Punjabi masala

Punjabi masala is the masala of the Punjab region, in northwestern India, south of Kashmir in the far north. It is a 'warm' masala, which, although usually not spicy, is often enriched with mustard (seed) and a fiery guntur chilli, in our case with a chilli of the teja variety.

This chili, the Capsicum annuum var punjab tej, is grown in Guntur District, Andhra Pradesh. It is an aromatic and pungent chili pepper, containing 1.3% capsaicin, and has a Scoville score of 50,000 to 170,000 SHU.

Punjabi cuisine is a cuisine specific to the Punjab, which lies on both sides of the border with Pakistan. Punjab is known for its tandoori and basmati rice. The taste palette is buttery, as the Punjabi - mainly farmers - love milk, buttermilk and ghee. Famous is Sarson ka saag, a vegetarian dish of leafy vegetables, mainly mustard leaf (saag), but also the leaf of the goose foot,  spinach, radish or fenugreek, served with butter and a large glass of buttermilk!

Smell and taste

Punjabi masala is warm and spicy and quite 'hot' compared to garam masala. Dishes in which it is used are paneer lababdar (cheese with cream and cashew nuts), bhindi masala (okra with onion and garlic), rajma masala (red kidney beans with tomato, ghee and cream), lauki kofta (pumpkin balls in a creamy tomato sauce with cashew nuts) and chicken tikka masala (chicken in a creamy yoghurt-tomato sauce) or paneer tikka masala, the vegetarian variant with fried cheese instead of chicken.

Attributes:

• traditional recipe: coriander seed (dhania), cumin jeera), black pepper (kalimirchi), cinnamon (tuj), black and green cardamom (elaichi), ginger (adarak), garlic, punjabi teja chili, turmeric (avatee), bay leaf (tej patta), fenugreek leaf (methee ka patta)
  
• origin: Punjab / Haryana
  

Allergen information

• this masala has been carefully composed in the United Kingdom
• the mixture may contain traces of celery and mustard

Assortment

• available in glass and pouch (no test tubes)
  
• glass jar contains 60 grams
• standup pouches with a content of up to 30 to 500 grams
• larger quantities on request

General advice

• keep masala in a dark, dry and cool place

Save:

• keep your masala in closed packaging
• preferably store in a dark, dry and cool place
• best before November 2023 (11/23)
• this best before date is an indication