Pepper has a sharp, hot and biting taste. It’s a warming spice. It is one of the oldest and important spices in the world. So important, that in ancient times it was used to pay taxes. In 410 A.D, when the Huns lay siege of Rome, 3000 pounds of pepper was demanded as ransom.

India holds a supreme position in the production of pepper. Two of its celebrated varieties are `Malabar Garbled’ and `Tellichery Extra bold’. The finest Indian pepper is grown in the monsoon forests of the Malabar coast in Kerala.

Pepper is extensively used in the wintry cusine of North India, to impart warmth and pungency to vegetarian dishes. In the South, it is used as a flavoring spice in non- vegetarian preparations. Pepper incidentally is an important spice in the Indian four-spice classic 'garam masala'. Pepper corns boiled in water along with basil leaves, are said to relieve chest congestion and asthmatic condition.

Saffron has a pleasantly bitter flavor. It’s a cooling spice. It is one of the most expensive spices in the world. 225,000 stigmas of the crocus flower go to make one pound of saffron. The Greeks and Romans used saffron to perfume their baths. Saffron is also useful as a dye.     

Found in the Mediterranean area, Spain is the main exporter. Indian saffron is cultivated chiefly in the Jammu & Kashmir valley. Moderate climate, organic-rich soil, excellent drainage in the valley make Indian saffron superior to its foreign counterparts.

Saffron is much used in Indian Moghlai dishes, biryani, pulav, Kesari chicken, Kesari Kulfi etc. Saffron needs to be soaked in a little warm water or milk to infuse. Saffron loses flavor after a month.

Chilli is a heating spice and comes in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and degrees of pungency. Chilli is America’s most important contribution to the world of spices, though today it is one of India’s major export attractions.

Indian chilli is grown in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and a number of other States. The highly pungent 'Guntur' and the mildly pungent 'Byadgi' chillies are internationally recognized as the finest in quality.

Chillies are used in Indian dishes for their hot taste and reddish color. Red chilli ground together with coconut gives curry a firm texture. Chillies are a great source of vitamin C and good for digestion.
 

Coriander has a flavor which combines lemon and sage, with a sweet-note as undertone. It’s a cooling spice. The Greek and the Romans thought it to be an aphrodisiac. By the third Century B.C the Romans knew it was an excellent seasoning for food.            

Coriander is native to the Mediterranean area. In India, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh are the major producers.     

In Indian cuisine, coriander is mainly used for taste. Frying, roast-ground coriander powder in oil gives the characteristic `curry’ flavor. Coriander seeds have diuretic properties. It alleviates gas and tones the digestive tract.

Turmeric has a mild, earthy and woody flavor. It stimulates protein digestion, and is an excellent blood purifier. The use of turmeric as a coloring agent in food and dates back as far as 600 BC In medieval Europe, turmeric was known as Indian Saffron.

India is the world’s leading producer of turmeric. The well-known varieties are `Allepy finger’ (from Kerala), `Madras Finger’ and `Erode turmeric’ (from Tamil Nadu).

The Hindus in India use turmeric to marinate fish before cooking. Turmeric is both used as a coloring and flavoring agent in Indian cuisine. Solutions of turmeric have long been used in the treatment of wounds, eye infections and common cold.

Cinnamon has a woody, earthy, sweet flavor. It’s a warming spice. Cinnamon was one of the major goals of world exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, and played an important role in the discovery of America.   

The Romans believed its fragrance, sacred. Emperor Nero burned a year’s supply of the city’s cinnamon at the funeral rites of his wife, Poppaea.

Indonesia and China are the chief source of cinnamon. In India cinnamon is mostly grown in Kerala.  

While roasting cinnamon dry in a powdered form with other spices, allow under 2 minutes over a low heat. In Indian cuisine cinnamon is an important ingredient in preparing ‘Garam Masala’. Cinnamon is certainly the baker’s most important spice.

Cumin seeds has a penetrating musty, earthy flavor. It’s a cooling spice. In the middle ages, cumin was believed to keep lovers faithful and chicken from straying. More recently, cumin has become popular because of its use in Mexican cooking.          

A native of Egypt and the Mediterranean, cumin is now mostly produced in India. Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh are the prominent producers.                           

Roasted very briefly on low fire (for only a minute) on a tawa (girdle) and then ground into powder helps release its flavor more fully. Cumin is considered a digestive.

Ginger has a pungent-lemony, warm-sweet flavor. It’s a warming spice. In the middle ages, ginger was valued on par with black pepper. A pound of it was worth the price of a sheep.

India is the world’s largest ginger producer. The finest quality ginger - Cochin ginger and Calicut ginger - comes from Kerala.                          

Almost all Indian curry recipes include ginger. The traditional method is to chop ginger finely and fry it along with onions. Ginger was one of the man’s earliest medicine, much prescribed for treating stomach distress

The fennel seed has sweet agreeable flavour and an odor similar to aniseed. It’s a cooling spice. In ancient times, fennel was considered to increase strength. Roman gladiators mixed it with their food before entering the arena.

The famous battle of marathon in 490 B.C, was fought on a fennel field. Fennel is a native of Europe and Asia Minor. Today, India is by far the largest source of fennel along with Egypt and China. In India it thrives in the sunny, limey well-drained loams of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.                              

In India, fennel powder is always used without the frying process. In Chettinand cuisine whole fennel seeds are used. Throughout the centuries fennel was prescribed for everything from weight loss to tooth ache to colic to snake bite.

The brilliant red, lacy, net-like membrane covering in the nutmeg, is the spice called mace. It’s a warming spice. Nutmeg has a piney, sweet-bitter taste. The flavour of mace is similar, but more delicate.

Until the 18th century, the world’s only source of nutmeg was Indonesia. The British introduced the spice into India towards the end of the 19th century, though the spice finds mention in Indian Vedic literature. Kerala and Karnataka are India’s main producers.                            

Nutmeg is used sparingly in India cooking. Always used in powdered form, it is normally added during the cooking process, and is not fried along with the main spices. Mace is a favorite condiment among Muslim cooks, and is used in ‘Kormas’.

Fenugreek has a strong, pleasant and peculiar odor reminiscent of maple. It’s a warming spice. The ancient Egyptians used it as food and as an embalming agent. The Romans used it as cattle feed.  

In India, fenugreek is a cover crop. Major producers are Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh & Tamil Nadu. A favorite Indian dish is 'methi aloo' or potatoes made quite dry in a frying pan, flavored with fenugreek. It is found more often in Indian pickles than curries. Fenugreek leaves are used only in Indian cooking. Fenugreek stimulates blood and hair development, as well as weight loss. It is also used as a female rejuvenate, because of its rich concentration of B vitamin, folic acid.
 

Cloves have an astringent, sweet-hot, fruity flavour that leaves a numbing sensation in the mouth. It’s a warming spice. In Chinese history, during the Han period (220-206 BC) court officials had to hold in the mouths when addressing the Emperor - to make sure their breaths were clean whole cloves.    Cloves were the most prized of all spices to the western world. Columbus and Magellan and other explorers sought it in the age of discovery. Cloves were introduced into India along with nutmeg by the British East India Company during the 19th Century. Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are the main clove producing states. In Indian cuisine, cinnamon and cloves are used together. Clove is a strong spice, just 2 or 3 in a dish gives a perceptible flavour. Cloves  burn faster than cinnamon and should always be put after cinnamon. Clove oil is heavily used in perfumes, cosmetics, mouth washers and toothpaste. Dentists still use clove oil as a mild anesthetizes.

Botanical name	Family name
Syzygium Aromaticum	Myrtaceae
Name in International languages
Spanish - Clavo French - Girofle Swedish - Kryddnejlika German - Gewurznelken Arabic - Qaranful Dutch - Kruidnagel Italian - Garofano Portuguese - Cracvo Russian - Gvozdika Japanese - Choji Chinese - Ting-Hsiang Hindi - Laung Gujarati - Laving (laivaMga)

Cardamom is a sweetly flavored, cooling spice. It is considered the ‘queen’ among spices-pepper being the ‘king’.             

India is perhaps the oldest and the most prolific producer. Cardamom grows profusely on the slopes of the Western ghats of Kerala, Chennai & Karnataka.

Cardamom is an aromatic and flavoring agent. Powdered cardamom sprinkled at the end of the cooking process gives a wonderful aroma. In crushed form, it is used in sweet dishes. Cardamom oil is used in perfumery, bakery products, health foods, medicines and beverages.

Mustard has a pungent, biting flavour. It is a warming spice. Jesus immortalized mustard when he compared the power of faith, even if only as tiny as a mustard seed.

In India mustard is cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bengal & Punjab.

Unlike most aromatic spices, ground mustard has no aroma when dry. It must be moistened for about 10 minutes to develop its sharp, hot, tangy flavor.

Ground mustard enhances the taste of meat, fish, poultry, salad dressing and egg dishes. Mustard is beneficial in dispelling gas, and relieving arthritic and feverish conditions.

Aniseed has a sweet, licorice-like flavour. The Romans used aniseed as a food flavoring in the middle ages. In England it was used to perfume the clothing worn by King Edward IV. Kept under a pillow, it was supposed to prevent bad dreams.           

Turkey, Spain and Egypt are the chief sources of aniseed. In India, it is cultivated in some parts of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh. Aniseed finds its widest use in Kashmiri and Chettinad cooking, and in a few Goan dishes.  It is a very good meat tenderizer too.

At Sizzling Tandoor we import fresh spices every month from India.