Masala

Masala or Massala or Masalo (Hindi: मसाला, Urdu: مصالح Gujarati: મસાલો, Marathi: मसाला, Nepali: मसला) is a word used mainly in South Asian cuisine. It is originally an Arabic word infused into classic Urdu. It is used extensively in the Urdu language when discussing mixtures of ground spices used in South Asian cooking.

Muslim invasion of India and proliferation of the Urdu language has popularized this word for all ethnic groups in the region. Originally the word "Masalah" referred to spices in traditional Muslim meat-based dishes and later spread to all culinary traditions.

There are many different, popular spice mixtures that have been given their own name because they taste really good with one special ingredient. The dish will often use masala in its name. Some popular dishes are:

• Masala Chai: tea flavoured with a special blend of spices
• Chicken tikka masala: pieces of chicken cooked using a special blend of spices; very popular in the United Kingdom & Ireland
• Chana Masala: a chickpea dish flavoured with a special mix of spices
• Maggi masala noodles: a brand of noodles with a packet of dried spices for flavouring; very popular in India

The blend of spices or masala for these dishes is often sold in markets or packed by companies to be sold in shops. Some spice blends, like Garam Masala, are so popular that they are used in many different dishes.

India is among a few countries with the highest variety in masalas. Around 70% of the world's spice business and exports are handled by India.

Media related to Masala (spice) at Wikimedia Commons