A Beginner’s Guide to Indian Grocery Shopping Online

Indian food is all about the blend of various spices and unique flavours - butter chicken, palak paneer, chicken tikka, tandoori - you name it. If you’re a passionate home cook and always up for trying something new, you probably have already thought about giving those mouth-watering Indian dishes a try. But where do you start? A simple online search on “Chicken Tikka Masala” will grant you access to century-old recipes cherished by Indians and Westerners alike. You can find many interesting modern takes on them too.

However, getting the right ingredients for a flavourful Indian dish used to be the tricky part. Not anymore - with several Indian groceries online near you, you can get your hands on any ingredients. No matter which part of the world you’re in today.
In this article, we will guide you on how to shop Indian groceries online like a pro. So you know what and how much to add to your cart when you’re shopping for your next great Indian dish.

The staples of an Indian household pantry

Regardless of what you’re planning to cook, there are some basic ingredients that form the base of most Indian dishes - clarified butter (ghee), cumin, coriander seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin seeds, cardamom, dried chilies, ginger, and garlic. Rice and flat-bread (or Roti) is a staple at every Indian dinner table. Any dish would feel incomplete without them. So while you’re visiting an Indian online grocery store, make sure to add some aged basmati rice to your cart as well.

The quintessential Indian spice - Turmeric!

Turmeric is the bright yellow spice that gives Indian dishes its vibrant colours. Most Indian recipes you find online will recommend adding a “pinch” or tablespoon of turmeric powder into the dish. Not only does it add a lively colour to the dish, but also gives it a slightly earthy flavour. Elevating it to a different level. Besides, turmeric has also been used for thousands of years in the region for its medicinal properties as well. The best part? You can find tons of brands of authentic turmeric powder in every online Indian grocery store.

Grinded vs whole spices

The notion that Indian households often grind their own spices in order to make their curry base is certainly not true. Well, at least not anymore. There are multiple brands selling authentic ground Indian spices. Regardless of what spices you’re planning to cook with - from cinnamon to nutmegs - almost all Indian grocery stores online will have both grounded and whole versions of them. If you’re just starting out with cooking Indian, we recommend going with the grounded ones.

Size matters - especially when it comes to spices!

Indian grocery stores sell ingredients at all sizes. That’s true for online stores as well. Buying them in bulk makes sense if you’re regularly cooking with them. However, if you’re just planning to try out some Indian dishes every now and then, getting them in smaller quantities will probably work best for you. Remember, even a hundred grams of grounded coriander seeds will go a long way.

Cooking good Indian food is often thought to be too much of a task for a home chef to handle. That’s far from the truth. If you know what to shop for and manage to get your hands on the right ingredients, cooking Indian food is as easy and enjoyable as it gets. The trick is to know exactly what you want to cook and getting the ingredients listed down before anything else. Then all you need to do is visit a local Indian grocery store online, get them delivered to your doorsteps and start cooking.