Hello foodies,
Glossary of some commonly used Indian Spices & their common usage are listed below :
| English Name | Hindi Name | Common Usage |
| Cumin seeds | Jeera | In tempering |
| Black cumin seeds | Kala jeera | |
| Big mustard seeds | Sarson | In curries, In tempering |
| Small mustard seeds | Rai | In tempering |
| Aniseeds, fennel seeds | Saunf | In desserts, Pickles ,some curries |
| Asafoetida | Hing | In tempering |
| Basil seeds | subja, falooda seeds, tukmaria | In ice creams, smoothies |
| Bay Leaf | Tej Patta | In curries |
| Black cardamom | Badi elaichi | In spicy curries, biryanis ,For fragrance in rice dishes |
| Green Cardamom | Choti elaichi | In spicy curries, biryanis ,For fragrance in rice dishes ,For making tea ,Desserts, dips |
| Black pepper | Kali mirch | In curries, In juices , |
| Black salt | Kala namak | In lemonades, fruit juices, |
| Caraway seeds | Sahi jeera, shahjeera | In rice dishes , curries |
| Carom seeds | Ajwain | In breads ( Paratha, poori ) , snacks |
| Cinnamon | Dal chini | In curries, masala tea |
| Cloves | Laung | In curries, rice dishes, masala tea |
| Red chilly powder | Laal mirch powder | In curries, veggies |
| Coconut desiccated | Sukha nariyal ka choora | In desserts, In curries |
| Coriander powder | Dhania powder | In curries, veggies |
| Coriander seeds | Gota dhania/sabut dhania | In curries |
| Dry mango powder | Amchur | Its used to give tangy flavour to any kind of food |
| Fenugreek seeds | Methi | |
| Dry ginger | Saunth | |
| Mace | Javitri | In biryani |
| Nutmeg | Jaiphal | In soups |
| Onion seeds/Nigella | kalonji, Mangerla | In tempering, In making Indian breads ( Paratha,Pooris) ,In making of snacks ,Pickles |
| Poppy seeds | Khus khus , Poshtu | In curries, in chutney |
| Star anise | Chakriphool | In biryani , In curries |
| Turmeric Powder | Haldi | In veggies, curries, with Milk |
| Yellow mustard seeds | Peela sarson | In curries |