Make at Home

Homemade Masalas & Spice Blends

Store-bought masalas are full of fillers, artificial colour, and stale ground spice. Blending your own takes ten minutes and changes every dish you cook — permanently.

No fillers or additives

Commercial blends often contain anti-caking agents, artificial colour, and mystery flour. Yours won't.

Far more aromatic

Freshly ground spices retain their essential oils — the aroma and depth packaged powder simply cannot replicate.

Tailored to your taste

More heat, less coriander, deeper cardamom — you adjust every blend to suit your household exactly.

Costs a fraction

Buying whole spices in bulk and grinding at home is significantly cheaper per batch than branded packets.

8 recipes

Spice blends worth making yourself

Everyday Essential

Garam Masala

The backbone of Indian cooking. Warm, complex, and fragrant — this blend goes into dals, curries, and biryanis.

15 mins 🫙 Stores 3 months Easy
Key spices
  • Coriander seeds
  • Cumin seeds
  • Black peppercorns
  • Green cardamom
  • Cinnamon sticks
  • Cloves & bay leaves
Snacks & Street Food

Chaat Masala

Tangy, spicy, and addictive. A sprinkle transforms fruit, salads, chaats, and even a plain glass of buttermilk.

10 mins 🫙 Stores 2 months Easy
Key spices
  • Amchur (dry mango powder)
  • Kala namak (black salt)
  • Cumin seeds, roasted
  • Coriander powder
  • Red chilli powder
  • Asafoetida (hing)
Rice & Mains

Biryani Masala

Layered and aromatic — this blend is what separates a great biryani from a merely good one. Cloves, star anise, and cardamom at its core.

20 mins 🫙 Stores 3 months Intermediate
Key spices
  • Star anise & mace
  • Green & black cardamom
  • Cinnamon sticks
  • Cloves & nutmeg
  • Kewra seeds (optional)
  • Shahi jeera (caraway)
South Indian

Sambar Powder

The soul of South Indian cooking. Earthy, slightly smoky, with a warmth that packaged powder simply cannot replicate.

25 mins 🫙 Stores 4 months Intermediate
Key spices
  • Dry red chillies
  • Coriander seeds
  • Chana dal & urad dal
  • Fenugreek seeds
  • Curry leaves, dried
  • Turmeric & asafoetida
Street Food

Pav Bhaji Masala

That distinctively tangy, bold flavour of Mumbai street pav bhaji — made at home with whole spices you toast yourself.

15 mins 🫙 Stores 2 months Easy
Key spices
  • Coriander & cumin seeds
  • Dry red chillies
  • Amchur powder
  • Fennel seeds
  • Black pepper & cloves
  • Cinnamon & cardamom
Legumes & Curries

Chole Masala

Deep, dark, and smoky — the masala that turns a simple pot of chickpeas into Punjabi chole that tastes like it cooked all day.

20 mins 🫙 Stores 3 months Easy
Key spices
  • Anardana (pomegranate seeds)
  • Amchur & kala namak
  • Coriander & cumin seeds
  • Dry ginger powder
  • Black cardamom
  • Cloves & cinnamon
Drinks

Chai Masala

A warming blend of ginger, cardamom, and pepper that turns your daily cup of tea into something genuinely restorative.

10 mins 🫙 Stores 3 months Easy
Key spices
  • Green cardamom pods
  • Dry ginger (soonth)
  • Black peppercorns
  • Cloves
  • Cinnamon
  • Nutmeg (a pinch)
South Indian

Rasam Powder

Thin, peppery, and deeply comforting. The right rasam powder is what makes this South Indian soup medicinal as much as delicious.

20 mins 🫙 Stores 4 months Easy
Key spices
  • Black pepper & cumin
  • Toor dal, roasted
  • Dry red chillies
  • Coriander seeds
  • Curry leaves, dried
  • Turmeric
Storage tip

"Dry roast your whole spices on a low flame just until fragrant — never until they smoke. Let them cool completely before grinding, and store in airtight glass jars away from heat and light. Most homemade masalas stay beautifully fresh for two to four months."