Indian cuisine is characterized by the extensive use of numerous spices. Spices or Masala as it is called in Hindi may be called the ‘heartbeat’ of an Indian kitchen.
Spices are used to flavor the food, making each dish distinct and wonderfully aromatic. Each spice has its own unique flavour and when combined with other spices, magically change the individual characteristics. Spices in Indian cooking is not only used to flavour the food but also for health and medicinal purposes to prevent disease and also to preserve food.
Essentially in an Indian home kitchen, spices are stored in a masala dabba or Indian spice box to organize the spices. Dabba is a round stainless steel tin with a tight-fitting solid or glass lid and can typically hold seven or smaller canisters that house an array of spices.
The spices in a masala dabba varies from individual household. It’s really a matter of personal taste. You can have as many as two or three masala dabbas to hold your spices.
I store the following spices in my dabba as these are the most commonly used spices in my household.
- cardamon pods
- chilli powder
- coriander seeds
- cloves
- cumin powder
- cumin seeds
- fennel seeds
- garam masala
- ginger powder
- mustard seeds
- star anise
- turmeric
You can find a complete list of Indian spices here.
SOUTHEASTASIAN FOODIE 