Spices
The culinary practices of a culture help in large to define it. In turn, the spices used define the culinary practice of a culture. For this reason (along with the hegemonic commercial filters of British Imperialism), we in the West directly associate Indian culture with several spices.
Spices are used the world round to bring out the multifarious flavors in food. Let's take a closer look at a few spices. Let's look, specifically, at cumin, cardamom, cilantro, fennel, marjoram, and garlic.