Why You Should Cook with Spices

Back in February, I made a blog post about going global for making meals more interesting where you will never get bored. I hope some of this inspired some of you to cook more out of your comfort zone. By doing so, you may really look forward to the creative process of trying something new.

A good starting point of experimenting with spices, is Indian cuisine. In my humble opinion, India has an abundance of spices that are wonderful to explore with and you will have plenty of options to to choose from.

Some of my favorites are the traditional spices of dried curry leaves, cardamom, cumin, garam masala (a spice blend of warm spices of cinnamon, coriander, cumin and other spices) ginger and turmeric.

The spices I just mentioned are very common, but exploring some not so common spices is where it gets interesting. 
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I recently made an Indian eggplant pate using Amchur powder. The other name it goes by is dry mango powder. (By the way ,the dish is delicious served with naan bread) 

The taste of this powder has a sour note, and makes a great substitute for anything that you make requiring a tart citrusy taste such as lemon.  This would be a great first try at trying something new. I got my Amchur powder at my local Indian market which is Patel Brothers.  

Speaking of Patel brothers, check out their blog post of 5 Unique Indian Spices & Herbs you should cook with. This post also includes more helpful information about Amchur powder.
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Using spices will make your everyday food burst with delicious and interesting flavors. Who knows, you may come up with something uniquely your own?

Eat Good! Look Good! Feel Good!
Chef Vanessa