Spices in Indian cooking is of great importance. Most spices can be found in most supermarkets. A few you might be able to get from specialist Indian shops. If you can buy fresh spices and grind them at home it is far better, as the aroma of freshly grinded spices beats ready to use spices any day. Only grind a small amount of spices that you will need for that particular dish, store the rest away in a sealed container and use and grind when that spice is needed. Following is a description of some of the most used spices in Indian cooking.

Green Chillies

Fresh green chillies are a vital ingredient in Indian cooking, they are used in many dishes such as chutneys, curries, vegetables and snacks. They have to be kept like any vegetable, in a refrigerator in a plastic box or bag and have a limited life. If you want a milder taste to your dishes you can take the seeds out of the chillies before using them.

Cinnamon

These are sticks of dried young bark and have a sweet aromatic flavour. They are used in meat and rice dishes. It is best to discard the sticks before serving the dish.

Cardamom

There are two types of cardamom pods, black and green. The green one is smaller and is used in sweet and savory dishes and is also used as an after dinner digestive. The black cardamom is larger and is used to flavour rice and meat dishes.

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