Wet masala
A paste of fresh and dry spices ground with water, oil or aromatics, the base of many curries.
Also: spice paste, rempah, bumbu, recado, curry paste
A wet masala is a fresh paste, not a dry powder, and nearly every spice region has a version: Thai curry paste with galangal and lemongrass, Indonesian bumbu and Malaysian rempah, Mexican recado, Indian ginger-garlic and onion-tomato pastes, Goan vindaloo paste with vinegar. The paste is made by pounding or blending, then fried in oil until fragrant, a step that cooks out raw tastes and deepens the flavour. Wet masalas keep for days in the fridge, and for months if frozen or covered in oil. They give a rounder, fresher taste than powders, and carry the character of fresh roots and herbs.