Indian as Apple Pie Spices Can Bring the Culture of India to YOUR Home ! #IAAPspices (review and giveaway)

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this product, free of charge, from Indian as Apple Spice, via Wilks Communication, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

Ah back to school.....

Back to needing to cook super for the kids every weeknight...

No getting away with just sandwiches now!

How about spicing up your dinner choices with a new line of Indian Spices, that can make your family say "wow, what did you do?"

Meet your new best friend:

On a mission to make healthy Indian cuisine accessible to all audiences, Anupy Singla, cookbook author and founder of Indian As Apple Pie, has created eight key spice blends to help home cooks navigate the seemingly complicated maze of Indian cooking. Great for anything from a tasty Indian meal to an extra zing in your upcoming Labor Day grilling routine, these authentic Indian spice recipes are carefully roasted first, then ground without added salts and fillers – all in the American Heartland of Chicago.

All of the spice blends are from Singla’s own recipes, which she has developed through the years as an Indian American mother of two. The eight blends include:

• Chai Masala: Often incorrectly referred to as Chai Tea in the West, Chai Masala is a balanced mix of cardamom, cloves, and other spices that add full flavor to Indian tea
• Chana Masala: A perfect combination of tartness for the classic Indian dish of flavorful chickpeas in a thick broth
• Tandoori Masala: Mix this natural spice blend with yogurt and lemon juice for the perfect marinade for any protein, especially chicken 
• Chaat Masala: A great mix for sprinkling over fruit and vegetables along with a little lemon juice – great for the kids
• Sambhar Powder: A south Indian blend perfect for inclusion in rich vegetable stew
• Rasam Powder: A powder traditionally used in spicy tomato soup, but also fitting for a rich stew
• Pav Bhaji Masala: Used to make the Indian vegetarian version of sloppy joe’s
• Kala Namak: Umami to Indian cuisine, black salt is the secret ingredient for the pop of flavor found in most Indian street foods

We were snet a bottle of hte Kala Namak to review!

Although this is not a blended spice mix, Kala Namak (Black Salt), is a special ingredient in many Indian dishes. It is a pungent, naturally deep purple rock salt extracted from the Himalayas in the salt ranges in the north west of Pakistan. It is used in many Indian dishes, such as chaat and chutneys. It is a wonderful addition to a vegan eggless salad. It is considered the 'unami' of Indian cuisine.

As you can see, it's not black at all, but an odd shade of purplish pink. It also has an 'eggish' smell to it, due to its high sulfur content! So it seems a bit weird at first. But then you put it in food, and go "WHOA" that was "Good!". One of our favorite ways to use it so far has been in our meat rubs, and in hamburgers! It gives them an extra punch that is just unbelieveable!

It also works really well with any dish that doesn't have eggs, like Vegan ones, that are missing eggs, but could benefit from the egg flavor! It also ramped up our potato salad to a new level! Once you start using it, you'll find all sorts of ways to keep experimenting with it! Just make sure you use LESS than what you would normally use for salt, as it is SO strong! 

Here's another of Anupy's recipe's using Kala Namak, that is perfect as a side dish, especially with the family holiday and potluck season right around the corner! And because it cooks in the slow cooker, it's easy peasy!

Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes

Start to finish: 3 hours / Servings: 6

Ingredients:
2 large cauliflowers, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
2 large potatoes (russet or yellow), peeled and diced
1 medium yellow or red onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium tomato, diced (optional)
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped, minced or grated
3 to 4 green Thai, serrano, or cayenne chilies, cored and chopped
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 heaping tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
1. In a 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, combine all ingredients except the cilantro. Mix well.
2. Cook on low for 3 hours. Mix once or twice during cooking, especially in the beginning. Eventually the cauliflower will release enough liquid to prevent anything from sticking to the sides of the cooker.
3. Add the cilantro. Mix well but gently so as not to break up the cauliflower. Serve.

Purchase:

The Kala Namak and the other seven spice blends are available for purchase individually or as a set, and are priced at $9.95 per jar on Singla’s website, www.indianasapplepie.com, and on Amazon.com. AT 2.6 ouncez, the jars will last forever, so they are a super great buy!

But one lucky BTHM reader will get to check out Kala Namak for themselves!

Giveaway

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Thanks for reading this post and giveway!