From being mentioned in the Vedas to current plans for expanding exports of the same, spices are a rich, ‘flavourful’, diverse and integral part of India. Let’s take a walk on some of the spice trails of our country and take a look at what’s flavouring food all over the world!

Few States

Tamil Nadu is known for its spices such as cardamom, cloves, chillis and pepper. Turmeric from Erode, red chillis from Ramanathapuram and tamarind from Dindigul are some of the examples of spices grown in this state. 

Some of the spices available in Tamil Nadu can also be found in Kerala, which is known for nutmeg and black pepper. Cardamom, known as the Queen of spices, is grown in the Western Ghats in Kerala. Kerala is planning to develop a unique Spice Route Heritage Project along with UNESCO to showcase its wonderful connection with spices of all kinds. 

Maharashtra grows spices on a large scale as well. From its coastal Konkan belt to the Western Ghats, Maharashtra is associated with spices such as black pepper, cardamom, chillis and ginger. 

Odisha has the GI tagged Kandhamal Haldi which is a variety of turmeric known for having a higher content of volatile oils and stronger aroma as well. 

Madhya Pradesh has risen to the top of the table when it comes to spice production. As of September 2021, this state accounted for more than 3 million metric tons of production volume. Ginger, chilli, and garlic are some of the produce associated with Madhya Pradesh.

Rajasthan and Gujarat are at the top of the list of spice producers in India as well. Seed spices such as ajwain, cumin, fennel and fenugreek are some of the spices best associated with Rajasthan. Gujarat is known for ginger, turmeric, coriander seed and cumin among others. 

GI Tagged Spices

It is delightful to note that India has 10 GI-tagged spices too. GI or geographical indication tag denotes that the product is unique to a certain area and ensures that nobody else can use that specific ‘name’. For instance, Darjeeling Tea was the first GI-tagged product in India. Karbi Anglong Ginger of Assam, Nagalan’s Chilli, Pahadi tejpatta of Uttarakhand and Guntur Sannam Chilli of Andhra Pradesh are some of the spices that have put India on the global GI map. 

The Future

India is doing tremendous work in exporting spices as well. For instance, India and Indonesia are looking at enhancing bilateral trade for spices and have targeted $50 billion in this space. India is also integrating technology to make spice production even more ‘flavourful’. For instance, cloud based e-auctions are changing the way cardamom is being traded in Kerala. The Spices Board of India is looking at an export value of $10 billion by the year 2030 and is turning to digital technologies for additional help as well.

#InterestingInfo

• Vasco da Gama had to fight off pirates when he shipped spices from India to Portugal - back then, spices were more precious than gold.
• And pepper was known as Black Gold way back in the 4th century BC.