Spices used in INDIA

Its agarbathi.It is used to repel evil spirits.

Your response seems like there is some exaggeration. However, there are a lot of strong odor sprays in the stores that you can purchase. Some examples like Febreeze or any other odor remover will work. You can purchase it at your local grocery stores. As far as the problem you are having with your neighbor, you should talk to the neighbor nicely about what the smell is coming from. People from Indian cook with lots of strong spices. I personally love indian food and enjoy the smells. Maybe to your nose, it may seem unpleasant. Do not jump to conclusions and predict that all smells are bad. For instance, your username is Kowgirl. You must love cows but not everyone loves their scent. Overall, if the odor is bothering you very much and your health like you say then either speak rationally to your neighbor, or buy odor removing spray for your home, or just keep your windows closed. But don't insult Indian people and their spices, because I bet you make food items that may smell good to you but smells bad or looks unappealing to eat to others also.

Why don´t you ask your neighbor? I doubt that everybody in every country uses the same spices. If the odor is so overwhelming, maybe you should ask your landlord to do something about it. I have met people from all over the world and whatever their nationality, some smell nice and some don´t. I´m sure that something that makes people move out of a place is not a spice.

very sensitive topic indeed. i hope by responding to this my Indian friends wont hate me. I have worked with Indian officemates for 2 years and yes, their food smell a lot differently from what I am used to. I think the spice that you are looking for is masala. it smells a lot stronger than curry and for those who are not used to their food it may smell unpleasant.

Hi, I am from India but I actually couldn’t understand this spice with a bad odor. However what I feel is the neighbor is frying the garlic and onion in the pan (with a little oil) and people can easily get nauseated by this odor. Also the neighbor would be adding a lot of other spices for the non-veg cooking including fish. Again, if it is non-veg, they can cook it in one go. So the probability is that they are slightly over-frying this garlic/onion mixture. In my vegetarian cooking, I never use garlic as I don’t like the smell of it. But for the health benefits, I sometime use it when I cook for my children & husband. Now, how do you get rid of this odor – you may open all the windows/doors for a while of your apartments and someone should suggest the neighbor to use the ‘exhaust fan’ in their kitchen. Happy lotting and a nice weekend.