How many types of masala are there in India?
If you’re trying to make any dish from Indian cuisine, you cannot complete it without a masala to get the perfect taste, flavor, and aroma. Each masala blends one or more Indian spices like cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, hing, fennel, cinnamon, and many more.
With different spice combinations and variations in the amount of spices, each blend is unique and gives a distinguished taste. Moreover, each part of India is distinct and has different authentic tastes. As a result, Indian cuisine uses countless masalas to create different authentic tastes.
The 7 most commonly used Indian masalas
- Sambar masala: Sambar is one of the staple dishes that most Indian homes cook at least once or twice a week, with as many vegetables as possible, lentils, and tomatoes. This dish needs a tangy taste. Thus, the sambhar or sambar masala powder blends coriander, cumin, fenugreek, black pepper, red chilli, and mustard seed spices. Adding this masala gives the required tangy and earthy stew flavor.
- Curry or gravy masala: It is a must-have Indian masala powder that helps make any Indian curry or gravy. The main ingredient can be different—a vegetable or chicken—but the thick gravy is common with the gravy masala. Also, this masala is added to any soup or stew dishes to make the consistency thick and get a roasted flavor.
- Biryani masala: As the name implies, this biryani masala powder is an important ingredient used to make any biryani in Indian cuisine. This masala is rich in spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, mace, bay leaves, etc. It has a complex flavor and aroma that never fails to make everyone's mouth water. More than the taste, lately, biryani has become an emotion for most Indians who are food lovers.
- Garam masala: This is another common masala added to curries and kormas that pair with rotis and chapatis. The major spices used in biryani and curry masala powders are combined to make this garam masala powder. The pepper spice is quite dominant in this powder. This gives a warm and spicy flavor to this masala.
- Jal jeera masala: Jaljeera is a unique, refreshing, and cooling drink that Indians prefer for summer. It has a salty and tangy flavor with a rich jeera (cumin) taste. The ingredients of this jal jeera masala powder are cumin, dry mango powder, black pepper, ginger, and asafoetida. Adding this masala and mint leaves to this drink gives the required citric and refreshing aroma and jal jeera flavor.
- Chicken masala: This masala powder is used as a main ingredient for marinating the chicken or added to make chicken gravies and curries. This chicken masala blends spices like turmeric, coriander, ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, red chillis, star anise, mustard, and bay leaf.
- Meat masala: It is a common masala used to make meat curries, stews, etc. However, this doesn’t stop us from using this masala powder for other vegetarian dishes. Thus, this meat masala powder can sometimes replace the gravy or curry masala with a more common spice mix, including black pepper, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and fennel.
Other special masalas
- Chaat masala: When added to chaat items, the chaat masala powder gives a tart, tangy, and sour taste.
- Chhole masala: It is a Punjabi-originated masala with rich cardamom, garlic, and coriander. Adding this chhole masala gives a warm and sweet flavor.
- Pav bhaji masala: The Mumbai special pav bhaji is a world-famous streetside dish with onion and bold spicy flavors.
- Fish masala: Be it for making fish curries or marinating fish for frying, this fish masala is essential. It gives a nice aroma with rich coriander and cumin’s earthy taste.
- Paneer masala: Dhaba-style paneer curries or tikkas can be made authentically with the help of this paneer masala, which has a mix of garam masala and chaat masala spices.
