India is known for its excellent cuisine, it's unique regions of cooking, and a pleasant dining experience. India is distinguished in the world's cuisine for it vegetarian dishes. One thing all of the regional cuisines of India have in common is it's use of spices. Garam masala is an essential ingredient in the cooking of the Punjab region of northern India. Loosely defined, "masala" is any blend of spices, and "garam" means hot. Generally, garam masala is added to the dish very shortly bef.