 tbsp) kewra water

11 g (1 tbsp) meetha itr (culinary grade food perfume; I use Deer-brand meetha itr sourced from Kolkata, West Bengal. I don't have any luck finding sellers from Lucknow who would source and ship to the USA)

 

Method

 

Gently roast all dry ingredients over a low flame until fragrant. Remove from heat and grind to a fine powder. Sieve the mixture, then add kewra water and meetha itr. Rub the mixture between your palms and sieve again. If still moist, dry indoors before storing in an airtight jar.

 

Hyderabadi Potli ka Masala from A Princely Legacy Hyderabadi Cuisine

 

हैदराबादी पोटली का मसाला

 

By Tan Can Cook

Modified and Adapted from Pratibha Karan
 

Ingredients

 

50 g coriander seeds
8.75 g dried vetiver roots [Vetiveria zizanioides]
8.75 g Indian bay leaves [Cinnamomum tamala]
8.75 g lesser galangal [Alpinia officinarum]
7.5 g cubeb [Piper cubeba]
7.5 g black stone flowers [Parmotrema perlatum]
6.25 g sandalwood powder, culinary grade [Santalum album]
6.25 g black cardamom
6.25 g whole wheat grains
6.25 g spiked ginger lily roots [Hedychium spicatum]
5 g dried rose petals
3.75 g cinnamon

 

Method

 

Mix these spices and herbs in the given proportions and divide into portions. At the time of use, tie a portion in a muslin cloth or in any thin cloth for insertion in the dish. Use one or more portions as may be required. Store in an airtight jar to prevent insects from getting into the mix. Alternatively, I prefer to ground them into powder and use accordingly in powdered form. Traditionally, they are used as bouquet garni and added into to make broth, flavored water, base, etc.

Edited Sunday at 01:58 AM by Tan Can Cook
Forgot to include pictures and recipe. (log)

[KennethT]

Whenever I grind coriander seeds, I can never get them as fine as when I buy preground coriander powder.  I assume the pros are using a burr grinder rather than a blender type grinder.  What do you use?

 

Also, when using things like cardamom, do you remove the seeds from the pods prior to grinding or do you use the whole thing?

[Tan Can Cook]

I find that most spices must be slow roasted and stirring occasionally to "wake them up." Meaning that applying a little heat allows the essential oils inside the spice(s) to maximize their potency.

 

In you situation, try slow roasting your whole coriander seeds and then use any grinder. I use the Magic Bullet with the horizontal blade and not the one with 4 blades (this is for grinding wet mixtures). If you want even finer, you can sieve these through a steel mesh. The ones that were filtered, put them back into your grinder and repeat if necessary.

 

As for cardamom, I use the entirety in my spice blends. If a recipe does call the seeds to be removed (as in: use only the seeds), slightly bruise (crush) with a knife so that you can pull the husk (skin). Do NOT discard the skins! If you have loose black tea, add those green cardamom skins into them. They impart little bits of cardamom smells to the black tea.

 

Certain spices don't grind well, e.g. dried vetiver roots. It is then not only do I grind first using the Magic Bullet, I then have to filter them, further grind in heavy mortar-pestle, and repeat if necessary. Dried galangal (both the greater and lesser) are hard. Grinding and mortar-pestle is a must.

Edited Saturday at 09:14 PM by Tan Can Cook (log)

[Tan Can Cook]

Bengali (West Bengal and Bangladesh) and Odia Five-Spice Mix

 

Bangla: Panch Phoron

Odia: Pancha Phutana

 

Interesting regional variations between the two Five-Spice Mixes.

 

Odia Pancha Phutana from My Odia Kitchen

 

उड़िया पंच फोरन

 

By Tan Can Cook

Modified and Adapted from Usha Rani Tripathy

 

A mixture of 5 spices used for tempering curries and other dishes.

 

Ingredients

 

40.86 g (4 tbsp) black mustard Seeds
23.53 g (3 tbsp) cumin seeds
24.23 g (3 tbsp) nigella seeds
23.61 g (3 tbsp) fennel seeds
24.67 g (2 tbsp) fenugreek seeds

 

Method

 

The above spices are mixed together and stored in an airtight container. At the time of tempering, dry red chilies are mixed to this, either whole or broken with seeds.

 

Bengali Panch Phoron from Pumpkin Flower Fritters and Other Classic Recipes from a Bengali Kitchen

 

बंगाली पंच फोरन

 

By Tan Can Cook
Modified and Adapted from Renuka Devi Choudhurani

 

Ingredients

 

5 g (1½ + ⅛ tsp) cumin seeds
5 g (1½ + ⅛ tsp) nigella seeds
5 g (1⅛ tsp) fenugreek seeds
5 g (1¾ tsp) fennel seeds 
5 g (1¾ tsp) wild celery seeds [Trachyspermum roxburghianum / Carum roxburghianum]

 

Method

 

Equal proportions of cumin, nigella, fenugreek, fennel, and radhuni seeds. You may also add red chilli seeds.

[Tempest63]

I have the essential Marathi Cookbook in my collection which I see from your blog you also have, there are some dishes that I would very much like to try from the book. The problem is it seems impossible to find a source here in the U.K. for Bottle Masala.

I understand that this masala is usually made in the home in India and having found many recipes for it, including the one in the book, I find such small amounts of each spice from a lengthy list is impractical, and the quantities they make would be wasteful as I know it would not get used quickly enough.

 

That aside, some of the component spices I have never seen here in the U.K. and a brief look across the internet appears to indicate that they are not available.

 

I may have to wait until someone I know is going to India and see if a bottle is available there.

[KennethT]

5 minutes ago, Tempest63 said:

I have the essential Marathi Cookbook in my collection which I see from your blog you also have, there are some dishes that I would very much like to try from the book. The problem is it seems impossible to find a source here in the U.K. for Bottle Masala.

I understand that this masala is usually made in the home in India and having found many recipes for it, including the one in the book, I find such small amounts of each spice from a lengthy list is impractical, and the quantities they make would be wasteful as I know it would not get used quickly enough.

 

That aside, some of the component spices I have never seen here in the U.K. and a brief look across the internet appears to indicate that they are not available.

 

I may have to wait until someone I know is going to India and see if a bottle is available there.

I make my own Nyonya spice blend which has a lot of ingredients - I make a large batch, then portion into ziplock or vacuum bags and keep in the freezer.  A year later, I can't tell it from the freshly made.

[Tan Can Cook]

2 hours ago, Tempest63 said:

I have the essential Marathi Cookbook in my collection which I see from your blog you also have, there are some dishes that I would very much like to try from the book. The problem is it seems impossible to find a source here in the U.K. for Bottle Masala.

I understand that this masala is usually made in the home in India and having found many recipes for it, including the one in the book, I find such small amounts of each spice from a lengthy list is impractical, and the quantities they make would be wasteful as I know it would not get used quickly enough.

 

That aside, some of the component spices I have never seen here in the U.K. and a brief look across the internet appears to indicate that they are not available.

 

I may have to wait until someone I know is going to India and see if a bottle is available there.

 

Greetings from across the pond sir. Hi @Tempest63.

 

As far the spices for East Indian Bottle Masala and in your position makes sense. If you read the book, which you and I have, to make the Bottle Masala, this the recipe:

 

100 gms dried red Rasampatti chillies
75 gms dried red Kashmiri Deghi chillies
75 gms coriander seeds
25 gms (2½ tbsp) turmeric powder
12 gms (2½ tsp) poppy seeds (khus-khus)
12 gms (2½ tsp) sesame seeds (til)
12 gms (3½ tsp) yellow mustard seeds
12 gms (3½ tsp) cumin seeds
12 gms (3½ tsp) black peppercorns
7 gms (1¾ tsp) green cardamoms
7 gms (7 x 1ʺ sticks) cinnamon
7 gms (1½ tbsp) cloves
7 gms wholewheat grains (gehun)
7 gms (1 tsp) split, husked Bengal gram (chana dal)
3.5 gms (1 tsp) royal cumin seeds (shah jeera)
3.5 gms (2 pieces) bay leaves (tej patta)
3.5 gms (4¼ tsp) cassia buds (nagkesar)
3.5 gms sesame flowers (optional)
3.5 gms (3½ blades) mace (javitri)
3.5 gms cubeb pepper (kababchini)
3.5 gms (1 tsp) powdered asafoetida (hing)
1.0 gm (⅓ tsp) fennel seeds (badi saunf)
2.58 gms (½) nutmeg (jaiphal)
 

As for "sesame flowers," even I gave up on finding that. I contacted the author Shrimati Kaumudi-ji at her Instagram. She currently lives in Southern California now. She said it's OK that I omit it.

 

As for finding cassia buds, those are the dried buds of Cinnamomum spp. tree. I sourced it from a Canada spice shop called Pepper Tree and Spice Co. at https://peppertreespice.com/products/cassia-buds-1?variant=44010666426607. Because I exclusively cook foods from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Iran, I use up my spices in a regularly.

 

90 grams (3.17 oz) of cassia buds (Cinnamomum spp.) cost me a total of 33.00 USD (~26.18 GBP). In transliterated Hindi, they are known as kala nagkesar. Don't confuse kala nagkesar with the other nagkesar, which is Mesua ferrea. In another Marathi cookbook that I have called Pangat, a Feast: Food and Lore from Marathi Kitchens by Saee Koranne-Khandekar, she uses nagkesar (Mesua ferrea) with the English name of cobra saffron / Ceylon ironwood buds.

 

85 grams (3 oz) of Mesua ferrea cost me total 32.97 USD (~26.15 GBP).

 

What's important is that these ingredients—although adds their floral and fragrance, their presence is masked by the dried red chillies and coriander seeds. If you omit them, the world we know won't implode or anything. I've included some images of how Cinnamomum spp., Mesua ferrea, and Piper cubeba look.

 

I don't know any giant spice shops in the UK, but the biggest and famous one we have in USA is based in NYC. It's famous name: Kalustyans. They charge 3-ounce for 19.99 USD + shipping and taxes, if applicable. https://foodsofnations.com/products/cassia-buds?variant=44375883153628.

 

You can purchase in lesser quantities, but the shipping cost of more or less about the same.

 

In my batch, I've downscaled it to quarter quantity to fit inside the jar. I've placed this in my spice cabinet away from light. Traditionally, they are stored inside recycled dark glass bottles hence the name East Indian Bottle Masala.

Edited Monday at 05:43 PM by Tan Can Cook (log)

[Tempest63]

I just had another dive into the internet and found this.

https://omemade.co.uk/product/buy-east-indian-bottle-masala-online/

 

Looking at the brief outline of ingredients on the label, I have high hopes it may be a  reasonable replacement for homemade.

 

I am on a wholly liquid diet for the next few weeks (doctors orders) but will order it and start planning a few recipes.

 

Update. Ordered!

 

T63

[Tan Can Cook]

2 minutes ago, Tempest63 said:

I just had another dive into the internet and found this.

https://omemade.co.uk/product/buy-east-indian-bottle-masala-online/

 

Looking at the brief outline of ingredients on the label, I have high hopes it may be a  reasonable replacement for homemade.

 

I am on a wholly liquid diet for the next few weeks (doctors orders) but will order it and start planning a few recipes.

 

Update. Ordered!

 

T63

 

Yup! That looks good enough. In my batch from Essential Marathi Cookbook, I can smell the cubeb peppers. Your version you purchased mentioned of cubeb!

 

Once you receive your supply of Bottle Masala, cook the "Lonvas" recipe on page 249. It was the same recipe Shrimati Kaumudi-ji told me, when I showed her my batch I made. Bon appetit!

[Tan Can Cook]

11 hours ago, KennethT said:

I make my own Nyonya spice blend which has a lot of ingredients - I make a large batch, then portion into ziplock or vacuum bags and keep in the freezer.  A year later, I can't tell it from the freshly made.

 

I look at various recipes for Singaporean Nyonya and almost the vast majority of recipe ingredients has dried red chilies and combination of "body-providing" spices like cumin and coriander. Leading up to smaller amounts of aromatic and fragrances spices.

 

I know most of the Singaporean Indians are primarily from Telugu and Tamil communities. I am certain they brought their sambhar and podi blends and mix is in along with the culinary diversity of Singapore.

 

What's interested to note is that various spice blends from Maharashtra and adjacent Konkani Belt has the similar spice blend such that ground and dry red chillies make up the most.

 

 

[KennethT]

12 hours ago, Tan Can Cook said:

 

I look at various recipes for Singaporean Nyonya and almost the vast majority of recipe ingredients has dried red chilies and combination of "body-providing" spices like cumin and coriander. Leading up to smaller amounts of aromatic and fragrances spices.

 

I know most of the Singaporean Indians are primarily from Telugu and Tamil communities. I am certain they brought their sambhar and podi blends and mix is in along with the culinary diversity of Singapore.

 

What's interested to note is that various spice blends from Maharashtra and adjacent Konkani Belt has the similar spice blend such that ground and dry red chillies make up the most.

 

 

Like you say, there is a huge cultural and culinary diversity in Singapore.  But the Nyonya are more removed from India than the Singaporean Indian communities - the Nyonya are the product of Chinese men marrying Malaysian women back in the 1800s - but Malaysia itself (especially certain regions) has had Indian immigrants - which is where the Nyonya probably got their dried spice usage.  Most Nyonya food doesn't rely on dried spices much, but some dishes that do - for instance, this one.

[Tan Can Cook]

Just an update that I was able to create another post here on eGullet on sourcing exactly where to purchase the mentioned rare spices and herbs for the USA at https://forums.egullet.org/topic/167482-sourcing-rare-spices-herbs-and-compulsory-ingredients-used-in-regional-indian-pakistani-bangladeshi-and-provincial-iranian-persian-cuisines.

 

@Tempest63 ji. I know you're in the UK. Will you please consider sharing your knowledge and experience of purchasing the ingredients over at the thread I aforementioned?

 

I want to help create a stockist here on eGullet, where people can replicate the recipes in regional Indian books published in India on a 1:1 basic with viable substitutions and minimal omission of ingredients for those of us outside of India and residing in the West.

 

[Tempest63]

3 hours ago, Tan Can Cook said:

Just an update that I was able to create another post here on eGullet on sourcing exactly where to purchase the mentioned rare spices and herbs for the USA at https://forums.egullet.org/topic/167482-sourcing-rare-spices-herbs-and-compulsory-ingredients-used-in-regional-indian-pakistani-bangladeshi-and-provincial-iranian-persian-cuisines.

 

@Tempest63 ji. I know you're in the UK. Will you please consider sharing your knowledge and experience of purchasing the ingredients over at the thread I aforementioned?

 

I want to help create a stockist here on eGullet, where people can replicate the recipes in regional Indian books published in India on a 1:1 basic with viable substitutions and minimal omission of ingredients for those of us outside of India and residing in the West.

 

I very rarely purchase spices etc., off the internet. I tend to visit the stores themselves and browse the shelves, usually ending up buying far more than I anticipated.

My go to shop for all things Indian is the Taj Stores https://tajstores.co.uk in London’s famous Brick Lane, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_Lane it is close to where I work and is a pleasant walk through a part of historic London.

It is looking up the links for the store just now that I found for the first time it has a mail order side to the business, you learn something new everyday.

 

Where I live in Essex there are two Asian grocers I tend to use. The Asian Cookshop in Braintree https://theasiancookshop.co.uk actually started life in an Indian restaurant before moving a couple of times to its current location. This was a regular place I used to acquire a lot of ingredients when I was not in London. I rarely visit now as the local parking restrictions have become too onerous to battle with. They do however have an established and thriving mail order business, not that I have ever made use of it.

 

The other I place I discovered relatively recently is Joe’s Market in Rainsford Road, Chelmsford. This place doesn’t appear to have a website let alone an online mail order service. I like this particular place as it has a number of other small grocers nearby where I can pick up goat and mutton, neither of which is widely available in the U.K. There is also a continental grocer close by that sells the finest vegetables and fresh herbs. Coriander (Cilantro in the U.S.) in big bunches as opposed to the small limp plastic wrapped packages you find in uk supermarkets.

 

As an aside I visited the Taj Stores yesterday for some whole green moong dhal and  some whole black urid dhal. Whilst there I picked up a box of Shan Special Shahi Haleem Mix, a product recommended to me by some Pakistani colleagues and a real shortcut to making a great tasting Haleem. I paid £2.69 for the package in store, but out of curiosity when I got home I compared the price on Amazon UK. It was a staggering £6.10. This is another reason I tend to shop personally rather than mail order for spices etc.

Edited 14 hours ago by Tempest63 (log)

[Tempest63]

On 2/17/2025 at 3:39 PM, Tempest63 said:

I have the essential Marathi Cookbook in my collection which I see from your blog you also have, there are some dishes that I would very much like to try from the book. The problem is it seems impossible to find a source here in the U.K. for Bottle Masala.

I understand that this masala is usually made in the home in India and having found many recipes for it, including the one in the book, I find such small amounts of each spice from a lengthy list is impractical, and the quantities they make would be wasteful as I know it would not get used quickly enough.

 

That aside, some of the component spices I have never seen here in the U.K. and a brief look across the internet appears to indicate that they are not available.

 

I may have to wait until someone I know is going to India and see if a bottle is available there.

One of the reasons for visiting the Taj Stores in Brick Lane yesterday was to source some Bassar Mix. This is a Kashmiri spice blend that was recommended to me and is one I have never used before. In fact I have never seen it listed in any of the Kashmiri recipes that I have prepared before. The Taj Stores didn’t appear to have it on the shelves and when I asked the staff they looked nonplussed and had never heard of it. Given that the store is run by Bangladeshis is it surprising that they are not aware of a Kashmiri spice blend?

I also enquired about the Bottle Masala but they didn’t have a clue about that either.

[Tan Can Cook]

49 minutes ago, Tempest63 said:

One of the reasons for visiting the Taj Stores in Brick Lane yesterday was to source some Bassar Mix. This is a Kashmiri spice blend that was recommended to me and is one I have never used before. In fact I have never seen it listed in any of the Kashmiri recipes that I have prepared before. The Taj Stores didn’t appear to have it on the shelves and when I asked the staff they looked nonplussed and had never heard of it. Given that the store is run by Bangladeshis is it surprising that they are not aware of a Kashmiri spice blend?

I also enquired about the Bottle Masala but they didn’t have a clue about that either.

 

I've never heard of "basaar" or "bassar" masala until now. From looking at online recipes and packaging, I wonder—if it is a British Indian and/or British Pakistani invention? As in, I don't think any members of the South Asian diaspora would spend time making the traditional Kashmiri spice cakes. With your typical UK weather, I don't think "drying out in the sun" would work. Someone came and make those "Kashmiri spice cakes" into ground, powder form and called it a catchy name to sell their product? This is possible.

 

I have Wazwan: Traditional Kashmiri Cuisine and Multiple Flavors of Kashmiri Pandit Cuisine. There is no mention of the masala name. I did find the following:

 

Kashmiri Succh Bari (Ver) from Multiple Flavors of Kashmiri Pandit Cuisine

 

By Annapurna Chak

 

They are flat doughnut-shaped cakes of ground spices with a strong aroma. Generally made in bulk at the time of weddings, they can be stored for the rest of the year or more. Small amounts are broken off as required, crumbled and sprinkled over food to give a distinct Kashmiri flavour.

 

Kashmiri Spice Cake

 

Ingredients

 

250 g black gram flour (dhuli urad dal atta)
60 ml water
125 ml mustard oil (sarson ka tel)

 

Powder

 

70 g fenugreek seeds (methi dana), roasted in a little oil and then powdered
15 g turmeric powder (haldi)
60 g red chilli powder
15 g cloves (laung)
60 g black cardamom seeds (badi elaichi)
6 bay leaves (tej patte)
60 g cumin seeds (sabut zeera)
15 g green cardamoms (choti elaichi)
60 g dry ginger powder (sonth)
10 g roasted asafoetida (hing), powdered and dissolved in a little water
30 g coriander seeds (dhaniya)
5 g mace (javitri)
30 g cinnamon (dalchini)
1 nutmeg (jaiphal)

 

Method

 

1. Grind the above ingredients into powder. Mix the powdered spices with the black gram flour till well blended. Then adding mustard oil, dissolved hing and water little at a time, knead the mixture into firm stiff dough. The dough should not be soft. Use as little water as possible unless too dry to knead. Keep the dough covered in a vessel overnight.
2. The next morning, from the kneaded dough, make ¼ inch thick flat baris (cakes) of 2 inches in diameter with a hole in the centre and arrange them individually on greased thalis (plates). Dry them out in the sun (on both sides) for the next two–three weeks till completely dry. Store them in an airtight container when thoroughly dried. These baris, if made properly can last a few years.

 

Tip: Avoid making them during the monsoon or foggy days in winter since they need a lot of sunshine to dry the natural way.

Edited 13 hours ago by Tan Can Cook
Fixing typos. (log)

[Tan Can Cook]

Interestingly, another Kashmiri Ver recipe is simpler; however, this one includes addition of garlic and shallots.

 

Kashmiri Ver Paste from Wazwaan: Traditional Kashmiri Cuisine

 

By Sharief, Shafi and Rafiq Waza with Rocky Mohan

 

Pound Together to a Coarse Paste

 

250 g garlic (lasan)
250 g shallots (praan)

 

Dry Roast and Grind to a Fine Powder

 

1 kg Kashmiri red chilli powder
50 g black cardamoms (bari elaichi)
1 tbsp black cumin seeds (shah jeera)
1 tbsp green cardamom seeds (chhoti elaichi dana)
1 tbsp cinnamon powder (dalchini)
1 tbsp dry ginger powder (sonth)

 

Method

 

Mix the garlic and shallot paste with this powder. Shape them into cakes and make a hole in the centre big enough to pass a thin rope through it so that the cakes can be strung together and kept for use later. Dry the cakes in the sun until they have no moisture left.

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Tan Can Cook said:

With your typical UK weather, I don't think "drying out in the sun" would work.

 

I don't know what you've been told about "typical UK weather', but sun drying is certainly possible. South Asia has a lot more rain!

 

When I was still in the UK (where I lived 45 years) I regularly sun-dried all sorts of things including cherry tomatoes, my own grapes and other fruits.   

 

 

Edited 11 hours ago by liuzhou (log)