A few years ago, just when I started cooking, I would call up mom like ten times or so to make sure I was adding the correct masala and enough water etc etc. On days when I thought that I was bothering her way too much or probably it was too late for me to call, then I ended up scouring the internet for recipes and ideas. Today, I find myself doing the exact same thing. However, what has changed is the way I look at ingredients for every recipe. I am now trying to be cautious of what we buy and what is added to a dish(not on the days when we are stuffing our faces with massive burgers that might have had a good doze of junk). So what is it that I love adding to any food? I am as addicted to SPICES as the English are to their cup of tea.

Over the years, I have come to understand a lot more about every spice besides their flavours. Apparently, spices can do so much good to your body depending on how you use them. It is quite interesting to read about these little beauties and even more so when I am trying to use them in each recipe. So, during our recent holiday in Dubai, the love for spices took me to the surprisingly small but rather pretty Spice Souk/market while the rest of the family were probably thinking it was a bit of a curse to be going there on a super hot day and having to rush back to the other end to catch our return flights. Although they remained calm on the outside and made it all look so worthy!

Here are a few pictures from our spice souk exploration

This shop had a few dried herbs and flowers like Lavender, Hibiscus and even rose petals which I can only imagine would be amazing to add to your herbal tea concoction or simply mixing them with vanilla cream for that extra Oomph!

As you can see, there are so many spices that these vendors sell and one has to haggle or you are probably going to pay three times more than the actual price.

 Among all the lovely spices, my most favourites are Cumin and Turmeric for their wonderful earthy scents. You would say many spices have that kind of flavour but for me, these two bring a mild yet a powerful kick to many dishes. 

And some other pretty things like these Umbrellas and lamps were also being sold.

And this one is because

Sometimes life is better in black and white!!!