What's in your Spice cupboard?

[Goldilocks99]

I'm trying to up my game with my cooking. Mainly cook Asian style dishes and fusion. Curries are a staple in my house. In my spice rack regularly used are:
Tumeric
Cumin
Lemongrass
Ginger
Chilli
Paprika
Cinnamon
Madras
Curry powder
Nutmeg

I'd like some new spices to add depth. For example I'm going to give cardamom a go to add sweetness to curries.

What spices are your secret weapons for depth and flavour please?

@Goldilocks99

How do you use fennel and cloves? What are your favourite cardamom dishes? Star anise I use in East Asian dishes, do you use it in anything else. Love coriander. That goes in most things lol!

Ohh also what do people use for colour? I use tumeric for yellow but would like to achieve more vibrant reds, oranges and yellow.

I use fennel seeds in practically everything - it's great on chicken or pork, often with lemon and garlic. I do an amazing creamy sausage pasta dish that includes fennel seeds. When I do a "cheat's" pilaf, I use fennel seeds enthusiastically.

I use cloves and star anise in curries and casseroles (and cloves in the above pilaf too). Star anise, cinnamon and fennel seeds flavours a lovely chicken stew/casserole that I do in the slow cooker and which was a particular favourite of the kids when they were babies.

Cardamom I usually just use to "freshen" up store bought curry pastes - eg if I'm doing a rogan josh, for which I use a paste, I'll put a couple of cardamom pods and a cinnamon stick in.

@Postdatedpandemic thank you for the cookbook suggestion. Looks like the most perfect book for me. Can't wait to use it

I have a copy of East by Meera Sodha which is well used and has a good range of veggie recipes