Indian Curry Spices

• Many spices are blended and cooked into curry dishes. Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images

  For many, "curry" refers to a mustard-gold blend called curry powder, found in pre-ground form on American grocery store shelves. "Curry" means "sauce" and comes from the word "kari." Curry spices can come in the form of an oil, paste or toasted powder; they are are a combination of many ingredients. Certain key curry spices flavor a variety of Indian curry dishes.

Fenugreek

• Derived from a member of the bean family, this ingredient adds a unique note to Indian curry dishes. Its maple-like, buttery taste is reminiscent of caramel, verging on burnt sugar. A small amount of this seed produces a pronounced flavor. The seeds are dried prior to being used.

Cardamom

• Cardamom grows wild in southern India, and is cultivated in India, Sri Lanka and Guatemala. The seeds and pods of this plant provide curries with a pungent, aromatic, somewhat sweet quality.

Coriander

• The seeds of the coriander plant are used both in Indian curries and in a well-known Indian spice blend known as garam masala. When crushed, the dried seeds smell and taste of spicy citrus.

Fennel Seed

• This licorice-tasting seed is popular in Indian curries and comes from the root vegetable fennel.

Mace

• Mace is the outer covering of the nutmeg seed; its taste is similar to nutmeg, but a little more delicate. Mace adds a warm, sweet taste to Indian curries. It has no connection to the incapacitating spray also called "mace."

Cinnamon

• Cinnamon is common in Indian curries. Other spices in the curry, however, usually mute its distinctive taste: it provides a warm heat to Indian dishes without being overtly cinnamon-like.

Cloves

• Cloves are the unopened buds of an evergreen tree. Cloves are sweetly pungent with a pronounced flavor; use cloves sparingly when making an Indian curry. The word "clove" is derived from the French word "clou," meaning nail; indeed, cloves do resemble nails.

Cumin

• Dried ground cumin is widely prevalent in Indian cuisine. When used whole, the seeds add a smoky flavor to a curry.

Mustard Seeds

• Western culinary traditions don't often use the seeds of the mustard plant. They are often an element of Indian curry spice mixtures, however, and provide a strong punch of mustard flavor.

Turmeric

• Turmeric comes from the roots of a plant in the ginger family; the roots are dried and ground to create a golden-orange powder. Turmeric imparts a golden coloring to an Indian curry. It has a mild, ginger-like taste.

Ginger

• Indian curries use two forms of ginger root: ground and freshly grated. While differing somewhat in taste, both ground and fresh ginger give Indian food heat and pungency.