Necessary Bengali Spices

বাঙালী মশলা পাতির খুঁটি-নাটি 

Here’s a list of Quintessential spices that must be present in any Bong cooks spice cabinet.

Cumin – Jeera

Common chonk/phoron for many North Indian recipes.

Nigella/ Onion seeds – Kalo Jeera/ Kalaunji

Perfect to cook many simple Bengali recipes. E.g. I use it for my jhinge posto, macher jhols. Phoron nigella with chopped green chili for that unmistakeable Bong aroma J

Poppy seeds – Posto

Fenugreek – Methi

Coriander seeds – Dhania / dhone

Mustard seeds – Shorshe

Fennel seeds – mouri

Add mouri bata aada bata (fennel seeds paste and ginger paste) to boiled split urad dal and you have the authentic KALAI dal J

Dried red chili – Shukno lonka (gota)

Turmeric powder – holud/haldi

Asafoetida – hing

Dhone-jeere gunro – Dry ground cumin and coriander seeds

Adds texture to simple jhol preparations.

e.g. dhone jeere guro, aada bata (ginger paste) can make any watery macher jhol taste and feel sumptuous.

Bay leaf – Tej pata

Cardamom (green and black) – choto and boro elach

For your garam masala cuisine or for the essential Bengali payesh

Black pepper - Gol Morich

That should be enough to get you through any Bong recipe. A few blends, e.g. Garam masala, bhaja masala, etc. may be chalked out of the above too…you’ll find many such spice blend recipes in this blog (under label: “bengali spice mix”)

Note: Spices MUST be stored separately in air tight containers. No tying up with rubber bands and no storing all spices together in fancy spice chambers. The aroma is the essence of any Indian spice…. :)

Shorshe Bata (Bengali Mustard Paste)

Shorshe or mustard seeds come in different hues and sizes. The black or brown ones are more popular in Bong cuisine…the notorious macher jhal recipes more often than not use the traditional bangali shorshe bata.

Please please never ever use kasundi (Bengali mustard sauce), or Dijon mustard, or English mustard in Bong recipes that are asking for shorshe bata. You’ll get a tart after taste that’ll so clash with the whole recipe. It is very simple to make your own shorshe bata at home. Here’s how:

Soak mustard seeds for 4-8 hours. Grind to a paste in your wet-dry grinder with green chili, salt, and a sprinkle of water. THIS my friends will yield the authentic Bong shorshe bata.

[The soaking is necessary if you are using an electric grinder]

If you find shorshe recipes too tough to digest, mild it out with ½ posto (poppy seeds) instead. So take posto and shorshe in equal quantities, soak 4-8 hours. Grind with chili and salt.

Alternatively, you may strain the 1^st variant (no posto version) with some more water and throw away the mustard husks. These are a bit tough on your tummy.

Enjoy!

Garam masala (regular) – the magic Indian spice blend

Garam masala is the magic Indian spice blend that can make many Indian dishes sparkle. We may regulate the heat in this blend by controlling the clove and pepper content in the mix. Many Punjabi recipes, e.g. chhole, meat dishes, even paneer items taste just right with a last minute sprinkle of this wonder blend. Here’s the recipe.

1 tbsp black pepper corns (gol morich)
1 tbsp green cardamom (choto elach)
1 tbsp clove (labongo)
3 pcs of 1” stick cinnamon (dar chini)
2 bay leaves (tej pata)
1 ½ tbsp coriander seeds (dhania/dhone)
2 tbsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera)

Dry roast the bay leaves, cloves and cardamoms, and rest of the spices in three separate batches.

You could follow a similar procedure as the shahi garam masala. Pop in all the spices in the microwave oven together for one minute. Remove the cloves first. Then roast for another 20 secs. Remove everything except bay leaves. Roast another 30 secs or until the bay leaves are brittle (not burnt).

Let cool and blend all the spices in a spice or coffee grinder.

Store in air tight jar (don’t use a large jar for this - the less air it is exposed to the better flavor it retains. You can store it for up to 6 months. 

Shahi Garam Masala (the hot Indian spice mix of the Maharajas)

Shahi garam masala, as the name suggests has a classy Indian flavor to it. It is perfect for Dum biriyanis, dum aloo, or even lamb and chicken recipes. I use this version of garam masala only in my special Mughal inspired recipes.

1 tbsp black pepper corns (gol morich)
1 tbsp green cardamom (choto elach)
1 tbsp clove (labongo)
3 pcs of 1” stick cinnamon (dar chini)
2 bay leaves (tej pata)
2 pcs black cardamom (baro elach)
1 star anise (jaitri/javitri)1 tsp (a few strands) mace (javitri)
1 whole nutmeg (jai phal)

1 ½ tbsp coriander seeds (dhania/dhone)
2 tbsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera)

1 1/2 tsp fennel (mouri)

Dry roast the bay leaves, cloves and cardamoms, and rest of the spices in three separate batches.

You could pop them all in the microwave oven together for one minute. Remove the cloves first. Then roast for another 20 secs. Remove everything except bay leaves. Roast another 30 secs or until the bay leaves are brittle (not burnt).

Let cool and blend all the spices in a spice or coffee grinder.

Store in air tight jar (don’t use a large jar for this - the less air it is exposed to the better flavor it retains). You can store it for up to 6 months. 

Bhaja Masala

Cumin seeds – 2 tbsp

Black peppercorns – 1 ¼ tbsp.

Bay leaves – 2 medium

Dried red chilis – 2-3 broken

Dry roast all the spices separately until the spices start releasing a light smoky aroma. Be careful not to burn the spices to avoid bitterness.

Cool and dry grind all the spices together. Store in an air tight container.

Uses: 1. Sprinkle on top of hot ghughni for that very Bengali ghughni taste.

2. May be used as a last minute add to dry curries, dals, niramish alu dum.

Enjoy!

panchforan, chutney masala, & shukto masala - a basic bengali spice mix

Panchforan is a very Bengali spice mix. As the name suggests, it is a composite of 5 spices. There are 2 versions that are popular in Bengal. 

Version 1: For this you need methi (fenugreek seeds), shorshe (mustard seeds), jeera (cumin seeds), mouri (fennel/saunf seeds), and kalo jeera/ kalaunji (nigella seeds), mixed whole in equal quantities. 

Version 2: Tastes great in shukto, panchmishali torkari. Replace the mustard seeds with RADHUNI seeds. don't know the english/hindi name .... but here's a wiki link to the description

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trachyspermum_roxburghianum

I have been and will be using this spice in various recipes. It is yum whether you splutter it in mustard oil or plain white oil. When punched with broken dried red chili it gives that known Bengali food aroma.........slllllllllll :)

চাটনী মশলা 

I use this chutney masala as a finishing touch to my বাঙালী  mishti aam-er chatni. To make this roast your panchforan (version1) with extra fennel seeds. Roast until the jeera seeds look browned. Grind and store in an air-tight jar. Sprinkle generously over your sweet mango chutney, as you turn off the flame, for that unmistakable বাঙালী বিয়েবাড়ি flavour.

শুক্ত মশলা 

I use ma's shukto  masala as a finishing touch to my shukto - or bittergourd mixed vegetables. This is a recipe that Ma decided to put together to be added to shuktos and even to a few panch mishali recipes. I love the slight bitterness of this spice mix.

To make this roast your panchforan (version2) with extra methi (fenugreek) seeds. Roast until the jeera seeds look browned. Grind and store in an air-tight jar. Sprinkle generously over your shukto for a yummy very বাঙালী  শুক্ত experience.

7 posts on essential spices and spice mixes

While blogging about recipes, I often get stuck on spices. Explaining a spice or spice-mix within a recipe makes it all so complicated :) So ...I just draft the recipe and procrastinate :p well the plan is to put up a few posts on spices before posting those pieces :) So, here I go on my take on essential spices in a Bong *cookie's? :p cabinet.
[* cookie (noun)- meaning - a baked food made of flour(s), shortening, and seasoning (sweet or salt);
cookie (adjective) - one who loves to cook..... well stop squinting ...someone has to smoothen a few absurdities that rule the English language. If a food lover is a foodie, one who loves to cook is a COOKIE! Yes Sir! too bad if they already have labeled it somewhere else]

We'll talk about some essential Bengali spices ..... started a few weeks back with my Panchforan, chutney masala, and shukto masala. I will start with a list of basic Indian spices, a few more basic spices, add a few garam masalas, and roasted bengali all spice, punjabi spices, and spice pastes.

Enjoy!