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.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Panch phoron: Wiki-uk, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Nutmeg: Herusutimbul, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Clove: Bayu Nugroho, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Allspice: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source

Indian bay leaf: Sonja Pauen, Public domain, source

Ras el hanout: Sarefo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Recado rojo: Paul Goyette, CC BY-SA 2.0, source

Berbere: Badagnani, CC BY 3.0, source

Khmeli suneli: А. Кабанов, CC0, source

Turmeric: J.M.Garg, CC BY 3.0, source

Mitmita: Caffe Vita, CC BY 2.0, source

Saigon cinnamon: Sykes, Bill, CC BY 4.0, source

Hawaij: Mx. Granger, CC0, source

Cumin: Sanjay Acharya, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Vadouvan: Fornax, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Mexican oregano: Dick Culbert, CC BY 2.0, source

Herbes de Provence: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source

Curry paste: Ryan Snyder, CC BY 2.0, source

Wild turmeric: goldentakin, CC BY 2.0, source

Curry powder: Slick, CC0, source

Erode Turmeric: Sivaranjani, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Greater galangal: Raffi Kojian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Long pepper: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Garam masala: Miansari66, Public domain, source

Thyme: Evan-Amos, CC0, source

Ginger: Venkatx5, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Fenugreek: Yak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Korarima: Joe Castleman ( Gyrofrog ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Svan salt: Jelger Groeneveld, CC BY 2.0, source

Rice paddy herb: Emilia Murray, CC BY-SA 2.0, source

Sesame: Anna Frodesiak, CC0, source

Basil: Castielli, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Cubeb: Kembangraps, CC BY-SA 3.0, source

Bay Laurel: Forest and Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0 us, source

Fennel: Elekes Andor, CC BY 4.0, source

Montreal steak seasoning: Laurent Bélanger, CC BY-SA 4.0, source

Lovage: 4028mdk09, CC BY-SA 3.0, source