Spices for dinner
The main meal of the evening: curries, roasts, braises and grills.
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.
🇪🇸 SpainChoricero pepperspimiento choricero
A dried red pepper from Spain used to make rich stews and sauces.Chilli · Sweet and mellow · Smoky
🇫🇷 France and 1 moreEspelette pepperpiment d'Espelette
A mild Basque chili with sweet, fruity notes and protected origin status.Chilli · Sweet and mellow · Hot and fiery
🇲🇽 Mexico and 1 morePoblano
A mild Mexican chili pepper that becomes the dried ancho when mature.Chilli · Sweet and mellow · Hot and fiery
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreFresno chile
A medium-sized Capsicum annuum cultivar with a conical shape and bright red skin.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇹🇷 TurkeyUrfa biber
A sun-dried and night-wrapped chili from Turkey with a smoky, raisin-like taste.Chilli · Smoky · Sweet and mellow
🇧🇷 Brazil and 2 moreBishop's crown
A wrinkled, three-sided Capsicum baccatum cultivar with mild heat and a sweet flavor.Chilli · Sweet and mellow
🇻🇪 Venezuela and 5 moreAjí dulce
A mild, sweet perennial pepper from the Caribbean and Latin America, used as a seasoning base.Chilli · Smoky · Sweet and mellow
🇵🇪 Peru and 1 moreAjí panca
A mild, fruity Peruvian chili used for its deep red color and sun-dried flavor.Chilli · Sweet and mellow
🇸🇷 SurinameMadame Jeanette
A fruity, very hot chili cultivar from Suriname with a reddish-yellow skin.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChimayó pepper
A prized New Mexico chile cultivar known for its sweet, smoky flavor and twisted dried pods.Chilli · Sweet and mellow · Smoky
🇭🇺 HungaryCherry peppercseresznyepaprika
A small Capsicum annuum cultivar from Hungary, used for paprika and preserves.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBig Jim pepper
A large, mild New Mexico chile cultivar developed in the United States for green roasting.Chilli · Sweet and mellow · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 IndiaByadagi chilliಬ್ಯಾಡಗಿ ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ
A deep red, mild cultivar from Karnataka prized for its colour and oleoresin.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇲🇽 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
🇵🇪 PeruAjí amarillo
A golden-orange Peruvian chili with fruity notes and moderate heatChilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreDatil pepper
A very hot, sweet-sour cultivar of Capsicum chinense grown mainly in FloridaChilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Fresno chile: Nadiatalent, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ají dulce: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Chimayó pepper: Dicklyon, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Cherry pepper: James Lee, CC BY 2.0, source
- Big Jim pepper: User:Carstor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Urfa biber: Fornax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Byadagi chilli: Msclrfl22, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Capsicum annuum: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain, source
- Capsicum baccatum: Retama, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Choricero peppers: Tamorlan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ají panca: MiguelAlanCS, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Espelette pepper: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Poblano: stef yau, CC BY 2.0, source
- Datil pepper: Paullassiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Madame Jeanette: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source