Indian food tickling Chinese taste buds

Another hallmark of Indian cuisine is its use of spices. India is one of the world's largest producers of spices, and a key element of its food is the masala, a blend of spices often ground into fine powder.

Masala is a signature feature of Indian cooking, as seen in "masala chai". It is spiced milk tea combining sugar with aromatic spices. As the Hindi word "chai" suggests, tea is the base, but it's the masala that gives it the distinctive flavor.

"When masala is cooked with onions and liquid ingredients like broth or yogurt, it forms the base of the curry. Masala and curry are two related but distinct concepts that people often get mixed up with," Pastakia says.

He says the Taj Pavilion has at least seven curries on its menu, including chicken curry, fish curry and vegetable curry, adding that a wide variety of spices, such as cumin, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon, are stored in small containers in their kitchen.

The restaurant even imports many of the spices from India, either through brokers or e-commerce platforms that specialize in spice trade in China.