Kitchen Yoga: Indian spices from Stuttgart
A spice brand from Stuttgart, founded by an Indian family. What they say about their quality, how the chilli powder tastes, and what we stock.
When did you last check what's in your turmeric?
Most of us don't. We buy the brand our parents bought, or whatever's on the shelf that week, and we trust it. I've done the same for years.
A recall most people never heard about
In September 2020, Belgian food inspectors found ethylene oxide in sesame seeds imported from India. Ethylene oxide, or ETO, is a gas used to sterilise things like medical equipment. It isn't allowed on food in the EU.
The tracing that followed became the biggest food recall operation in EU history. It reached biscuits, bread, sesame oil and ready meals across 24 member states. Since then, sesame seeds from India have to be tested and certified before they can be shipped to the EU.
Spices weren't at the centre of that recall. But it's the reason "ETO-free" now shows up on spice packets, and it's why I paid attention when Kitchen Yoga got in touch.
A WhatsApp message from Stuttgart
Kitchen Yoga reached out to me on WhatsApp. They're a family business in Stuttgart, and their story will sound familiar: they came to Germany about 12 years ago and couldn't find spices that tasted the way they did at home.
So they started their own brand. According to Kitchen Yoga, every batch is tested by a lab in India and then again by one in Germany, for ethylene oxide, pesticides, heavy metals and microbes, before it's packed. They say they add nothing and don't irradiate their spices.
I liked the story. I'd also been looking for another spice brand for a while. I wanted more choice on that shelf, for you and, honestly, for my own kitchen.
The chilli powder test
Last week I cooked with their chilli powder for the first time. It reminded me of home.
The colour is a deep red. The heat builds slowly instead of hitting all at once. When I opened the pack, it smelled the way chilli powder smells when you open the dabba at your mother's place.
That's one person's tadka, not a lab report. It's also the reason this post exists.
One spice, one region
Kitchen Yoga buys each spice from the part of India where it has traditionally grown. Their turmeric comes from South India, for example, and their cumin from the north. They say they buy from farmers and partners they've worked with for years, without a chain of middlemen in between.
I can't check that from Berlin. What I can check is the jar, and so can you: open it next to the one you've been using and smell both.
What we stock from Kitchen Yoga
We carry 14 of their products, and they fall into two groups.
First, the everyday shelf: Turmeric Powder 100g, Chilli Powder 100g, Coriander Powder 100g, Cumin Powder 100g, whole cumin seeds 100g and Cinnamon Sticks 35g. Next to them sit two masalas, Chicken Masala 100g and Shahi Paneer Masala 100g.
Then the fusion shelf: Piri Piri Spice 70g, Pizza Pasta Spice 70g, Schezwan Frankie Spice 60g, Oregano 30g, Garlic Powder 70g and Chilli Flakes 35g. That's the Indo-Chinese and pizza-night side of your kitchen. Frankie rolls on a Friday, that sort of thing.
At the time of writing, the whole range is between 10 and 20% off.
Where I would start
I'd start with a plain dal tadka. Heat ghee, add jeera and let it crackle, then take the pan off the heat and stir in half a teaspoon of the chilli powder. Off the heat, it colours the ghee without burning. Pour it over your dal.
Then a leftover-roti frankie. Toss paneer and sliced onion with a spoon of the Schezwan Frankie Spice in a hot pan, and roll it into yesterday's roti with some mint chutney.
Try it yourself
You'll find all 14 on the Kitchen Yoga brand page, with delivery across Germany and free delivery over €40.
Which spice brand did your family swear by, and have you found it here yet?