How many of you use Shan (or is it Shaan?) masala for all your desi cooking?
How about any other brands of these “instant” masalas, like Laziza, etc?
I’m learning how to cook and wanted to get an idea of what everyone uses when it comes to their desi cooking. Does anyone still make masalas the old-fahsioned way?
Btw, I just had chicken pullao made from lazizas masala and it was superb!! My mom often uses shan and this was the first time she used Laziza and it was great. Haven’t had pullao that good in a loooong time.
Sorry - i dont agree - although some of the masalas taste fine, there are some that are way too bland or too sweet - i prefer making d masala from scratch using purely fresh ingredients - occasionally however i use crushed ginger/garlic to save time, but thats about it. The taste you get from using fresh ingredients is far better than using ready-made masaleh - also the smell of the dish is much more aromatic - try it, trust me you'll convert.
If i wanna save time id rather just have a take-away than use these ready-made masaleh....although some of the sweet dishes made from these packets are better than the savoury masaleh.
To all of you who DO use it...do you follow the steps on the back of the box? I've been told the amounts required are inaccurate and that using the whole packet in one dish is "too much."
The only things I use ready made masalas for are bombay biryani, nihari and tikka/roast/barbecue stuff. I feel like i have accomplished nothing when i cook using masalas though so i avoid them unless its one of these three items. Biryani I have no clue how to make from scratch, nor nihari. my bro-in-law is from Karachi and his mum who is the cook of cooks is in love with my nihari she praised it so much that I felt too embarrassed telling that it was ready made masala. to this day they reminisce over my nihari if anyone knows how to make it from scratch lemme know plz, i would like to be able to cook it myself.
Try national masalas too, they are good esp the nihari one.
Samo83, yeah the whole cooking from scratch is really great, but when juggling a full time job, part time school and a full time marraige I dont have time for that. SO I use whatever and any help I can get... but at the same time, Ive also stopped cooking desi food as much...
i find the shan masala packet too over powering to be used in full, so normally I will use half of the mix for lets say one chicken, 1 1/2 kg meat. Thats what works for me. Some people find then its not spicy enough or the salt is not enough...you can adjust those urself...but I am trying to reduce the amount of sodium and spice in our diets so it works well for K and myself.
Also, the directions on the back are ok, but I have always adjusted those because I dont like the actual method. When I was learning to cook, what I would do is look up the same recipe on the net that used its own masala, follow that process until the spice part and just add Shan. But honestly, if u follow Shan instructions you will be fine as well.. GOOD LUCK!
i just started cooking a few months ago so i use shan masala a lot, although now im using my own masala for the simpler dishes
i find that using the masala is a lot easier than cooking w/ your own, at least while you are still getting the hang of it, less things that can go wrong if you know what i mean ;)
i have found that a packet of masala is usually too much for one dish, so i use about half and then taste it towards the end and add more if needed
usually i follow shan instructions, unless my mom tells me a simpler method, or unless it tells you to chop, fry and strain tomatoes into a puree in which case i just pop out a can of store bought tomato paste!
It's this cheap looking bright yellow and red packet placed on the bottom shelf. But trust me, it has a kick to it like no other. I have always been a fan of Shan laikin Naseem nay tau mera dil hee churaa liyaa!
Nehari! Yes they are available on any Pakistani (not Indian) store. But there is one watchout..their recipe and cooking steps are just not good. The English translation is comical.
I was actually quite surprised that their Nihari masala was REALLY GOOD!!! And I do use their Biryani mix but that's about it. I don't care for their other masalas too much unless I'm doing bbq.
I do use Shaan, National and Laziza masala's but not as a base.....I mostly use their Nihari packs, but have used others too, like biryani ones.....but in everything, I alsways do my own base of garlic/ginger/chillies salt and a little dhania jeero......I don't follow the recipe on the back for anything other than nihari........
Also, I never use the whole pack, even for nihari...I think it's toooo overpowering if you use it all...
I also add the nihari one to my chicken/meat curries instead of garam masala sometimes
she praised it so much that I felt too embarrassed telling that it was ready made masala. to this day they reminisce over my nihari 
if anyone knows how to make it from scratch lemme know plz, i would like to be able to cook it myself.