Indian masala refers to Indian spices. The word masala means spice, spices. It is also used to refer to a spice mix or a spice blend.

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.

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 seperately so that they are roasted proplerly.

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. Generelly 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.

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You need a neat way to store your spices. Look at the spice racks shown below. With the see through jars, you can pick up quickly the spice you need. This spiceracks are space saving too. There is also have one that you can mount on the wall.

The spice racks shown below are the ones available at amazon that you can trust for the quality and to get the lowest rates.

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These masala powders are used

In Curry Recipes such as:palak paneer , Tomato Curry, Onion Curry,

Mung Bean Curry and ChickPea Curry-Chana Masalaetc.

In Rice Recipes such as pulav and Khichadi - Beans and rice recipe

In breads(roti) and snacks recipes such as Masala Poori, Palak Poori. etc.

So use the masala recipes below and Make some masalas of your own and use them when you want.

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Garam Masala Recipe - used for many savory dishes.

Rasam Powder - South Indian Rasam - Served with rice or as an appitizer

Sambar Powder - Spice mix for the South Indian Sambar Recipe.

Chat Maslala - Spice powder to use with fruit snacks, a variety of chaats, juices, salads.

More about Hing - Asafoetida - Asafetida - More info about hing.