Starter Kit for North Indian style cooking

acquire main ingredients online & use my free easy guide to get started

Ever since I wrote my basics for easy North Indian-style cooking, my inbox has been receiving a constant stream of questions about where to buy the basic ingredients. I have been really enjoying these interactions, sharing with my readers where they could buy these locally or online. It occurred to me this week that I should share a ‘Starter Kit’ here in case other readers also have the same questions or inquiries.

First, a friendly reminder:

North Indian style cooking is approachable by any level of cook! I promise you this.

Don’t let the complex restaurant style dishes deter you from giving this actually simple-to-start cuisine a try. At home we, North Indian cooks/chefs/busy professionals, usually keep our dishes pretty simple.

I was taught 4 basics by my mom that I still use when I cook Indian food:

1. An Aromatic Base

2. Spices that Sing

3. Vibrant Finishing Touches

4. The Dance Sequence

You can use my original guide with basics and the links in this post to get started.

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Buy your Starter Kit:

Before you can get started on the 4 basics and master them, you will need some basic ingredients. While the best and most economic option would be your local Indian or Asian grocery store, I recognize you may not have one available in your area. So I link below products on Amazon that you can quickly get your hands on. I included various brands and kept the cost < $10 per ingredient.

Honestly, I wish I could bundle all these together and ship them directly to you but unfortunately that’s not quite possible yet.

BASE AROMATICS (6):

The main ingredient for this part I would recommend is ghee (1). While I use olive oil in my house for health reasons, ghee (clarified butter) is the traditional fat to fry aromatics; it lends immense flavor. Aromatics like onion (2), ginger (3), garlic (4), tomatoes (5), green chilies (6) are best to get at your local supermarket but I linked them here in case you prefer to order online. As a backup I also keep ginger garlic paste in my pantry, although fresh versions lend much more flavor.

KEY BASIC SPICES (5):

Most dishes in my house start with cumin seeds (1) dancing in the hot oil and flavor-packed spice (masala) mix that is made from: turmeric powder (2), coriander powder (3), garam masala (blend of warm spices) (4), & dried red chili ground or whole (lal mirch) (5). I enjoy organizing these in a masala dabba (a spice box). With these 5 spices only, you can cook your first simple North Indian dish!

OPTIONAL ADVANCED SPICES (many):

Technically, you do not need these advanced spices to get started. But they help in preparing more complex flavor profiles & fancier dishes. These can include:

• seeds like mustard (sarson), fennel (saunf), carom (ajwain), nigella (kalonji), and fenugreek (methi)

• spice powders like mango powder (amchur), cumin powder (jeera ), pomegranate powder (anardaana), and many more

• whole ingredients like bay leaves (tej patta), cinnamon sticks (dalchini), cardamom pods (elaichi), cloves (laung), and sometimes dried curry leaves, although fresh is much better but harder to find (curry leaves are actually used a lot more in South Indian cuisine)

I use many of these advanced spices for the health benefits alone!

A BONUS FUN SPICE MIX: One of my favorite fun spices, which is used for sprinkling on top of food to add tongue-tickling, finger-licking finishing touches is called chaat masala that I highlighted in a fruit dish.

More basic North Indian ingredients, to round out the meals:

• Basmati rice is served with many dishes and my favorite is the aged long grain basmati rice that is very fragrant.

• Roti or chapati or phulka is a whole wheat flatbread served with many wet or dry curries. My current favorite flour is actually an American brand Bob’s Red Mill (cheaper locally than online) but many Indian brands are also great.

• Besan, a black chickpea flour, is used in many recipes, including as thickening agent in creamy curries like my warm winter curry sauce.

If you don’t use Amazon, online Indian grocery services like Patel Brothers or Gandhi Foods can also be a good resource to purchase these base ingredients.

Now you have both a Guide and a Starter Kit. When do you plan to cook the first North Indian style dish in your own kitchen? It would absolutely make my day if you share what you cook with me!

Cook your Starter Dish:

Once you receive your starter kit, you could cook any of the following Indian dishes from my posts as a beginner dish. I selected the ones below because they are easy and use familiar main ingredients:

• Keema: made using ground meats or with vegetables like green beans

• Khichdi: a simple comfort food made from rice and lentils

• Baked Aloo Gobi: a baked version of a popular cauliflower dish

Did I miss anything? Please reach out and I’ll be happy to provide my recommendations!

Cuisine Debrief:

• Is this my winner or disaster? winner (saying it as loud as I can)

• How would I rate this dish out of 10? A MILLION out of 10

• What would I change next time? So many experiments dancing in my mind!

• Would I make this again? Without question to my very last day on this earth