The Spice Shop

Kola Nut, 50g The kola nut has a bitter flavor and contains caffeine. Unit price: £3.50 (approx. €3.92)

Orange Flower Water, 260ml Used extensively in Middle Eastern cooking for stews, dressings and sweets. Unit price: £4.99 (approx. €5.59)

Rose Water, 260ml Rose water is used from India to North Africa via the Middle East in all sorts of baking, cooking, marinades and dressings. Once you finished slaving over the hot pots, try it as a face toner. it works a treat. Unit price: £4.99 (approx. €5.59)

Vanilla Extract, 10ml This Madagascan Vanilla extract is 95% vanilla beans. Very thick and tasty, a little goes a long way due to its high concentration. Unit price: £3.95 (approx. €4.42)

Aniseeds, green

Try making shortbread flavoured with aniseed: Mix 4 oz butter + 2 oz sugar. Add 6 oz plain flour and 2 tsp aniseeds. Roll the dough out to 1/2" thickness and stamp out biscuits. Chill for 20 mins then bake at 190°/gas 5 for 15-20 mins. Cool on the tray.

Mexican Quesadilla seasoning

Season your meat or re-fried beans with this spice mix. Pile on to tortilla breads, add grated cheese, top with a second bread and fry in oil. Delicious!!

Ajowan - Carom - Kings Cumin

East African chicken soup is awesome with ajowan! Brown some onions and crushed peanuts or cashews in oil, add chopped up chicken leg - skin bones and all, they add to the flavor - brown on all sides, cover with water and cook with cumin and ajowan seeds until done; finish by stirring in a can of coconut milk. The ajowan balances out the sweetness of nuts and milk; really good quick soup.

Hungarian Goulasch mix

Brown onions and diced beef in lard, add water and spice (1 teaspoon per person) and cook until meat is done. I normally cook a pot to last me a week, and for each meal I transfer a bit to a smaller pot and add potatoes (which is good but not Hungarian-orthodox). Serve topped with sour cream. Gets better each day.