Essential Spices for the Indian Pantry
In a recent column for the San Francisco Chronicle, food photographer and blogger Nik Sharma provides a guide for stocking the Indian pantry, listing the spices and ingredients he loves and uses most and why.
Photo credits: Nik Sharma
Most of the spices can be found at Oaktown Spice Shop, including the following:
- Indian red chiles (not available online)
- Cinnamon (Korintje or Saigon)
- Black Peppercorns (such as Tellicherry or Quang Tri)
- Brown Mustard Seeds (Sharma recommends black, but brown and black are very similar)
- Green Cardamom
- Black Cardamom
- Asafoetida
- Kala Namak (also known as black salt)
- Turmeric
- Tamarind Paste (not available online)
- Amchoor
- Saffron
- Rose Water (not available online)
- Bay Leaves
- Garam Masala
- Ajwain Seed (also known as Carom Seed)
Read the story here!