Indian Masala - Indian Spices

This Indian masala page refers to Indian spices mix. The word masala means spice, spices. The word 'masala' may refer to a dry spice mix or a wet spice blend/paste.

You may find a list of spices with Indian names on our Indian spices page.

Masala is either used in the powder form or in a paste form.

For fresh masala paste, fresh spices are used such as green chilies, fresh ginger root, garlic pods, fresh coriander leaves(cilantro), curry leaves, fresh grated coconut etc.

Dry spices - masala ingredients

For dry masala powder, the dry spices are used. The spices are dry roasted or roasted with a little oil. This roasting is done to remove moisture and to bring out the flavors. Each spice is roasted separately so that they are roasted properly.

Then the roasted spices are ground together to form a fine powder. The blended masala flavor is very inviting. These roasted masala powders last longer, up to one year. You should store them in airtight containers.

Generally there is not need to put them in the fridge. So you can make them in advance and use them when you need to.

The spices used as ingredient in the masala and their proportions differ according to the dish being cooked, recipe, region and of course personal taste.

The North Indians use onions and tomatoes along with spices to make fresh masala paste whereas the South Indian recipes use fresh coconut along with the spices a lot.

You need a neat way to store your spices. In India, a stainless steel spice box with seven small containers is used to store the spices that are used regularly.

You may also use spice racks. With the see through jars, you can pick up quickly the spice you need. This spice racks are space saving too. There is also have one that you can mount on the wall.