No matter where in the world you travel, and what world cuisines you taste, there’s no greater joy in coming back home to a steaming plate of dal chaawal with pickle on the side. My mother and I returned from a trip of a lifetime to Jordan a couple of days ago. And we were craving home cooked, comfort food – a ritual that occurs after every holiday. I go into the kitchen, completely jet lagged and sleep deprived looking for a convenient and easy way to cook my beloved dal-chaawal without compromising on the taste. Which is when Tata Sampann Masalas came to the rescue.

More About Tata Sampann Masala: Tata Sampann Masalas are a range of spices developed by Chef Sanjeev Kapoor to make everyday cooking a bit easier and a whole lot tastier. The spices are sourced from the best of farms, and made from the choicest variety of whole spices – Malabari Black Pepper, Salem Turmeric, Pahadi Cardamom, Teja Chilli and more. These spices also retain their natural spice oils, which adds to the taste and aroma, creating an overall blissful sensory experience when you cook and eat. Quite often natural spice oils are extracted out of whole spices, leaving behind SPENT masalas.

The Tata Sampann masala range is made out of 100% UN-SPENT masalas retaining the natural oil, imparting undiluted taste and aroma. The variety of masalas on offer is impressive – from your basic Turmeric and Red chilli powder to masalas like Punjabi Chole masala, Paneer Masala, Chicken Masala and Meat masala for individual dishes. You can read more about Tata Sampann Masalas here.

I couldn’t wait to put the Tata Sampann Masalas I received to the ultimate test – a blind tasting. Since we were craving dal so much, I decided to whip up two batches of it. One dal was cooked regularly without any tadka. The second batch was special – I was going to use the Tata Sampann Dal Tadka Masala to temper my dal. My mother was going to be the final decision maker here, and tell me which of the two dals she enjoyed the most. Two major benefits that I noticed during the entire exercise were –

Ease of Cooking: Usually tempering or applying tadka can be a messy affair. You have to keep all your spices and condiments ready, knowing the exact measurements of the ingredients that need to go into your tadka. The Dal Tadka masala makes life really easy – the masala is a combination of the ingredients that need to go into a tadka, in the exact quantities, and make the overall process of cooking a dal really simple.

Taste: The Dal Tadka masala elevated the flavour of the dal greatly. The masala helps add that zing to a regular dal, making it stand out even in terms of aroma and colour. Who doesn’t like a good tadke wali dal?

It really doesn’t matter what I think of the Tata Sampann masala, my mother was going to be the real judge here. She tried both the dals I prepared – one with the Dal Tadka Masala and one without – and guess what she chose? I am going to let a picture speak thousand words here – 

Switching over to Tata Sampann masalas has been #GoodnessKiShuruaat for me, in the truest sense. Just a small decision to using more naturally rich spices sourced from the best farms – which is what Tata Sampann masalas offer – in my cooking has elevated each meal we make at home. Food is now more wholesome, tastes better, and we each meal is a beautiful sensory experience. Needless to say, our dal-chawal- achaar evening at home was memorable and one we relished dearly.

You can read more about Tata Sampann Masalas on their website here or Facebook page here.