eXotic Spices Kollam, Kerala

Cloves are a great addition to flavor your curries or to give aroma to your hot beverages.  Widely used across continents, they are also known for medicinal properties.   History   Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is one of the most loved and well-utilized spices in the entire world. Its distinct sweet and spicy aroma lends dishes and pastries a unique depth in flavor that you can pinpoint once you take a bite. Till very recently, cloves grew only on a few islands in the Moluccas (historically called the Spice Islands), including Bacan, Makian, Moti, Ternate, and Tidore. In fact, the clove tree that experts believe is the oldest in the world, named Afo, is on Ternate. The tree is between 350 and 400 years old. Tourists are told that seedlings from this very tree were stolen by a Frenchman named Pierre Poivre in 1770, transferred to the Isle de France (Mauritius), and then later to Zanzibar, which was once the world's largest producer of cloves. They have been consumed in Asia for more than 2,000 years. Owing to their sweet and fragrant taste, Chinese courtiers dating back to 200 BC would keep them in their mouths in order to freshen their breath when addressing the emperor so as to not offend him. Arab traders brought cloves to Europe around the 4th century, although they did not come into widespread use until the Middle Ages when they became prized for their pungent flavor that served to mask the taste of poorly preserved foods. Grades Available - FAQ Quality/Bulk Grade- Cleaned Grade.     Since cloves have a very intense flavor, especially those that have been ground, care should be taken when deciding how much to use in a recipe so as to not overpower the flavors of the other ingredients. The easiest way to grind whole cloves into a powder is to use a coffee grinder. Cloves — used in Asian, Mexican and European cooking — generally accompany spices such as cinnamon and cardamom.  Cloves are commonly used to flavor hot drinks, such as hot apple ciders and mulled wines. They are a key ingredient in many chai spice mixtures and are often added to coffee in the Ethiopian coffee ceremony.   

Cardamom seeds are quite rare compared to availability of cardamom pods. We used to collect it from farmers/planters across high range and process it. Cardamom seeds are taken through several process of cleaning which includes removal of dust, husk through an aspirator, followed by removal of Iron & Stone content using Destoner & food grade magnetic separator. In addition to this manual cleaning is also done to ensure its quality before reaching customer end. 

Cardamom is known as ‘the queen of spices.’ It can add a lot of flavor to your dishes and beverages. You will be amazed to know about the varieties and choices you have with various types of cardamom. History   Cardamom, or elaichi in Hindi and elakkai in Tamil/Malayalam, is a common spice used in Indian cuisine. Gautemala is the largest producer of this spice now even though its origins is in Tropical forests of India.  Human civilizations have used cardamom for more than 4000 years now. In fact, it was ritualistically used in ancient Egypt and was a common spice used by the Romans and Greeks, before it was introduced in the Scandinavian countries by the Vikings and is one of the oldest spices known to be used by man.  Grades Available Cardamom is available in grades and variety of different sepctrum as per the Trade Names prevelant across Indian & Export Market.Normal Grades Available 8mm Bold (All pods above 8mm size, with mature green color) 7.5mm Bold (All pods above 7.5mm size, with mature green color) 7-8mm Grade (Pods between 7mm to 8mm size, mature green color) 6-7mm Grade (Pods between 6mm to 7mm size, mature green color) Export Quality Grades AGEB Alleppey Green Extra Bold AGB Alleppey Green Bold AGS Alleppey Green Superior Size AGS‐1 Alleppey Green Shipment Green‐1 AGS‐2 Alleppey Green Shipment Green‐2 Traditional Grades BOLD EXTRA BOLD SUPER BOLD Small cardamom Other Grades Bulk Cardamom (Un graded type) Open/Splits (Grinding Quality) Seeds (Black/Brown/Off White seeds without husk) Oil grade (used for oil distillation & extraction purpose) Cardamom is an exceptional medicinal spice and is known to stimulate our bodys metabolism and increase bile secretion, which improves digestion, prevents acid reflux, and gastric disorders.Cardamom is known to reduce the cholesterol level in your blood and also reduce blood pressure in hypertensive individuals.  Cardamom can be substituted for vanilla  used to make ice cream base.  Cardomom seeds can be put in a mortar and pestle along with a teaspoon of sugar. This well ground fluffy powdery mix - cardamom sugar is great to flavor drinks and baked goods.   Cardamom works wonders in savory dishes. A tomato-based sauce for chicken, when thrown  a split cardamom seed and a stick of cinnamon into the mix will change the taste to very intriguing.

Black Pepper can make your dishes ‘hot’, so hot that Europeans were ready to cross oceans just to get a better access to it's it.    History Black pepper comes from the pepper plant, which are grown in hilly area of Kerala –Idukki districts. These spices are directly procured from farmers those who are not using any kind chemical fertilizers in their farming activities. This pepper is very useful to prepare spicy food and improving digestion. Grades Available   Bulk Grade Dust Removed Bulk Malabar Grade - I (MG-I) BOLD Grade White Pepper Light Berries To take maximum advantage of the benefits of black pepper, it\'s important that you store in the best way possible. It\'s recommended that you buy whole peppercorn and crush it at home. This not only makes sure that the spice retains its flavour, but also that it lasts longer. Store it in an airtight glass container, and always in a cool, dry, and dark place. Black peppercorns along with other spices and seasonings used to marinate chicken, fish, and meat. The spice used liberally in Indian vegetarian and chicken curries and in the Middle-East, in meat and rice dishes. They can be employed in the preparation of soups, barbecue sauces, pickling and as a main ingredient in variety of curry powders (Indian garam masala powder). Although preferred in savoury foods, this spice can also feature, albeit, in tiny quantities in sweet preparations like fruitcakes, breads, pies to add a peppery-spice note. In India and Pakistan, black peppercorn powder mixed with salt, and the mixture is a common item found on the serving table in restaurants. The mixture sprinkled over vegetable/fruit salads, chats, lemonades, in soups, etc. Lassi (churned yogurt) is often flavored with this spice-salt mixture in the Punjab province. Cubeb peppers mainly feature in Indonesian curries.