About Indian Spices

Ginger
Ginger is the dried knobby shaped root of the perennial herb Zingiber officinale. The plant grows two to three feet tall. Once the leaves of the plant die, the thick roots, about 6 inches long, are dug up and dried.

Cardamon
Cardamom is the dried, unripened fruit of the perennial Elettaria cardamomum. Enclosed in the fruit pods are tiny, brown, aromatic seeds which are slightly pungent to taste. Cardamom pods are generally green but are also available in bleached white pod form. It is available both in the whole pod and as decorticated seeds with the outer hull removed.

Coriander
Coriander is the dried, ripe fruit of the herb Coriandum sativum. The tannish brown seeds have a sweetly aromatic flavor which is slightly lemony. A zesty combination of sage and citrus, Coriander is actually thought to increase the appetite.

Chillies
Chilli was introduced in India by the great Portuguese explorer Vasco-da-Gama. The spice chilli blended well in Indian cooking. Chilli became extremely popular in India. The climate in India was favorable to cultivate chillies and soon many varieties of chilli were available in India. Places like Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Kashmir became famous for different varieties in chilli.

Cumin
Cumin is the dried seed of the herb Cuminum cyminum, a member of the parsley family. The Cumin plant grows to about 1 to 2 feet tall and is harvested by hand. Cumin is a key component in both Chili Powder and Curry Powder.

Cloves
Cloves are the dried, unopened, nail-shaped flower buds of the evergreen Syzygium aromaticum. They are reddish-brown in color and have a strong, aromatic flavor and aroma.

Curry Leaves
Curry leaves come from a plant of Indian origin Murraya Koenigii that grows wild in the Himalayan foothills as well as in many other parts of India, Northern Thailand and Sri Lanka.
Although dried curry leaves have almost no flavour to them, fresh leaves, when bruised, are extremely aromatic. The leaves give off an intense spicy aroma with a citrus note and have a warm, pleasant and lemony taste that is faintly bitter. They are the equivalent of coriander leaves to North Indian cuisine, to South Indian cuisine. They feature in dishes from saags in Gujarat to the fish curries of Kerala. Curry leaves are vital in Chennai (Madras), the sole region in which they form the basis of most masalas. In the majority of India they are simply used as a tempering in the last few minutes of cooking.'

Saffron
Saffron appears in Moorish, Mediterranean and Asian cuisines. Its most common function is to colour rice yellow, as in festive Indian pilaus and risotto Milanese, where its delicate flavour make it the most famous of Italian rice dishes.

Taramind
Believed to originate in East Africa, tamarind now grows extensively throughout the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and the West Indies. Tamarind means ‘date of India’ In Hindu mythology.

Usually it is the juice or paste that is used as a souring agent, particularly in south Indian and Gujarati lentil dishes, curries and chutneys, where its flavour is more authentic than vinegar or lemon juice. It may be used to flavour pulse dishes, rice dishes, or as an ingredient in sauces and side dishes for pork, fowl and fish.

Garam masala
Garam masala is a blend of ground spices common in the North Indian and Pakistani cuisine, whose literal meaning is 'hot (or warm) spice'.

Turmeric
A yellow spice with a warm and mellow flavor, turmeric is related to ginger. Turmeric is used in prepared mustard and curry powder, and it's a popular ingredient in Middle Eastern cooking.

Garlic
Garlic (Allium sativum) is from the Alliaceae family like its close relatives chives, leek, and onions. The edible herb most commonly associated with the name garlic is the bulb of garlic cloves that is found underground, below the leafy, scallion-like growth.

Almonds
Although many of us would consider almonds to be nuts, scientifically speaking they are closer to peach pits than peanuts. Almonds are actually the fruits of deciduous (meaning that the leaves fall off every year) trees originally found in Asia and North Africa. Instead of growing a sweet fleshy pulp around the seed, almonds develop a leathery coating. Beneath this shell lies a hardened pit with a dark skin, much like a pit from a freestone peach.