Review Post – Yellow Dal Tadka with Tata Sampann Masala

Today let me start my post by asking you all a question – when you are cooking something what do you aim for? Is it the perfection? Is it the taste? Is it how well you have followed the recipe, is it the invention that you might have made? Or is it the smile on the faces of the people who are eating the food you just cooked for them? For me the last criterion is very important. My better half is a bigger foodie than myself, and every time I tell him it’s only ‘dal-chawal  and some vegetarian food tonight’ he makes a face. I do all these experiments and creative cooking mostly to keep him and now also the little one happy.

Let’s face it, no one is happy with dal-chawal type food or what you usually call the home cooked homely food, unless you are away from your family in some far off land with no source of home food at all. But why not make the homely food yummy and spice that up.

I got that idea when I came across the new range of Tata Sampann Masalas. These special blends of spices have been developed specially by celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

What I found out was these are pre mix spices, like how you have coffee pre-mix. You simply need to add them in your food instead of your regular spices. I think that is very sensible. Here’s the bunch of spices I received from them for a wonderful Indian Food experience.

I decided to do some experimental stuff with the spices, I got. And what better way to start with the good old ‘dal-chawal’.  I decided to add some spice to the simpleton yellow dal with Tata Sampann Dal Tadka. I went ahead and scooped out some boiled dal two make it in two ways – one with the Tata Sampann Masala and one without in simple way.

What was the outcome?

An aromatic kitchen for sure! You can see the difference in the richness of color. The Tata Sampann Dal Tadka Masala is a premix of various spices in the correct proportion by the master chef himself. So you don’t need to look for different spices or think about how much you need to pour.

I made my husband taste both the dals. He was okayy with the original dal – as in gave in no unusual reaction. He said –“what dal is this one” for the second one. He didn’t realize it was the same dal in two variations. He was very impressed with the second one which had the perfect blend of spices- thanks to Tata Sampann. So the experiment was successful!

What I liked about the spices?

5 Pouch Packaging

The Tata Sampann spices come in individual pouches inside the cartons. I found it helpful in two ways – you don’t have to worry about measurement of the spice, one pouch for a recipe. It also means you don’t have to store a half used pack, so the freshness in spices is always intact. The spices retain the natural spice oils for a blissful sensorial experience.

Sourced from Best Farms

They also claim to be from the best of farms located in various parts of India – like the turmeric comes from the farms in Salem and the black pepper from the Malabar region ( it is the best possible place for black pepper actually). Isn’t that quite an apt #GoodnessKiShuruat ?

Did You Know- What is in our spices?

Have you ever wondered what makes a chili spicy? It is a compound called Capsaicin that is responsible for the pungency of capsicums.  I did a quick fact check and found out every pack of Tata Sampann Chilli powder is rich in Capsaicin and comes with a minimum guarantee of  40,000 SHU pungency and 100 ASTA color guarantee.

Similarly Curcumin is the natural element which gives haldi or turmeric its deep yellow color and Ayurvedic properties.  The Tata Sampann Turmeric Powder comes with a guarantee of 3% Curcumin which means better color and better taste

Spice oils is what gives the spices its aromas and taste. When I opened one of the Tata Sampann masala pouches the aroma of it was far more superior than the regular masala we get at home. Since it is so aromatic the quantity required is also less.

What Next?

I discovered they have a variety of blended spices available. My next target definitely is to try out the meat masala and make some spicy mutton curry that I have been craving for as a result of the festival hangover!  

For more information on #GoodnessKiShuruat & #MasaledarSach visit www.tatasampann.com