0 thoughts on “Stocking your Pantry for Indian Cooking 101 – Part 1

    1. Hi Blahnik. I too am a little confused between the different cumin seeds when it comes to how they are named, but I do know that there is a difference between them. Regular cumin seed is brown in color and is typically what most indian recipes call for. Black cumin seed is also referred to as kala jeera and is black in color with similar shape to the brown cumin seeds but just a little thinner and longer. They also have a more robust aroma (in my opinion, of course) that is somewhat smoky and earthy. Nigella seeds are also black but are small, somewhat irregualar shaped seeds that remind me of black, irregular shaped sesame seeds -lol (I hope that makes sense). I have yet to cook with nigella seeds so at the moment I cannot tell you what I think they taste like. But as far as the different names of the cumin (shahi, kala, i’ve even seen imperial) it gets a little confusing. Try googling the different cumin names to see what info you find as well as pictures.

      Hi Lucky,
      When it comes to finding indian cookware a good place to look is your local indian/pakistani/asian grocery market. I have bought a kadai from my local indian market. I saw a kadai/wok similar to the black one the ladies of show me the curry use many times in their videos at my local asian market. Also, you can try specialty cooking stores like Williams Sonoma or Sur la Table, but they can get a bit pricey.

      And a big thank you to Hetal and Anuja for sharing their wonderful recipes and cooking wisdom through show me the curry! I am American but my passion for Indian food has required me to learn to cook it for myself and your tutorials have been and continue to be an invaluable resource for me. It’s because of you ladies that I cook and eat my all time favorite cuisine everyday! Thanks bunches!

      Ondrea

  1. Hi Hetal and Anuja,

    U gals rock! After my Mom, i always come to your website for recipes and to clear my confusions! One thing that i wanted to say is that it would be great if you can suggest some pans and pots that u have had good experience with. After coming to the US, i am kind of struggling to catch hold of good pans for indian cooking.

    I simply love this pan that u use for quite a lot of recipes. Would you mind having a link on your webpage for suggesting cookware and other kitchen tools..plsss…

    regards,
    lucky

  2. Dear Hetal & Anuja,

    I’m currently quite confused about black cumin (shahi jeera). Some say that it is the same as Kalonji (onion/nigella seed) while the other say that its the bunium persicum which resembles caraway seeds.

    Please enlighten me @_@

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