How much spice per portion — a UK home cook’s guide
Indian household cooks measure by eye. These starting points help a UK cook who is staring at four tins.
A four-person dal or sabzi
A practical start for a pan that will feed four: 1 teaspoon cumin seeds in the tadka, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, and Kashmiri chilli to colour (½–1 teaspoon) or a hotter chilli to taste. Garam masala is often ¼–½ teaspoon at the end.
Restaurant gravies can run heavier. If it tastes dusty, you used stale powder or too much coriander too early on a high flame.
Rice and tadka
Jeera rice for four is often 1 teaspoon whole cumin in ghee — see the jeera rice recipe. Mustard seed tadka for lemon rice is usually ½–1 teaspoon. One black cardamom pod flavours a whole biryani pot; two can dominate.
Chilli is not a moral test
UK palates vary. Use Kashmiri chilli for colour and a separate hotter chilli for heat, as explained in the Kashmiri vs regular chilli comparison. We do not print Scoville numbers we have not measured.
