Spices of South Asia
The great spice garden: pepper and cardamom from the Malabar coast, chilli, turmeric and the masalas that hold a thousand kitchens together. 75 spices on EveryMasala so far.
Spice cities, markets and growing areas
Kerala 5Manipur 5Goa 4Nagaland 4Maluku Islands 3Assam 2Bombay 2Calicut 2Himachal Pradesh 2Kochi 2Muziris 2Sikkim 2Alexandria 1Almora 1Arambol 1Azamgarh 1Ballia 1Brahmapur 1Byadgi 1Calcutta 1Chhatrapur 1Coimbatore 1Collinsville 1Darjeeling 1Delhi 1Dhule 1Didwana 1Eau Claire 1Edayur 1Erode 1
Blends of the region
Garam masalaChaat masalaSambar powderPanch phoronGoda masalaRasam powderTandoori masalaPav bhaji masalaBiryani masalaChettinad masala
Countries
🇮🇳 IndiaHarmal chilliHarmal mirsang
A smooth red cultivar from Goa, known for its intense heat and role in traditional Goan cooking.Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇦🇷 Argentina and 3 moreCapsicum chacoense
A wild South American chilli known for its intense heat and compact shrub form.Chilli · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 IndiaEdayur chilliഎടയൂർ മുളക്
A local Kerala cultivar with a GI tag, used for sun-dried curd chillies.Chilli · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 IndiaGuntur Sannam
A long, thick-skinned red chilli from Andhra Pradesh known for its heat and colour.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇳 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
🇭🇺 Hungary and 5 moreHorseradish
A pungent root vegetable from Southeastern Europe used as a spicy condiment.Root · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreMizo chilliHmarchte
A pungent Capsicum frutescens cultivar from Mizoram, India, holding a Geographical Indication tag.Chilli · 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
🇮🇳 IndiaBanaras Lal Bharwamirchबनारसी लाल भरवा मिर्च
A thick-skinned chilli from Uttar Pradesh, prized for making traditional stuffed pickles.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Bitter
🇮🇳 India and 1 moreIndian costusकुष्ठ (kuṣṭha)
The dried root of a Himalayan thistle, used for centuries in perfumes and traditional remedies.Root · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇳 IndiaNaga Mircha
A wrinkled red chilli from Nagaland with extreme heat and a fruity aroma.Chilli · Hot and fiery
🇮🇳 India and 3 moreZedoarytemu putih
A bitter rhizome from the ginger family, once common in Austronesian kitchens.Root · Bitter · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreNaga Morichꠘꠣꠉꠣ ꠝꠞꠤꠌ
A superhot chili cultivar from Northeast India and Bangladesh, known for its blistering heat and ribbed skin.Chilli · Hot and fiery
🇵🇰 Pakistan and 2 moreDundicut
A small, round, dark red chili cultivar from South Asia with moderate heat.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇳 IndiaByadagi chilliಬ್ಯಾಡಗಿ ಮೆಣಸಿನಕಾಯಿ
A deep red, mild cultivar from Karnataka prized for its colour and oleoresin.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Sweet and mellow
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreLemongrasssereh; tanglad; takhrai; sera
A tropical grass with citrus-scented stalks used in Asian soups and herbal teasLeaf · Citrus and bright · Sweet and mellow
🇮🇳 IndiaBlack turmeric
A blue-skinned rhizome from northeast India, boiled and dried for its camphor scent.Root · Warm and sweet-spiced
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreSesame
The drought-hardy seed of a flowering plant, prized for its oil and nutty taste.Seed · Warm and sweet-spiced
🇮🇳 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 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
🇮🇳 IndiaSirarakhong Hathei chilli
A long, bitter chilli from Manipur, India, protected by a geographical indication tag.Chilli · Hot and fiery · Bitter
🇮🇳 IndiaWild cinnamon
The aromatic leaves and bark of a Western Ghats tree, once known as malabathrum.Leaf · Warm and sweet-spiced
🇮🇳 India and 5 moreMustard
The seed of a Brassicaceae plant used to make pungent condiments and oilHot and fiery · Sharp and pungent
🇮🇳 IndiaKashmiri red chilliकश्मीरी लाल मिर्च
A mild Capsicum annuum cultivar prized for its deep red colour and low heat.Chilli · Earthy and deep
🇮🇳 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
🇮🇳 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 pepper: Rainer Zenz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Harmal chilli: Lavu Ankush Thakur, CC0, source
- Capsicum chacoense: Zinnmann, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Long pepper: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Edayur chilli: Sanalkumar Nv, CC0, source
- Kashmiri red chilli: Miansari66, Public domain, source
- Horseradish: Pethan, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Banaras Lal Bharwamirch: Dinesh Chaubey, CC0, source
- Mustard: Taken by Fanghong, CC BY 2.5, source
- Indian costus: Vinayaraj, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Mustard seed: Novalis at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Naga Morich: Balaram Mahalder, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Dundicut: Rep07, CC0, source
- Byadagi chilli: Msclrfl22, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lemongrass: Unknown author, CC BY 2.0, source
- Black turmeric: Ramesh Raju, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Sesame: Anna Frodesiak, CC0, source
- Black pepper: David Monniaux, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Garden cress: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wild cinnamon: Dinesh Valke, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Ginger: Forest & Kim Starr, CC BY 3.0, source