Dhania-Jeera (Thali)
A dry-roasted Indian spice blend of coriander, cumin, mild red chilli and bay leaf, ground to a powder. It tastes warm, earthy and gently pungent, with a soft chilli heat.
Dhania-jeera masala
47 gDry-roasted together and ground (steps 2–4)Method
- Set a dry frying pan over low heat.
- Add 30.6 g coriander seeds, 12.6 g cumin seed and 5 g kashmiri chilli to the pan to make the dhania-jeera masala; dry-roast for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until toasted and fragrant, without letting them burn.
- Turn off the heat and leave the dhania-jeera masala to cool in the pan.
- Grind the cooled dhania-jeera masala with 1 g bay leaf to a fine powder.
- Store the powder in a clean, airtight jar.
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Coriander seeds

Ground corianderUse 75% of the weight; stir in along with wet masala or tomato purée rather than frying in hot oil, as the fine powder burns instantly.
Cumin seedUse 50% of the weight for tempering in hot oil. Lacks the floral, sweet citrus flavour of coriander, introducing warm, pungent earthiness instead.
Fennel seedUse 50% of the weight in tempering; provides pleasant aromatic sweetness, though noticeably aniseedy rather than citrusy.

Cumin seed

Ground cuminUse 70% of the weight; add with ground spices or sauce bases rather than hot oil tempering, where it scorches quickly and turns bitter.
Black cumin seedsUse equal weight for oil tempering. Delivers an earthy profile with an additional musky, smoky, and slightly bitter edge.
Fennel seedUse 60% of the weight for tempering; offers comparable warm aroma, but leans sweet and liquorice-like rather than savoury and earthy.

Kashmiri red chilli

Dried kashmiri chilliUse the same weight; soak in hot water and grind if a paste is needed. Same mild heat and deep colour.
Mild dried red chilliUse the same weight but deseed; taste first as heat varies. May be hotter and less fruity.
Kashmiri red chilli powderUse half the weight, e.g. 1 g powder for 2 g whole; add with liquid. Good colour, less whole-chilli texture.

Bay leaf

Cinnamon stickUse a 2 cm piece (about 1 g) for every 1 to 2 bay leaves. Fry in whole-spice temperings; provides the cassia-like warmth typical of Indian tejpatta.
Ground cinnamon (cassia)Use 0.5 g per leaf. Stir into the sauce during simmering; gives the same warm woodiness but darkens the colour slightly.
Similar spice mixtures
- Same: Moongphali Masala shares cumin and coriander seeds with this dish and is also a dry spice mixture.
- Different: Moongphali Masala is built on roasted peanuts with garlic, oil and 20 g dried red chilli, while this dish is mostly coriander and cumin with Kashmiri chilli and bay leaf.
- Same: Goda Masala shares coriander seeds, cumin seed, bay leaf and dried red chilli with this dish, and both are ground Indian spice blends.
- Different: Goda Masala adds desiccated coconut, sesame seed, vegetable oil, cassia bark, clove, caraway seeds, asafoetida and turmeric, while this dish is a simpler dry-roasted blend without coconut, sesame or oil.
- Same: Garam Masala (I) shares cumin and coriander with this dish and is also a dry, ground spice blend.
- Different: Garam Masala (I) uses far more cumin than coriander and adds black cardamom, green cardamom, black peppercorn and ground ginger; it lacks this dish's Kashmiri chilli and bay leaf.
- Same: Karepaku Karam shares with this dish coriander seeds, cumin seed and dried red chilli, and both are roasted and ground into spice powders.
- Different: Karepaku Karam adds vegetable oil, urad dal, curry leaves, garlic powder, asafoetida, black pepper and salt, while this dish is a dry-roasted blend of only coriander, cumin, Kashmiri chilli and bay leaf.








