— Mitch Miglis

You know, let me mention a couple of things and, um, what I've got actually in front of me here is our Masala dba and, uh, which means spice box. And, uh, this is, uh, typical, uh, to an Indian kitchen. Just remove the, uh, the lid. There's a, uh, an, an inner lid here. I'll try to do this gently so I don't dump all the spices out. Um, a spoon or two, and I'm not gonna tip this a whole lot more, but you can see these small containers, uh, in here that have, um, uh, different spices. This one holds six of those small containers. And Mitch, lemme just start by running through, uh, what I have in, in this container, uh, these masala DBAs are, are pretty handy, uh, for your daily use, your most frequently used spices. Um, this one includes, uh, cumin and, uh, coriander. And, uh, there's some, uh, uh, hinging and, um, uh, also some fenugreek seeds. There's some turmeric powder and, uh, black mustard seeds. Now, you know, in addition, uh, in the cupboard, uh, within, uh, less than an arm's length, uh, away from, uh, whoever's doing most of the cooking will be some black peppercorns and some green cardamom. There's some black cardamom, uh, cloves and, uh, cinnamon sticks. Um, and, and that probably rounds out. Oh, yeah. And then we've got, uh, a, a variety or two of whole red chilies and a couple of varieties of red, uh, ground chili. Uh, and then in the freezer, we have, uh, fresh green chilies. We're once upon a time fresh. So anyway, those are gonna be our most frequent go-tos. Oh, let me also mention in the fridge, we've got some curry leaves. And, uh, so, you know, that, um, might be a dozen or so that I've mentioned are gonna be the most frequently used. In addition, there's probably another, you know, dozen or so, um, at least that, uh, we might use, uh, less frequently. And, um, so, uh, you know, in terms of how we use them, uh, I mean, most of this is gonna go into, uh, you know, Indian or Indian inspired sort of preparations. And it may, you know, might be very, uh, simply where, um, we might use some oil or not. Let's say we do use oil to, um, to, to start. And it doesn't have to be much. It could just be a, a, a teaspoon couple of teaspoons. Doesn't have to be more than that. Um, even though you'll see more than that used, um, you know, by some cooks and, uh, you know, whole spices like, uh, a mustard seed and, and, um, uh, curry leaves, uh, maybe cumin and coriander will be added to that, uh, to bloom. We use this term bloom. And it's one where, uh, the flavors of the spices are drawn out, uh, you know, into the, uh, oil, uh, as they're heated in the heat sort of opens things up. And then, uh, once that oil is flavored, other ingredients are added to the pan. So it could be, uh, you know, uh, uh, onions and tomatoes and garlic and ginger and, and, uh, fresh chilies. And that flavored oil then flavors the rest of that, uh, of the ingredients. And then you continue to build upon whatever you're making, adding, whether it's potatoes or grains or something else. Um, and, uh, you know, toward the end of the cooking process, it's, uh, common, you know, in the, in the Indian or South Asian kitchen, uh, to add some ground spices. They could be singular or they could be, uh, in a blend, in a masala blend, um, you know, just based upon what it is that you're preparing, what you, what flavors you like. Okay? And so that's a basic process. Now, in terms of, um, uh, you know, what combinations we use, um, you know, there are some, some common combinations that, uh, that work. I'll say, um, you know, along the lines of any regional cuisine, if you take a look at flavor combinations that appear commonly, you know, those are gonna be, uh, safe, uh, combinations to use in your own kitchen. No, no matter the cuisine that we're talking about here. But, uh, you know, cumin and coriander would be an example of a couple of items that, uh, routinely go together. Um, uh, uh, uh, mustard seeds, black mustard seeds, and then curry leaves. Uh, they go together. Uh, you know, you'll find, uh, you ginger, garlic chili, fresh chili, uh, that work together, um, in, in many preparations. And, uh, then from there, you know, you might add more or less, or some or not of, um, cloves or, uh, green cardamom or black cardamom, for example, um, black pepper, uh, in some form, whether it's in a whole, uh, form, whole berry form, uh, pepper peppercorn, in other words, uh, or some sort of a, a crushed or ground form, uh, are very common as well. And so, you know, to begin, I would recommend that, you know, as you make one or two dishes, find a, a favorite or two, uh, and then just practice with that, uh, to get to understand how the flavor of the individual spices play out and how they work in tandem, you know, with, uh, with the next spice. Um, and then you can make adjustments on your own. You know, if you, uh, want less heat, then tone down or, or even omit, you know, the addition of, uh, of red chilies or, or green fresh chilies, um, while enjoying the flavor of the other spices. Um, and then also, uh, don't be bashful about, uh, you know, even considering a, uh, uh, a boxed, uh, or bagged, you know, spice blend from the store. If you go to an Indian grocery store, or more broadly speaking, a a South Asian, uh, grocery store, uh, you'll probably find, uh, many, many, uh, spice blends to choose from. Um, and, and many of these will be, uh, uh, I'll say designed or formulated for a, a particular type of preparation, whether it's a, uh, a fish preparation or a potato preparation, or this, or, or that. And so, depending on what it is that you might be making, uh, you know, you can try out these different, uh, types of masalas. And, uh, then from there, you know, if, if you want, you can start to, to blend your own at home, and you can look online, uh, for specific, uh, you know, recipes, um, uh, you know, going beyond simply looking at the ingredient list on the back of the box, in other words, okay? And, uh, so hopefully, you know, this approach, uh, to using more spices makes sense. And, uh, it is a, uh, I think a step by step, uh, sort of, uh, uh, in, in, uh, guide here, uh, to getting you to use more spices. And I recommend everybody use, uh, more spices in their, in their cooking. Um, let me, uh, provide another example here. If, um, you know, I sometimes make a smoothie in the blender, and, uh, it could be a absolutely any smoothie you want. Um, but, um, or I want, I guess, but I'll add, always add some spices and, uh, you know, cloves and cardamom and black pepper and turmeric, uh, are usually found in whatever it is that I'm blending. And again, you can adjust the quantity, uh, based upon how much sort of heat you wanna feel after you swallow the food, um, that aromatic sensation or the, or the more immediate sensation on, uh, you know, in the mouth. Um, and even if you're, uh, not, you know, you know, noticeably, um, um, picking up on the, uh, spice flavors or aromas, know that you are benefiting from the phytonutrients, uh, that are present, uh, in these foods. And also, you know, please understand that, um, we don't know all the benefits of all the phytonutrients that are in all these plant-based foods that we enjoy, um, but do know that they are a benefit to you. And, uh, and spices are a great way, a great source, um, you know, to draw from it to get these into your diet. And so, um, you know, I will typically go through a day where spices go into absolutely everything that I'm preparing, even in a small dose, um, in order to get the, uh, the health benefit, uh, of that one or two or three spices that I'm adding. Okay? And, uh, so please, uh, all of you, I, I hope you'll give that a try.

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