There are over 40 Indian spices. Most of them are very rare and are only used in certain areas, such as stone flowers and garcinia. We have compiled a list of 10 major spices used in almost all Indian food and span centuries of culinary traditions across the subcontinent.

Combining traditional spices to make delicious dishes is almost a spiritual act. Studying Indian cuisine will certainly expand your cooking skills. Below are the 24 main spices used in Indian cuisine. Knowing this spice is a good first step to explore the spices and their uses.

Turmeric (Haldi)

Turmeric AKA as Halsi is essential for most Indian dishes. Indian. A ground spice, turmeric has an earthy flavor. Turmeric has immense health benefits and an incredible yellow hue from all the spices used in Indian cuisine. A teaspoon of turmeric adds flavor and color to a dish. Turmeric is a great anti-inflammatory.

Green Cardamom (Choti Ilayachi)

Green cardamom AKA as Choti elaichi is a versatile spice that is used in both sweet and savory cooking. They are strong in flavor and aroma. They ensure that your special dishes not only taste rich but have an enticing fragrance as well. Green cardamom can be added to sweet dishes and for flavoring tea/coffee. Add Cardamom powder in sweet and savory dishes. It blends well with other spices. Sprinkle some crushed cardamom powder and enjoy your sweets at home.

Coriander

Coriander powder is one of the most important spice powders in any Indian kitchen. The coriander is the seed of cilantro. The seed has a citrus fragrance combined with certain leafy, woody notes. It gives dishes an overall taste but also gives a very special texture to the prepared food, which is not under the influence of other spices.

Garam Masala 

Being used in most Indian delicacies, garam masala is integral to Indian food. It is used extensively in Indian cuisine. It is a blend of pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, cumin, coriander, tej patta, pepper, and several other dried spices. Garam masala is added to bring out more flavor to the dish. It is usually mixed at the end and sometimes used as a garnish.

Ginger Powder (Adarek)

Ginger, also known as Zingiber officinale, is a flowering plant that is closely connected to cardamom and turmeric. The ginger plant’s underground stem, or rhizome, is generally recognized as the ginger root and is well-known for its medicinal properties. It is used as a cooking seasoning for almost all vegetables and pulses. It can be used to make pickles or consumed as ginger tea with honey. It is commonly used as a seasoning agent while preparing gingerbreads, cakes, cookies.

Garlic Powder (Lahsun)

Garlic AKA as Lahasun, is an essential seasoning used regularly in Indian dishes. It is used in cooking for flavor enhancement. Garlic powder is the ground form of dehydrated garlic. The powder is used as a seasoning in various dishes like soups, stews, pizzas, and salad dressings. This powder’s versatility and tasty flavor make it a favorite spice around the world.

In terms of wellbeing, it also provides many of the greatest advantages of garlic. Regularly using this spice will provide a boost to your cooking and your overall health.

Asafoetida (Hing)

Asafoetida AKA Hing, is sulfurous smelling gum-resin that’s extracted from Furula plants. It has a powerful aroma. It is ground into a powder and gives a savory taste to food. It has some medicinal properties as well. Add hing to a frying pan when the oil or butter is well heated. Allow it to sizzle from 15 – 20 seconds before adding onions, garlic, and garlic.

Fenugreek (Methi)

Fenugreek AKA Methi, is also an essential spice used extensively in Indian cooking. It has a distinct flavor. The seeds are bitter but have many health benefits. Fenugreek leaves are a green aromatic spice and are less prone to bitterness. The leaves have a delicious maple-like aroma. Add a few tablespoons to your dishes near the end of the cooking process. Fenugreek seeds also have many health benefits.

Tej Patta

 Bay leaves AKA Tej Patta, this culinary herb makes for an integral part of Indian cuisine, thanks to its distinctive flavor and fragrance. It is added as a whole leaf at the starting and cooked for the whole length of the dish. The leaves are removed just before serving the prepared dish. The herbal flavor is reminiscent of cinnamon and cloves. The leaves are added with other frying spices such as mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom pods at the beginning, and fried till turned slightly brown in color.

The use of spices in Indian Dishes

So let’s bundle it in a process that’s stepwise. Here’s how to prepare an Indian curry-style in 4 steps.

Marination

It involves yogurt and some other acidic ingredients and spices. Many dishes such as butter chicken, tikka, and other associated dishes involve the process of marination. Mixtures of ground spices like garam masala, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and cardamom are used in the marination process.

Frying

The spices can be fried using some oil or butter in a pan. Allow oil or butter to heat up and add spices to the pan. Keep the flame on medium heat and fry the spices for 10 – 30 seconds making sure the spices do not burn. Infuse the oil with flavors.

Onions and Vegetables

Onions are added after the oil is infused with spices. Add garlic, ginger, chilies, and other ground spices like garam masala and cardamom, black pepper, and coriander.

Spicing Sauce in Dishes

Finally, when adding sauce ingredients to a dish like milk, cream tomato sauce or paste, and coconut milk, during the process you can throw in additional spices at this stage like turmeric, red chili powder to balance the flavors.

You can buy these spices from an online store of Ciba spices. We are a top manufacturer of seed spices in India. All spices are hand-picked and blended using fully automated machinery, thus ensuring quality and richness.