Spices and herbs are one of the most conspicuous ingredients of Indian cuisine. Without these essential ingredients, Indian food would have no meaning. Perhaps we owe to the popularity of Indian cuisines across the globe to these spices and herbs. Its fragrant and exciting flavor will not only bring the best in the food you are making, but also the best in you. Once you understand how each of these spices and herbs work, you are well on your way to becoming the self proclaimed chef that you intend to be. 

There are a lot of herbs and spices that could be found in India, however, you need not know all of them. There are just some spices that you'll need more often than others in cooking Indian recipes. We will be using certain ingredients and techniques throughout our explanation that have been further defined below: 

Bhuna - Bhuna is a method of cooking Indian spices, particularly cooking in hot oil. This process is used to release and preserve the flavors of the spices while removing the raw feel of them. Its name literally means cooking in oil and used for cooking Indian food, especially curry.

Curry - Curry comes from the Indian word kari, means vegetables soaked in spices and is therefore a good recipe to resemble the Indian spices. The traditional Indian curry is made up of fenugreek, turmeric, red pepper, black pepper, as well as cloves, coriander and a bunch of other spices.

Tadka - Tadka is a process of cooking spices which is similar to Bhuna. However, the difference is that Tadka is used for whole spices only to temper so that the spices released in the oil blend into the dish.

Masala - Masala is a term in India which means mixture of spices cooked in oil. Its most popular version is the Garam Masala which is used in preparing many Indian food recipes like curry. This mixture of spices is usually used as garnish for food. Further to add, Masala also means the concoction of bhuna pyaz (onions) and tomatoes. This is an essential step before majority of dishes in Indian cooking. 

Haldi - Haldi is also known as Turmeric. Its yellowish powder is derived from dried roots. This particular spice is known not only in India, but also in other Asian countries because of its aroma and color. It is also known to have anti oxidants and aids in treating leukemia.

Jeera - This spice is famous and important in many Ayurvedic cooking. It is found to have digestive attributes and is used to flavor food such as curry and vegetables.

Tandoori - Tandoori is like a large oven made up of clay and heated with charcoal. It is used to cook various foods in spices including meat and chicken.

A full list of spices can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_spices

While this list may initially seem scary, as and when you indulge these into your cooking, you will realize that they are not really difficult to deal with. In fact, some may be familiar to you in some or other way. 

Again, its simplicity meeting innovation with the right amount of spices. 

Happy Cooking!