Chef Maneet Chauhan Says This Is The Secret to Leveling Up Your Indian Cooking at Home

Your cooking just got a whole lot better.

Indian food is one of the most culturally rich and complex cuisines in the world. The layered flavors and delicate balance of certain dishes can be hard to nail at home, but it is very much so possible. Acclaimed chef Maneet Chauhan knows all about this, and was happy to share her vast knowledge this past month at Food & Wine’s first-ever Charleston classic .

One of her easy, yet impactful tips stood out to our team. “Get whole spices, just roast it on a skillet, and then powder it. You’ll get [a] much more potent flavor from that," Chauhan says in an in-person question and answer session at the event. She doubled-down after, saying that it's a key step if you want to getting "seriously into Indian cooking." Associate Editorial Director Chandra Ram was right there alongside her, and says that she practices the same sentiment at home. In fact, she shared the tried-and-true grinder she loves to use, noting that she exclusively uses it for spices. While well loved and older, hers is just like this current Krups model . At just $19, it’s a small price to pay for a lifetime of better Indian food .

Krups One-Touch Coffee and Spice Grinder

$24

$19

With spices being such an important category of ingredients in Indian cooking , it’s important to treat them right. Toasting, grinding, and using them fresh is key to get their flavors to bloom, and that’s why Ram looks towards this trusty Krups spice grinder to do its all-important task.

It’s the No. 1 bestseller in electric coffee blade grinders , and with good reason. It has stainless steel blades that efficiently and evenly grind all of those fresh toasty spices you pop in it. It has a large capacity with the ability to grind up to 3 ounces of coffee beans or 3 to 4 tablespoons of spices. Use it to up big batches of single spices, or whip up blends of your own. If you want to blend different spices in batches, but you don’t want to mix up the flavors, Ram recommends throwing a handful of uncooked rice through the grinder to ensure you protect the flavor profile of each.

Aside from its efficient design, it's also easy to use. It has a one-touch button that continuously grinds as you press it. Lift it whenever you need to for a coarser or finer grind. The grinder also has a safety feature, which automatically activates. This feature ensures that the blades do not spin unless the lid is securely attached to the base. The slim, sleek design, which measures about 4 x 4 x 8 inches, doesn’t take up a lot of space on your counter or in your cabinets, too.

Take it from Chauhan and Ram, grinding your spices fresh for the best Indian food is key. With this Krups grinder around, all it takes is just one push of a button. Shop it now for $19 at Amazon.

Shop More Spice Grinders at Amazon:

Cool Knight Electric Spice Grinder

$35

$20

KitchenAid Blade Coffee and Spice Grinder

$60

$45

Proctor Silex Electric Coffee Grinder

$14

$13

Shardor Electric Spice Grinder

$47

$40

Secura Electric Coffee and Spice Grinder

$55

$44

At the time of publishing, the price was $19.

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