Hope this gallery of spices gives you the confidence to recognise, buy and use them for your cooking. My spice tin (lakadyu) is a collection of nine spices that I use most frequently. The tenth most used spice is, hing, which is always stored separately in a closed container, as it has the most pungent smell and taste. There are many more spices needed for the gujarati meals which I have not shown here. Always buy small quantities and store them in airtight containers and in a dark dry place. The fresher the spices the better the taste.
Elaichi big and small(cardamom), jaifad (nutmeg), mari: ground(black pepper), kalonji (nigella seeds),kesar (saffron), kokum dried, kopru: sukku (dessicated coconut), suundth (ground ginger), suva (dill seeds), tal (sesame seeds), valyari (fennel seeds), and the list is endless. I will put up some these pictures too later on.
These days you are also lucky enough to be able to pick up ready spice mixes(masalas) for numerous dishes, such as:
Biriyani, chai, dhabeli, garam, gujarati daal, goda, misal, pav bhaji, rasam, sambhaar and so on.
Of course nuts also play a big part in the condiments, such as peanuts, cashew nuts, almonds and pistachios.
Other items which are not strictly spices are: Aadu (fresh ginger), aambli (tamarind), daadam na dana (pomogrenate seeds), khajoor (dried dates), lila marcha (green chillies), lasan (garlic), limdi (curry leaves), tulsi (indian basil leaves)
Further to knowing your spices, I will put up a photo gallery for all the lentils, daals and the different flours I use for daily cooking.
As usual your input is most valuable to me….so do comment.