Spices for dinner

Dinner is the main gathering meal in much of the world, and often where the full range of a cuisine's spices is shown, from slow-cooked stews to roasts and curries.

Slow-cooked dishes

Stews and braises use whole and ground spices cooked for hours. Moroccan tagines, Indian curries, Mexican moles, Persian khoresh and Hungarian goulash each use a different spice set, giving each its character.

Roasts and grills

Spice rubs and marinades, such as jerk, tandoori, suya, shawarma and barbecue rubs, flavour meat before cooking over fire. Pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander and garlic are common across them.

Table spices

Beyond the cooking, many tables carry their own seasonings, such as pepper mills in Europe, pepper sauce in the Caribbean, chilli oil in China and shichimi in Japan.

Dinner on EveryMasala

The spices written up so far, best known first.

🇵🇪 Peru and 5 moreChili pepperchīlli The pungent berry of the Capsicum plant, used to add heat to dishes worldwide.Fruit · Hot and fiery · Earthy and deep

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreHabanero A very hot chili cultivar with a floral aroma, native to the Amazon and grown in Mexico.Fruit · Hot and fiery · Floral and perfumed

🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreLong pepper The dried fruit spike of a climbing vine native to Java, once the world's standard heat.Fruit · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent

🇳🇬 Nigeria and 1 moreAlligator pepper The seed pods of West African ginger plants, named for the bumpy texture of their inner kernels.Fruit · Sharp and pungent · Hot and fiery

🇮🇳 India and 3 moreLong pepperpippali The dried fruit spike of a climbing vine, once the world's most prized spice.Fruit · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow

🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBlack pepper The dried fruit of a climbing vine, the world's most traded spice.Fruit · Sharp and pungent · Hot and fiery

🇧🇩 Bangladesh and 2 morePiper chaba A creeping vine from South and Southeast Asia whose stems and roots are used as a pungent spice.Root · Sharp and pungent · Hot and fiery

🇵🇪 Peru and 4 moreRocoto A hairy-leaved Andean pepper with black seeds and a distinct cucumber aroma.Fruit · Hot and fiery · Earthy and deep

🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreCapsicum annuum A flowering plant producing berries of many colors and heat levels, from sweet bell peppers to fiery chilies.Fruit · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow

🇦🇺 Australia and 1 moreMountain pepper The dried berry of an Australian shrub, used as a peppery condiment and wasabi substitute.Fruit · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow