Spices for lunch
Thalis, rice plates, stews and sandwiches: the midday meal.
Lunch is the main meal of the day in many parts of the world, and spice is central to it, from the Indian thali and the Ethiopian injera platter to the Mexican comida.
The midday meal
In South Asia and parts of Africa and Latin America lunch is the largest meal. A thali brings together dal, vegetables, rice, bread, pickles and chutneys, each with its own spice. In Ethiopia a shared plate of wats and injera is built on berbere.
Lighter lunches
In the Middle East lunch may be mezze, falafel and salads dusted with sumac and za'atar. In Southeast Asia, noodle soups and rice plates use pastes, chilli and fresh herbs. Sandwiches and salads in Europe carry pepper, mustard and herbs.
Packed lunches
Dabbas in India, bento in Japan and tiffins in Singapore keep spiced food portable. Foods that taste good cold, such as pickles, chutneys and spiced rice, travel well.
Lunch on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreFenugreekحلبة (hilba)
The cuboid seed of an annual legume, prized for its bitter warmth and maple aroma.Seed · Bitter · Warm and sweet-spiced
🇮🇳 IndiaEdayur chilliഎടയൂർ മുളക്
A local Kerala cultivar with a GI tag, used for sun-dried curd chillies.Chilli · Hot and fiery
🇬🇪 GeorgiaSvan saltსვანური მარილი
A moist, aromatic spice blend from the Georgian mountains, combining herbs with salt.Sharp and pungent · Earthy and deep
🇯🇲 JamaicaPimiento
A sweet, heart-shaped red chili pepper used for stuffing olives and making cheese spreads.Chilli · Sweet and mellow · Hot and fiery
🇺🇸 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
🇮🇳 IndiaByadagi chilliಬ್ಯಾಡಗಿ ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ
A deep red, mild cultivar from Karnataka prized for its colour and oleoresin.Chilli · Hot and fiery · 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
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreGarden cress
A fast-growing edible herb with peppery leaves and seeds used in salads and traditional medicine.Leaf · Sharp and pungent · Sour and tart
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreGarlic chives韭菜
A flat-leaved Allium with a garlic scent, used across Asia as a herb and vegetable.Leaf · Sweet and mellow
🇰🇭 Cambodia and 5 moreVietnamese corianderrau răm
The fresh leaves of a tropical herb used in Southeast Asian soups and saladsLeaf · Citrus and bright · Sharp and pungent
🇱🇦 Laos and 5 moreLemon basil
A hybrid herb with a bright citrus scent, used across Southeast Asia and Africa.Leaf · Citrus and bright · Herbal and green
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 2 moreTorch gingerkecombrang
The edible pink flower bud of a rhizomatous plant, used for sourness in Southeast Asian cooking.Flower · Sour and tart · Sharp and pungent
🇬🇭 Ghana and 5 morePrekeseprɛkɛsɛ
The scented pod of a West African tree, used to perfume soups.Fruit · Sweet and mellow
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreSassafras
An aromatic tree of North America and East Asia, famed for filé powder and root teaLeaf · Citrus and bright · Anise and liquorice
🇮🇩 Indonesia and 5 moreKencur沙姜
A stemless ginger-family rhizome with a peppery, camphorous biteRoot · Sharp and pungent · Herbal and green
🇯🇵 Japan and 1 moreMyoga茗荷
The edible flower buds and shoots of a woodland ginger native to East Asia.Flower · Sharp and pungent · Citrus and bright
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreBlack pepper
The dried fruit of a climbing vine, the world's most traded spice.Sharp and pungent · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreGinger
The pungent rhizome of a flowering plant, widely used as a spice and folk medicine.Root · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇯🇵 JapanKōrēgusuコーレーグス
A Ryukyuan chili sauce made by soaking hot peppers in Awamori rice spirit.Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇦🇹 Austria and 5 moreCaraway
The crescent-shaped fruit of a carrot-family plant, used to flavour rye bread and spirits.Seed · Sharp and pungent · Anise and liquorice
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreMustard seed
Tiny seeds from three Brassica plants that create pungent condiments and cooking oil.Seed · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Kōrēgusu: ayustety, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Torch ginger: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Prekese: NMNH, CC0, source
- Caraway: Slick, CC0, source
- Sassafras: Randy Everette, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kencur: Hariadhi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Myoga: Mariko GODA, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Byadagi chilli: Msclrfl22, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black pepper: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ginger: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mustard seed: Novalis at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fenugreek: Yak, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Edayur chilli: Sanalkumar Nv, CC0, source
- Svan salt: Jelger Groeneveld, CC BY 2.0, source
- Pimiento: Challiyan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Datil pepper: Paullassiter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Madame Jeanette: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Garden cress: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Garlic chives: Kurt Stüber [1], CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Vietnamese coriander: Joditran, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Lemon basil: Kembangraps, CC BY-SA 3.0, source