No Indian meal is considered complete without Indian Spices,

known as ‘Masala'.

WHAT IS SPICE?

• A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, leaf used as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth.

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Bay LeavesThey are used in soups, stews, meat, seafood, and vegetable dishes.

Asafoetida

This spice is used as a digestive aid and in food as a condiment.

Cardamom (Small)

Cardamom is the dried ripe fruit. Because of its very pleasant aroma and

taste.

Cardamom (Large)

It is recognised by its small seed pods

CassiaIt is used to treat insomnia and asthma and its extract has antioxidant properties.

Charoli● Buchanania seeds are used

as a cooking spice primarily in India. Flavored dried seeds of a shrub called Buchanania launched, grown throughout India, mainly in the northwest. After the hard shell is cracked, the stubby seed within is as soft as a pine nut.

Chilli

Used in both food and medicine.

Cloves

Cloves are aromatic flowers used in cuisine

Coriander

Although sometimes eaten alone, the seeds often are used as a spice or an added ingredient in other foods.

Cumin

It is used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.

Curry Leaf

Often used in curries usually fried along with the chopped onion in the first stage of the preparation.

Fennel Fennel is a plant species in the genus Foeniculum. It is a hardy, perennial, umbelliferous herb, with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of theMediterranean but has become widely naturalized in many parts of the world, especially on dry soils near the sea-coast and on riverbanks.It is a highly aromatic and flavorful herb with culinary and medicinal use.

FenugreekIt is an annual plant in the family Fabaceae with leaves consisting of three small obovate to oblong leaflets. It is cultivated worldwide as a semi-arid crop, and its seeds are a common ingredient in dishes from the Indian Subcontinent.

GarlicCommonly known as garlic. Garlic originated in Central Asia, [3] and has long been a staple in the Mediterranean region, as well as a frequent seasoning in Asia, Africa and Europe. The ancient Egyptians are known, and has been used for both culinary and medicinal.

Ginger

It is consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice. Ginger cultivation began in South Asia and has since spread to East Africa and the Caribbean.

Kokam It is used as a garnish, just to add an acid flavour to curries. Both the ripened rind and juice of kokam fruit are used in cooking. The dried and salted rind of the fruit is used as a condiment in curries. We make use of Kokam in the preparation of cooling syrups while kokam butter is used as an edible fat which is nutritive, antiseptic and demulcent. The kokam tree is found in Southern India and in the evergreen forests of Assam, Khasi, Jantia hills, West Bengal and Gujarat.

Mace Mace is a spice made from the waxy red covering that surrounds nutmeg seeds. The flavor is similar to that of nutmeg, with a hint of pepper and a more subtle note which can be overwhelmed by heavy-handed cooks. It is readily available in many cooking supply stores in both whole and ground form, and it has a wide range of uses from desserts to savory roast meats. The versatile flavor can make mace a useful spice to have around, especially since many recipes call for it.

Mint

Mint is frequently used in Greek, Turkish, and Middle Eastern cooking. It blends well with fruit, meats, and other herbs, and is a common ingredient in yogurt sauces. In Western cooking, mint is mostly paired only with lamb, or used for tea.

MustardMustard seed is used as a spice. Grinding and mixing the seeds with water, vinegar or other liquids, creates the yellow condiment known as mustard. The seeds can also be pressed to make mustard oil, and the edible leaves can be eaten as mustard greens.

Nutmeg

Nutmeg has a sweet and delicate flavour in Indian cuisine flavoring used in some curries and almost exclusively in sweets

Nutmeg aromatic species is used in the usual ground salt and sweet preparation

Pepper Long

● Long pepper is usually dry as a spice and seasoning plant grown for its fruit, which is employed. Long pepper is a close relative of the black pepper plant, and has a similar, though more spicy taste.

● The fruit of long pepper is a set of tiny fruits, each the size of a poppy seed

Pepper● The pepper has been cultivated

since ancient times, originally in India. In the Middle Ages it was ground and used to counteract the taste of rotting food.

● Pepper loses flavor and aroma if left outdoors once collected, so airtight storage preserves its aroma and flavor longer. Another way that pepper flavor is lost exposing it too long

Pomegranate● The fruit is eaten fresh, grain

by grain, removing bark and bitter lamellae separating the cells where they are. It is much appreciated by children. It can be used to make sorbets, drinks, grenadine syrup and as an ingredient in cooked dishes.

● In the kitchen of Punjab in Northern India, their dried beans are used as a spice in vegetarian dishes, which provide a bittersweet taste.

Turmeric● Turmeric is an ingredient of

curry in the cuisine of India and provides a distinctive bright yellow color, from the root of the plant

● It is one of the most widely used spices in Indian cuisine as a food coloring to the rice, meat and various dishes. Also part of the spices that give color like curry.

Yellow Mustard● The mustard seeds are used

as a spice in Northern India and Nepal, with usual roasting until they explode. It is also planted for saag (shoots) that are skipped and are used as a vegetable sarson ka saag in

Star Anise● Masala chai is a typical

drink of southern India, consisting of a mixture of tea with spices and herbs aromáticas.1 is very consumed by the masses and can be purchased through the streets called chai wallahs sellers.

SaffronSaffron is said to aid in digestion and to be helpful for stomach pains and other related ailments.

It is also sometimes used to help ease or cure other illnesses, such as fever or flu symptoms.