Spices for snacks and tea time
Spiced nuts, crisps, fritters, chaat and everything eaten between meals.
Snacks are where spice is often most playful, with crisp, salty, sour and hot flavours coated in seasoning mixes made to eat between meals.
Savoury snacks
Indian chaat uses chaat masala, with black salt, amchur and cumin. Mexican snacks use chilli and lime, as with tajin on fruit. Japanese rice crackers use shichimi and nori, and North American popcorn and chips use paprika, onion, garlic and cheese powder.
Nuts and seeds
Roasted nuts and seeds are coated in spice mixes from many places, such as dukkah in Egypt, masala peanuts in India and chilli-lime peanuts in Mexico.
Tea time
Tea-time snacks, such as samosas, pakoras, scones and biscuits, bring spice to the afternoon. Cardamom biscuits, ginger cake and spiced fritters are typical.
Snacks and tea time on EveryMasala
The spices written up so far, best known first.
🇲🇽 MexicoChile de árbol
A small, fiery Mexican chili pepper known for its grassy heat and bright red dried pods.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Smoky
🇮🇳 IndiaByadagi chilliಬ್ಯಾಡಗಿ ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ
A deep red, mild cultivar from Karnataka prized for its colour and oleoresin.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇯🇲 JamaicaPimiento
A sweet, heart-shaped red chili pepper used for stuffing olives and making cheese spreads.Chilli · Sweet and mellow · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 IndiaAlmora Lakhori Mirchiलखोरी मिर्च
A wrinkled yellow chilli from the Kumaon hills of India, known for intense heat and GI protection.Hot and fiery
🇲🇽 MexicoSerrano pepper
A hot Mexican chili from mountain regions, used fresh in salsas and sauces.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇵🇪 PeruLemon Drop pepperají limón
A bright yellow, citrus-flavored chilli from Peru's highlands.Hot and fiery · Citrus and bright
🇬🇳 Guinea and 5 moreGrains of paradise
The pungent, citrus-tinged seeds of a West African ginger relative.Seed · Sharp and pungent · Hot and fiery
🇵🇭 PhilippinesSiling labuyo
The tiny, erect-fruited wild chili of the Philippines, known for intense heat.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇺🇸 United States and 2 morePeter pepper
A rare heirloom chili with a distinctive wrinkled shape and moderate heat.Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇩🇿 Algeria and 5 moreBlack mustard
The dark seeds of an annual plant, used whole in oil or ground into a sharp paste.Sharp and pungent · Hot and fiery
🇫🇷 FranceRomenay pepperpiment de Romenay
A compact, mild French chili cultivated in the historical province of Bresse.Chilli · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 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
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreMustard
The seed of a Brassicaceae plant used to make pungent condiments and oilHot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇳 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
🇲🇽 Mexico and 5 moreJalapeño
A medium-sized Capsicum annuum cultivar from Mexico known for its green pods and moderate heat.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Earthy and deep
🇮🇳 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.
- Black mustard: AnRo0002, CC0, source
- Black pepper: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Siling labuyo: Obsidian Soul, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Jalapeño: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ginger: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, source
- Mustard: Taken by Fanghong, CC BY 2.5, source
- Mustard seed: Novalis at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Serrano pepper: Cindy, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Pimiento: Challiyan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Chile de árbol: Cliff Hutson, CC BY 2.0, source
- Byadagi chilli: Msclrfl22, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Black pepper: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lemon Drop pepper: User:Carstor, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Grains of paradise: Lemmikkipuu, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Peter pepper: Brocken Inaglory, CC BY-SA 3.0, source