Hi everyone :)
For those of you that have been here a while, you know that I LOVE putting together this annual list. It’s a special ritual to spend early November compiling all the best things that I think we should be spending our money on. ALWAYS from small, independent brands, that are also usually BIPOC/women/queer-owned, because well… me :)
If you’re new here - my 2024 and 2023 gift guides are pretty great, if I may - and continue to be our most popular blog posts to date.
Since I've already covered my fave pantry items, fashion brands, and kitchen tools in those, I decided to do something a little different this year.
Firstly, as a spice dealer, whose literal job is to source, grade, and sell the world’s best spices, I know a thing or two about sourcing the good stuff, regardless of its country of origin. So this year, I’m sharing some of my Diaspora favorites of course, but I’m also sharing the spices from other brands that make up the rest of my spice drawer! In the spirit of community > competition, I hope y’all will enjoy cooking with these spices from Greece, Japan, Ethiopia, Oregon and Afghanistan just as much as y’all enjoy cooking with our beautiful Indian and Sri Lankan ones!
Second, we launched our Masala Chai in August, and it has quickly become our #1 product?! I did NOT see that coming, beating even our cult fave Aranya Black Pepper on the leaderboard! I’ve been a tea > coffee drinker for most of my life, and growing up in Asia, that’s meant being lucky enough to drink some pretty incredible teas from across India, Nepal, Taiwan, Japan, and Vietnam. To read my complete tea guide, click here!
Without further ado:
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Rancho Gordo’s Mexican Oregano & Bay Laurel - I make a pot of brothy beans almost every week, often seasoned with our Taco Masala, but ALWAYS with RG’s oregano and bay leaves. Recently, my household has become pozole obsessed, and frankly, this kit might be the reason why. We make every color of pozole we can, we freeze it, we gift it to our neighbors, it is truly a perfect food!
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Jacobsen Salt Co.’s Pure Flake Sea Salt - Sure, Maldon is great, but Jacobsen’s flakey salt is made right here on the Oregon coast, and is absolutely delicious. No chocolate chip cookie should be finished without these!
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Diaspora’s Popcorn Seasoning - I’m a self confessed popcorn fanatic, but it’s been heartening to see this cute lil blend of ours become our #1 bestseller across almost every grocery store and indie shop that we work with. Y’ALL LOVE IT AS MUCH AS I DO AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!
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Sonoko’s Japanese Curry Powder - The minute there’s a chill in the air, there are few things as cozy as a bowl of kare raisu, or Japanese Golden Curry with rice. You can read about the history of the dish here, and use this recipe to make it yourself.
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Queen’s Gochujang - given the weather, I feel like this list is becoming an ode to soups, but this spicy Korean chilli paste is the smoothest, most delicious i’ve ever tried. Fermented for 90 days and sweetened with jujube instead of corn syrup, I use this to make a comforting spicy kimchi and tofu stew aka Kimchi Jjigae.
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Podi Life’s Tangy Rasam + Crunchy Peanut Podi - since we’ve launched (and nearly sold out of!!) Padma’s Gunpowder Podi, I KNOW y’all now know the magic of podis - crunchy, nutty spice and lentil blends that can add oomph to any meal! I use the crunchy peanut to top just about everything from rice, to roasted veggies, and I use the tangy rasam podi to make a feisty pot of Archana’s rasam/chaaru - another epic soup for this list!
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Diaspora’s Aranya Black Pepper, Sirarakhong Chillies, and Pahadi Pink Garlic - These are the three spices I use almost every single day. There’s nothing the world’s best pepper, a smoky medium heat chilli, and a deeply umami garlic powder cannot bring big flavor to! Just today, I used the trio to zhuzh up a meh chicken tortilla soup, but it’s also the secret to my mac and cheese, to my homemade bone broth, truly everything!
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Pure Indian Foods’s Best Hing Ever - Despite my best efforts, I’ve never been able to source a truly high quality, ethically sourced hing or asafoetida, the potent but highly flavorful resin that is indigenous to Iran. Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia. Whilst a potent, and acquired aroma, when used correctly, hing adds an addictive allium-y flavor to your cooking. Unfortunately, the resin is often cut with wheat or rice flour to make it easier to work with. This hing is 100% pure, and strong, so a little goes a very long way! Until I can source something better, I can concede defeat ;)
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Canaan’s Za’atar - I’ve been making King Arthur Flour’s Big & Bubbly Focaccia all year long, and this beautiful, indigenous Palestinian Za’atar, a mix of organically grown oregano, wild collected thyme and sumac, and native sesame seeds, is my go-to seasoning and topping! It’s never been more important to support Palestinian farmers, foragers and foodways, so whilst you’re at it, stock up on some Huwa olive oil for drizzling too!
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Brundo’s Berbere - South Asia boasts thousands of different varieties of dals (legumes and lentil dishes) that I’ve just barely scratched the surface of, and yet when I find myself getting sick of the same old rotation of dal, I make Cafe Colucci’s Ethiopian Misser Wot, berbere spiced red lentils that are rich and fiery. The ideal is to eat them with injera (a spongy fermented teff pancake), but I often eat them with idlis as an easy substitute to sambhar!
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Bernal Cutlery’s Yuzukararin and Premium Miso Powder. A block of silken tofu, drizzled with nice soy sauce, and with a smear of punchy, spicy Yuzukararin on top is my go-to Japanese side. The brightness of the yuzu, paired with the salty, peppery notes makes this my favorite chili crisp-esque thing for anything even vaguely Japanese! The Miso powder might seem frivolous, until you start sprinkling it on top of your cacio e pepe, and your roasted potatoes, and your salads, and suddenly you’re wondering how you ever did without it!
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Daybreak Seaweed’s Ume Shiso Furikake - We make a LOT of lunch box onigiri at home, and the viral Emily Mariko leftover salmon recipe, both of which would be significantly less delicious without this bold, salty, nutty blend!
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Daphnis & Chloe’s Aegean Oregano - But really, all of the beautiful Greek herbs and spices that Evangelia of D&C sources are just beautiful! I obsessively make this Broiled Halloumi, Tomato and White Bean recipe for weekday lunches, and this fresh, gorgeous oregano takes it to a whole new dimension!
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Villa Jerada’s Dukkah and Harissa Paste - I first tried Dukkah at a brunch restaurant in Berkeley where soft boiled eggs were drizzled with olive oil and then generously sprinkled with this nut and seed blend, and then served with crusty bread. I was hooked and never looked back! VJ’s version uses Oregonian hazelnuts, which is a wonderful riff on the classic! Harissa is delicious in shakshuka and probably where its best known, but these chicken thighs with dates, citrus and harissa is my favorite way to burn through a jar!
PS - my #1 (highly biased) rec for holiday gifting this year is The Diaspora Cookbook. It comes out in March ‘26 but if you preorder today, you’ll get 20 exclusive bonus recipes that you can gift in time for Christmas, and then have the second part of the present arrive in the spring!
With love & in community,
Sana Javeri Kadri
