The Lowdown on Indian Spices

chillibreeze writer — Sravanthi Kollu

Indian spices can seem brash and unsubtle to those of us who are not well acquainted with Indian cuisine. It is true that some frequently used spices such as turmeric, pepper, and black cardamom have very distinctive tastes which can overpower a dish if used indiscriminately. But Indian cuisine also uses spices that are subtle, sometimes, teasingly so. What contributes to the distinct taste of Indian cuisine is the interplay between these spices. Coming up is a list of the spices that are commonly used in Indian cooking:

Basics:
These are the basic spices that are used to season dishes. Though they are used frequently, the manner of usage varies from region to region.

Turmeric (haldi, manjal) - Turmeric is usually the first ingredient that is added while seasoning food. All you need is a pinch to give food a bright yellow color and a hint of the taste. When used in a larger quantity, about a spoonful, it imparts a strong taste to the dish. Some versions of the Bengali fish curry for instance are quite strong on turmeric.

Cumin (jeera, jeeragam) - Cumin seeds are used in seasoning to give a sharp tingling taste to curries and rice. The powder is an essential ingredient in most North Indian cooking. It gives a rich aroma and flavor and is an easy and quick way to add some character to a bland curry. In South Indian cooking the powder is used usually as a part of the powdered spice mix (masala) for sambar, rasam etc. It is also used in garam masala.

Coriander (dhania, kothamalli vidai) - Coriander powder is a key ingredient in South Indian dishes such as sambar and rasam. It gives the gravy a thick consistency and a subtle but earthy flavor. It is also a part of garam masala.

Black mustard seeds (rai, kadugu) - They are an essential ingredient in seasoning curries, rice and pickles. They taste bitter when raw but add a sharp bite of flavor when roasted in ghee or oil. They also contribute a nice variation in texture to curries which are all smooth and uniform. When added to curd to make a raitha or pachadi they can subtly transform the dish.

Pepper (gol mirch, milagu) - Pepper is a nice way to add spice to a dish without leaving a burning sensation in the throat that is sometimes caused by an excess of chilli powder. In Indian cuisine, pepper is used either ground or whole. Whole pepper roasted in ghee is a good way to add some flavor and spice to rice dishes. Pepper powder is used along with the other powders- cumin, coriander and red chilli to spice up everyday curries. Pepper is sometimes roasted and ground with other ingredients (such as dried red chillies, coconut etc) to make a paste for fish or meat gravies.

Red chilli powder (lal mirch, kaaram) - Red chilli powder is one ingredient that almost invariably goes into all curries. It is the quickest way to add spice to dishes.

Fenugreek seeds (methi, vendiyam) - Methi seeds taste bitter taste and hence have to be used in limited quantities and roasted properly. Methi powder is an essential ingredient in some everyday masala mixes in South Indian cuisine such as sambar powder, rasam powder etc. The seeds are also used to season curries.

Besides the spices listed above, garlic, ginger and curry leaves (in South Indian cooking) are added to most dishes. They are used to season dishes, though sometimes they can also be the predominant flavor in a dish.

Not basic but still necessary in an Indian kitchen:
These are spices which are used as aromatics to flavor rice dishes such as pulao and biryani and in gravies which require rich flavoring. Many of the spices listed here are also roasted and ground together to form garam masala which is often sprinkled over meat curries and rich gravies. Garam masala is a quick and easy way to add rich flavor to a dish, too much of garam masala however tends to turn a dish unpleasantly spicy, leaving a lingering ‘hot’ sensation in the mouth.

Cardamom (elaichi, elakai) - There are two varieties of cardamom- green cardamom and black cardamom. Green cardamom is a beautiful way to sweeten dishes such as kheer, it is also added to sugar syrups while making sweets such as gulab jamun. Besides sweets, cardamom is used in rice dishes for its smell and the tinge of flavor it imparts. Not to be forgotten, cardamom laced tea is one of the best ways to enjoy green cardamom. In its powdered form, black cardamom is used in garam masala. It tastes less sweet than green cardamom and slightly denser with a tinge of bitter, and so it is not commonly used in desserts.

Poppy seeds (khus-khus, ghas-ghas)- Besides being used in garam masala, poppy seed paste is a core ingredient in some gravies, like aloo posto. It is also used in some sweets, the most well-known being a version of kheer or payasam made of poppy seeds. Poppy seeds add thickness to the gravy and give it a creamy-whitish color. The seeds tend to taste slightly bland, almost neutral and add a very mild but nice coarseness to gravies.

Cinnamon (dal chini, pattai) - Unlike the West where cinnamon is best known for its use in desserts, in Indian cuisine, cinnamon is largely used either as an aromatic in rice dishes such as pulaos or to add a rich flavor to curries and meat dishes. An excess of cinnamon however imparts an irritating bitterness to a dish, especially in rice dishes where there is nothing else quite as strong in flavor.

Star anise (anasphal, anasipu) - Star anise adds a lovely, slightly wooden aroma to dishes. It is one of the aromatics used in rice dishes but can also be used in gravies.

Cloves (laung, lavangam) - Cloves have a taste that can best be described as dense, they are sweet, but there is also a slightly spicy (hot) flavor to them. This combination of flavors makes them perfect for use in gravies. They are also used in garam masala and as aromatics.

Asafoetida (hing, peringaayam) - Asafoetida is used largely to aid digestion, especially in dishes which contain pulses. It is very strong in flavor and just a pinch is enough to flavor dishes. It is a spice that has to be used in moderation as a little too much of it can quickly overpower a dish leaving it tasting more asafoetida-ish than one desires.

Mace and nutmeg (javitri and jaiphal or jathipoo and jathikai) - Mace and nutmeg both emerge from the same tree. Mace is the covering over the seed or nutmeg that is dried and sold. It is often used as an aromatic and can leave a bitter taste if bitten into. Nutmeg or the seed in its powdered form is used in garam masala and in some sweet dishes.

Nice to have extras:

Saffron (kesar, kunguma poo) - Saffron is perhaps the most expensive of all the spices listed here and is not used in everyday cooking. Mughal cuisine is perhaps the one cuisine where saffron is used more regularly than in other Indian cuisines. Saffron is usually soaked in warm water or milk to draw out its color and flavor. This water and the saffron are then sprinkled over rice, especially while cooking biryani or khushka (flavored rice) to add a nice tinge of orange to the rice. It can also be used in curries and sweets. In sweets saffron threads are sprinkled over the sweet to give them color and a tinge of flavor.

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Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in October, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Sravanthi Kollu has an M.Phil in Cultural Studies and has spent a year working in a research organization in Bangalore on projects related to ICTs, culture industries and livelihoods. She has experience in academic writing, writing proposals and project reports and feature writing. Some of her articles have been published in The Hindu and Deccan Herald. She is fascinated by cultural experiences such as food, travel and literature. She currently lives in Bangalore.

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