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People often assume that Indian dishes are very intricate to prepare but they are not actually! As soon as you are able to comprehend the uses of the spices, trust me, you could be the next Vikas Khanna (Top Indian Chef) or Gordon Ramsay (Top British Chef) and you might even find these dishes are not as hard to cook as you first thought.  

RAAGA has listed 5 main spices Indians reach for the most when they cook:

1.Cardamom

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There are two types of Cardamom; green and black. Green Cardamoms are used for almost everything, from payasam, curries and even for lassis. It is pretty light and sweet in flavor whereas the black Cardamoms are intensely smoky and powerful. Not only that, it needs to be used with a lot of caution because it has a really sharp flavour.

Cook Lamb Rogan Josh with Cardamom

2. Clove

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Do you know Indians use cloves to relieve tooth pain? Try it if you don’t believe us. Cloves and anise are easily recognized in many different types of dishes. It has a really strong and medicinal flavor, but it gives so much aroma to our cooking!

Cook Chicken Curry with Clove

3. Cassia Bark 

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Cassia bark may look like cinnamon (it's also known as Chinese cinnamon) but is slightly different. It has a milder flavor and can be used in larger quantities. Moreover, it can also be used whole or ground with other spices.

Cook Paneer Mughlai with Cassia Bark 

4. Black Pepper 

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Everyone knows Black Pepper is an essential spice for any type of dish! Side note: toast it before blending. 

Cook Mutton Varuval with Black Pepper 

5. Cumin

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Cumin is frequently used for every dish, but mainly for RASAM (Indian spicy soup). It is rich in flavor, especially when you pound it with a pestle and mortar (Iddu Kallu). Not only that, you can even toast it before blending into mixes. PS: Don’t toast it too much because it will taste bitter if you do! 

Cook Tomato Rasam with Cumin

What are you waiting for? Cook and impress your loved ones.