India, as they rightly say, is the Land of Spices. Indian spices are popular throughout the world for their usefulness in adding to the taste of cuisines, besides their value in making perfumes, cosmetics, medicines, and pharmaceuticals.
Excellent appetizers and preservatives with great anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and anti-biotic properties, spices are indeed rather useful. Actually, earlier–in the absence of freezers and deep freezers–certain spices such as cloves, mustard, and ground mustard were used to preserve food for long.
The climate of India being varied from tropical to sub tropical to temperate helps in the production of almost all types of spices. In fact, 75, out of 109 known spices, are grown in India, and India accounts for 45 percent of total global spice exports.
Indian spices have a rich history that is more than 7000 years old. In the distant past, these were the chief item of export from India to Mesopotamia, Arab and Egypt. And, at times, wars were fought between the various western powers such as the Portuguese, the British and the French for control over Indian spices that were sometimes valued more than their weight in gold.
Categorized Indian Spices
Indian spices could be categorized under various heads.
Seeds: Ajowan, Anardana, Aniseed, Coriander, Fenugreek, and Poppy Seeds are some of the famous and widely used spices that come in this category.
Leaves: Peppermint Leaves, Mint, Curry Leaves, Tejpat, and Rosemary Leaves are the leading spices in this category.
Flowers: Rose, Caper, and Saffron are the well-known names in this group.
Roots: Garlic, Ginger, Onion, and Turmeric are some of the leading spices that are basically roots.
Bark: Cinnamon and Darchini are the well-known names in this category of spices.
Fruits: Cardamon, Tamarind and Vanilla are some of the leading names in this category.
Miscellaneous: Black Pepper, Clove, and Asafoetida are the leading names in the group.
Indian Spices may be placed under various heads but their usefulness remains the same: making the Indian cuisines, particularly the Indian Curry, the most famous name in the world of cuisines, besides being indispensable for a variety of other purposes mentioned elsewhere.
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