Welcome to my humble shop! Please enter and take some chai while you visit. Tell me if you have any questions or need any assistance, I will gladly help you get what you need.

As you obviously are going to notice, I did not made a full and extensive list of all existent spices but only those who are more commonly use in indian cooking. I also followed my own preferences, I must confess.:)

If your favourite spice is not represented, you can always post about it and let us know how you use it and even recommend some recipes.

"Men have traveled, as they have lived, for religion, for wealth, for knowledge, for pleasure, for power and the overthrow of rivals. Yet no very profound acquaintance with Haklut's book is needed to discern, as he clearly discerned, the single thread of interest running through all these pilgrimages. The discovery of the new Western World followed, as an incidental consequence, from the long struggle of the nations of Europe for commercial supremacy and control of the traffic with the East. In all these dreams of the politicians and merchants, sailors and geographers, who pushed back the limits of the unknown world, there is the same glitter of gold and precious stones, the same odour of far-fetched spices."

Sir Walter Raleigh 1605

Spice : (from the latin specie, good, product) aromatic vegetable product used as a flavoring or condiment.

Since the earliest times, spices were seen as a valuable treasure and one of the most exotic items in trade. They were a luxury product available only to kings, aristocrats and very wealthy merchants who could afford to buy them.

The spice trade was by caravan. The journey began in Asia, crossed the lands of the Middle Orient and reached the Meditarranean, arriving to the markets of Athens and Rome. Another route was via the Persian Gulf.

The Romans were very fond of pepper. According to Apicius’ De re quoquinaria, a treatise on cooking, it was hailed as the most valuable of spices. Throughout history, pepper has been one of the most used spices. During Medieval times, peppercorns were even used as money for taxes, rents and dowries.

Spices become more well known in the western world due to the Crusades. They were used for flavouring, and also to preserve meats and hide the bad odours of rancid food. The spices were brought to Europe by Venetian or Arabian ships, along with other exotic Oriental items much appreciated in the west. The higher classes used them frequently and in great quantities. Crafty merchants, seeking to profit as much as possible from the taste buds of their wealthy clientele, imposed trade limits on these valuable commodities, but that did not stop the people’s demands for them. It was this demand that lead to exploration and expansion, as some kingdoms started to think about ways to get to their spices directly…

In the 15^th century, the most powerful countries of Europe wanted to reach the Indies – the source of the precious spices -- and end the Arabian and Venetian trade monopoly. Armed with the stories of explorers like Marco Polo and others, the Europeans assumed it was possible to reach the Indies by sailing along the African coast. Driven by the desire for riches and good food, they embarked on a great adventure which expanded the horizions of the world that was known to them at the time.

Portugal began its Age of Discovery, followed closely by Spain. In 1492, Christoval Colombo arrived on the shores of an unknown world, later to be known as the American, and returned with many new items and new spices. Four years later, Vasco da Gama reached India (Calicut) and the Portuguese now had direct access to the valuable spices, thus creating their own trade monopoly. Later, the Dutch and the English followed in the footsteps of the Portugese.

Today, India is the most important producer of spices, generating 1 600 000 tons in 2003-2004 (84% of the world production). Unlike in the past, today cultivation is widespread, reducing the cost of spices so that any modern home in the world has a selection of spices that would make a Medieval monarch very jealous! Like the cooks of old, we can’t live without our spices either. So the next time you shake some pepper on your food, take a moment to think about the incredible, edible history of spices!