The Indispensable Indian Kitchen Accessory

Its not really hard to guess the"most"  Indispensable kitchen accessory... The Masala Dabba or the Spice Box... 

My Regular Spice Box

Different cooks like to keep different things in their spice box, but i think that Salt, Red Chilly Powder, Turmeric Powder are the main three items that you will find in any Indian Spice Box.  Mine also includes home-made Garam Masala, Corriander Seeds, Cumin seeds and powder...

While the Spice box comes in handy for daily cooking, I have a cupboard full of spices that I like to use for different Indian recipes.  Some of the most common ones include:

Star Anise -used in Biryani, Rice Preparation, or any meat curry

Carrom Seeds - can do a ton of things including sprinkle with salt on top of slight pan-toasted bread .. and I like to put it in my tea - Its an Acquired taste

Cardamom - Used in Rice preparations and I eat these as mouth fresheners

Cloves- for rice items and when making Red Kidney Beans

Cinnamon Bark - Rice and Red Kidney Beans top the list

Nutmeg- Biryani and meat preparations

Apart from these I am constantly looking for Anardana (Dried Pomegranate Powder), Peppercorn,  Amchur (Dried Mango Powder), Aesofetida, Black Salt, Rock Salt, and much more...

What kind of spices do you like to use besides salt and pepper...