Spices and masalas are an integral part of Indian food for as long as we can remember. The heat and the plethora of flavours that Indian food stands for is only due to the Masalas and spices that are used in our food. With an immense range of products available in today’s markets, selecting the best masalas becomes a problem. Tata Sampann has come out with a new range of spices and we tell you why should try them out.
We tried an authentic Indian recipe from the state of West Bengal. Fish Roe or Machher Dim is a delicacy amongst Bengalis. Although the whole world is tying itself in knots over caviar, Bengalis have been enjoyed fish roe for a very long time. Occupying a central position on our dinner table, the humble roe has enthralled quite a few Bengali families with it’s nutty flavour. It is commonly found during the summer and rainy season. Ask your fisherman to include the roe when you’re getting your fish cleaned. The best roe comes from Catla and Rohu but even Hilsa has a unique, creamy texture of it’s own. We bring you one of the basic styles to have fish roe, in the form of fritters. We used Tata Sampann’s Turmeric Powder and Red Chilli Powder in the recipe.
Ingredients
Fish Roe: 200 gms
Gram Flour: 4 tbsp
Chopped Green Chillies: 2
Chopped Onion: 2 small sized
Turmeric Powder: 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder: 1 tsp
Baking Soda: ½ tsp
Salt to taste
Procedure
Stir in the ingredients into the fish roe.
Make bite sized pieces
Deep fry in Mustard Oil
Serve with a sauce or chutney of your choice.
The spices gave an authentic kick to the fritters which had been missing since the time we migrated from West Bengal. Sourced from the best of farms and packaged with the best of technology, they retain their natural oils. This lets them imbibe the same freshness as the spices you tried out during your childhood. The nostalgic flavours from your mother’s and grandmother’s hands are awoken with these spices. The masalas can be used to create a lot of authentic Indian dishes whose flavours will remind you of your childhood.
We also loved their blended masalas. The biggest problem with the new generation of today is the lack of cooking. Even if they have the heart, they usually mess up the flavours due to an incorrect combination of spices. These masalas help out a lot by taking the most important problem out of the way. Just add the requisite amounts of the ingredients along with the masalas and you can be a master of the Indian cuisine. Usually the masalas are enclosed in cardboard packets. As these dishes are made sparingly, the masala usually tends to get wet and clump together. Tata Sampann takes out this problem by having 5 heat sealed packets in each cardboxes. Each of these boxes cost INR 60. The blended masalas are available in packs of 100gms and INR 10 packs while the pure masalas are available in 200gms,100gms and INR 10 packs.
What we liked?
The spices have a freshness that is very distinct and will give you a nostalgic fervor. We have the Dal Tadka, Paneer Masala and Punjabi Chhole Masala in the blended Indian masala section. All of these are accompanied with a recipe by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor. His knowledge of Punjabi food is something that is known in every household. So his recipes and his attestation of the masalas is something that you can bank on. Do try out this whole new range of spices and masalas by Tata Sampann and let us know about your favourite.
