Glossary of some commonly used Indian Spices is presented here:
| english | hindi | tamil | kannada | marathi | konkani | gujarati | notes – recipes and uses |
| aniseeds, fennel seeds | saunf | sombu | badishop | variyali | |||
| asafoetida | hing | perumkayam, perungaya | hingu | hing | hingu | hing | good for digestion |
| basil seeds, sweet basil | sabja seeds, subja, falooda seeds, tukmaria | sabja seeds | tukmariya | added to falooda | |||
| bay Leaf | indian tej patta, tamalpatra | brinji elai | tamal patra | tej patta leaves are commonly called as indian bay leaves. but they are not related to the bay laurel leaves. both have different appearance and aroma. tej patta has an aroma similar to that of cinnamon bark while bay leaves have a lemony aroma. | |||
| big mustard seeds | sarson | sarsav | |||||
| black cardamom | badi elaichi | periya elakkai | elcho | ||||
| black cumin seeds | kala jeera | karung seeragam | |||||
| black mustard seeds | rai | rai | |||||
| black pepper | kali mirch | milagu | menasinkalu | kali miri | mari | ||
| black salt | kala namak | sanchal | used in shinkanjvi – indian lemonade. you can add them in fruit juices. it has a sulphric taste & add a lot of zing to the drink | ||||
| caraway seeds | shahjeera | perum seeragam | shahjeera | ||||
| carom seeds, thymol seeds, bishops weed | ajwain | omam | owa | owa | wonwo | ajmo | |
| chilli powder | lal mirch powder | milagai tool | marchu powder | ||||
| cinnamon | dalchini | lavanga pattai, pattai | dal chini | dal chini | dal chini | taja | |
| clarified butter | ghee | nei | ghee | ||||
| cloves | laung, lavang | krambu | laving | ||||
| coconut desiccated | sukha nariyal ka choora/boora | thuruvina thengai | topranu khaman | ||||
| coconut dry | sukha nariyal | copra | copra, khopru | ||||
| coconut fresh | nariyal | thengai | chobra | khopru, topru | |||
| coriander powder | dhania powder | dhaniya podi | dhane pood | ||||
| coriander seeds | sabut dhania | kottumalli vidai, dhaniya | dhane | kothmir na dana | |||
| coriander, cilantro | dhaniya, dhania | kothamalli ilai | kothmari/kothmir | ||||
| cumin seeds | jeera | jeerakam | jeeru | ||||
| curry leaves | kari patta, kadipatha | karuveppilai | limda, mitho limbdo | ||||
| dry fenugreek leaves | kasoori methi | ||||||
| dry ginger | saunth, sounth, soonth | sukku | sunthi | sunth | sunthi | sunth | saunth chutney recipe |
| dry mango powder | amchur | mangai podi | mavinkai churu | ambyacha chur | amchur | amchur | very often added in punjabi recipes like chole, rajma |
| fenugreek seeds | methi ke dane | menthiyam, ventiyam | methya dane | methi dana | |||
| fenugreek | methi | venthaiam | |||||
| garlic | lasan, lahsun, lahsan | poondu | lasun | lasan | |||
| fresh ginger | adrak, adhrak | inji | ala | adu | |||
| dry ginger | saunth, sonth | sukku | sunth | sunth | |||
| green cardamom | hari elaichi, choti elaichi | elakkai | veldoda. velchi | elchi | |||
| green chilli | hari mirch | pachai milagai | hirvi mirchi | chidiya marcha/lilu marchu | |||
| ground nut, peanuts | moongphalli, mungphali | nila kadalei | sheng dane | shing | |||
| holy basil | tulsi | tulasi | tulas | tulsi | |||
| jaggery | gur | vellam | bella | gul | god | gol | |
| palm jaggery | tara gura, sharkara tada | pana vellam | |||||
| lime | nimboo, nimbu | elumichai | limbu | limbu | |||
| cocum, kokum | bhirinda, bhirnda | kokam, aamsul | |||||
| lime peel | nimbu ka chilka | elumichai thol | |||||
| mace | jayitri, javitri, javntry | jaipatri | jaipatri | jaipatri | jaipatri | javintri | |
| mint | pudina, podina | pudina, pudhina | pudina | phudino | |||
| nutmeg | jaiphal | jhadhikkai | jaiphal | jaiphal | |||
| onion seeds, nigella | kalonji, kalaungi | kalonji | kalonji | ||||
| pine nuts | chilgoze, nioze | ||||||
| dry pomegranate seeds | anardana | dadum na dana | |||||
| poppy seeds | khus khus | khasa khasa | khas | khas khas | |||
| raisins | kismish | kaindha dratchai / ularndha dratchai | bedane | suki draksh | |||
| red chilli | lal mirch | milakai vatral | lal mirchi | ||||
| rock salt | sendha namak | kal uppu | sendhe laun | sindhalu mithu | used in religious fasting as common salt is not allowed during fasting/vrat | ||
| rock flower, stone flower | pathar phool | kalpaasi | dagad phool | ||||
| salt | namak | uppu | meeth | mithu | |||
| sesame seeds | til | ellu | til | tul | |||
| saffron | kunkuma, kesar, zafran | kumkumappu | keshar | kesar | |||
| screwpine, pandanus | kewra | ||||||
| sichuan pepper, szechwan pepper | timur, tirphal, tephal, teppal | ||||||
| star anise | chakriphool | lavanga poo | |||||
| sultanas | munakka | easily available in north india | |||||
| tamarind | imli | puli | chincha | ||||
| turmeric | haldi | manjal | halad | ||||
| vetiver | khus | ||||||
| vinegar | sirka | ||||||
| water melon seeds | tarbuj ke beej |
note – if you know the name of any spices in any regional indian language and want to update it in this post… then do leave it in the comment section and we will update the post. if we have missed any spices, then also you can let us know. thanks in advance.
many thanks to all readers who shared the name of spices in regional languages.
You might also like to check how to make garam masala, bisi bele bath masala powder, sambar powder and pav bhaji masala.
Hello Dassana,
I’m a big fan of your site, I use it whenever I would like to cook Indian food, or just to read about it. I have a question about shah jeera, which you call caraway in English on your site. I’ve googled it and some Indians call it caraway while others call it black cumin. In my Indian cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey she writes black cumin is shah(i) jeera. In the Indian food store, on the black cumin package, the label also says kala shah jeera. In the chart on this page, you list shah jeera and black cumin separately. Caraway (in Latin: carum carvi) has a very strong aroma, a bit like fennel and we use it a lot in several European cuisines and to flavour rye bread, potato dishes, etc. It smells very different from cumin. Black cumin (Latin name: Bunium bulbocastanum) looks a bit similar but has a very different aroma, more similar to cumin but to my nose, does not smell so pleasant, it has an earthier smell.
Could you please help me with this? Shall I use caraway or black cumin when you write shahjeera in your recipes? Thank you!
thank esther. in india, both kala jeera and shah jeera are sold separately. kala jeera has a bitter taste and used in ayurvedic medicines. whereas shah jeera is aromatic and pleasant. from what i know caraway seeds is shah jeera. i would suggest you to use caraway seeds and not black cumin. i hope i have managed to solve the confusion.
Hello, my friend bought me a bag of green fennel seed from an East Indian store. What are they used for? They do not look the same as regular fennel seed. They are much smaller and very green. Can you please clarify this for me please? Thank you in advance, love this site!
jacquie, its the same fennel seed. depending on the variety, the color can be from green to greenish-yellow or greenish-brown. the size also will vary. you can lightly toast them and store in an air tight jar. then use them as mouth freshener. in india after every meal, fennel seeds are served in homes as well as in restaurants. having them after a meal helps to digest the food. you can even temper the dishes that you make with fennel seeds.
Looking for vernacular names Hindi-Tamil-Malayalam etc for “TILL”
you mean sesame seeds. in hindi sesame seeds are called as ’til’. in malayalam and tamil, known as ‘ellu’
What is the english name of muthungai powder(in malayalam) used in keralayurveda
you mean murungai?