Home-made yogurt
Set yogurt (dahi) at home with just milk and a spoonful of yogurt from the last batch as the culture. It sets overnight in a warm spot. Scale it up to any amount of milk: allow ½ tsp of yogurt for each cup.
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10 recipes
Set yogurt (dahi) at home with just milk and a spoonful of yogurt from the last batch as the culture. It sets overnight in a warm spot. Scale it up to any amount of milk: allow ½ tsp of yogurt for each cup.
Chaat masala is the tangy, salty, slightly sulphurous sprinkle that makes chaat taste like chaat. Dried mango (amchur) gives the sourness and black salt the distinctive savoury edge. Sprinkle it over fruit, salads, raita, chips and street-food snacks.
Stir everything together before bed and breakfast is ready when you wake up. Chia seeds make it thick and creamy, and frozen berries thaw overnight into a jammy layer.
A soaked, Bircher-style muesli you stir together the night before. The oats soften in the yogurt overnight and the grated apple keeps it fresh and juicy. In the morning, add the strawberries and breakfast is ready. Any berries work in place of the strawberries.
An everyday curry powder that's built on coriander seeds, so it's fragrant rather than fiery. Fennel, star anise and bay give it a sweet warmth, with just two red chillies for heat. Season curries with it when you want flavour without much heat.
A heady North Indian garam masala heavy with cardamom, cumin and pepper, rounded out with mace, nutmeg and fennel. The spices are ground raw rather than roasted, so the blend stays bright and perfumed. Use it in rich Punjabi curries such as chole, rajma and paneer makhani.
Fresh tomato puree tastes brighter than tinned, and you need only tomatoes and boiling water. The tomatoes are scalded so their skins slip off, then blended smooth. Use it in curries, pasta sauces, soups and the home-made tomato ketchup.
Sprouting whole green grams makes them crunchier, quicker to cook and more nutritious. All you need is muslin, water and a warm spot, and they're ready in 3–4 days. Use them in salads, bhel, usal and stir-fries. Any other whole pulse sprouts the same way.
A bright red, tangy Gujarati masala, like a dry pickle masala made with split mustard and fenugreek seeds and sharpened with lemon. It's sprinkled over steaming khichu (khichi), and it's just as good with theplas or a drizzle of oil as a quick dip.
Home-made garam masala is far more fragrant than shop-bought. The whole spices are roasted until crisp, then ground, giving a warm, slightly hot blend with dry ginger and red chilli. Add a pinch to curries, dals and rice dishes towards the end of cooking.