Aptly called as the ‘King of Spices’ – as it is the world’s most traded spice. In medieval times the store of pepper was related to a man’s wealth and it was used as currency for trading. Black pepper has digestive benefits that help remove toxins from the body and increase metabolism.

White pepper is also the fruit of the pepper plant, just that the processing is different. It is less complex than black pepper but is hotter in flavor. White pepper is used mainly in place of black pepper where the presence of black flecks would spoil the look of a sauce.

Black Cardamom pods are smoky deeply aromatic spice and is used in many curry blends alongside the green pods and other spices. Generally black cardamom is used in rustic slow cooked foods, rice, in curry dishes and in many savoury dishes. The whole pod and seeds are used as a spice, consumed raw or fried. Due to its heady notes, black cardamom is a constituent of garam masala and used extensively for preparing dal, soups, hearty meats, tandoors, rice dishes like biryani’s and vegetable dishes.