Turmeric Powder

Haldi goes in before almost anything else and in a smaller quantity than people expect. A quarter teaspoon does the colour for a whole dish; a full one turns the same dish bitter and slightly chalky. It is the spice most often overdone in a home kitchen and the easiest to fix by simply using less.

Into hot oil with the onions, or into a dal as it comes up to a boil. It is also the one that goes into a marinade for fish and chicken, into besan for a kadhi, and into the glass of hot milk that half the country still reaches for at the first sign of a cold.

Packed in 100 g and 250 g. Turmeric stains — worktops, wooden spoons, the inside of a plastic box — so the resealable pouch is doing more than keeping air out.