\ ***1) Cardamom ***Description {{Cardamom of commerce is the dried ripe fruit (capsules of cardamom plant) often referred as the “Queen of Spices” because of its very pleasant aroma and taste. Cardamom is a perennial, herbaceous, rhizomatous plant. Based on the nature of panicles, three varieties are recognized viz. Malabar with prostrate panicle, Mysore with erect panicle, and Vazhukka with semi erect panicle. Plants are of medium size (2 to 3 mtr height) with pubescent leaves (on the dorsal side) and fruits globose in the case of Malabar, whereas plant robust (3 to 4 mtr height) with leaves glabrous on both sides with ovoid capsules in the case of Mysore. Vazhukka variety is a mix of both the above in physical characteristics. Cardamom oil is a precious ingredient in food preparations, perfumery, health foods medicines and beverages. India, a traditional exporter of cardamom to the Middle East countries where it goes mostly into the preparation of 'Gahwa' - a strong cardamom - coffee concoction without which no day is complete or no hospitality hearty for an Arab. Indian cardamom enjoys a premium preference in the Middle East, Japanese and Russians who relish it for its distinct enriching properties. The optimum altitudinal range on growing cardamom is 600 to 1500 mtr above MsL. The cardamom growing regions of South India lies within 8 - 30 degree N latitudes and 75-78 degree longitudes.}} ***Uses*** {{The major use is for the preparation of ‘gahwa’ – a strong cardamom coffee concoction which is a symbol for hospitality among Arabs. Apart from this cardamom is widely used as a flavouring material in whole and ground form. In Asia, it can add a lingering sparkle to every kind of dishes both traditional and modern. In Scandinavian countries it is used in baked goods and confectionaries. In Europe and North America it is an ingredient in curry powder and in some sausages products. Cardamom oil and oleoresin has applications in flavouring processed foods, cordials, and liquors and in perfumery and in Ayurvedic medicines.}} ***2) Cassia*** Description {{Cinnamomum Cassia is the dried bark of cassia which is a small, bushy, ever green tree, 18-20 mtr high and 40-60 cm diameter with a straight and cylindrical trunk and grey brown bark, 13-15mm thick when mature. It is grown at altitudes up to 300 mtr MSL with a mean daily temperature of about 23 degree C and an annual rainfall of 1250 mm in about 135 wet days. It is a light demanding tree, slightly shade tolerant when young, preferring cool and wet condition. }} ***Uses*** {{Dried Cassia bark is the spice. The essential oil is called cassia cinnamon oil (Oleum Cinnamon). Apart from its use as spice, it is a well known medicine reinforcing ‘yang’, the body fire. ‘Gui zhi’ (dried twig of cassia cinnamon) is collected in spring and summer and dried in the sun or in the shade used in decoctions, has analgesic and anti-pyretic properties.}} ***3) Celery ***Description {{Celery is an umbelliferous, aromatic, herbaceous plant grown for its leaves, seeds, oleoresin and essential oil. Celery plant is usually 30-60 cm high, erect with conspicuously jointed stems, bearing well-developed leaves on long expanded petioles. The rigid fruit is small, ovoid, 1 to 1.5mm long, 1 to 2mm in diameter, contains a small brown seed. It is an annual in the planes, whereas, biennial in cold climate and on hills.}} ***Uses*** {{The dried ripped fruits (celery fruit) are used as spice. Leaves and stalks are used as salads and in soups. It is also widely used in meat seasonings, in flavouring beverages, confectionaries, ice creams and baked goods. It is figured as a natural medicine in different cultures. In modern medicine, it is used as a stimulant and for treating Asthma and liver diseases.}} ***4) Chilli ***Description {{Chilli is the dried ripe fruit of the genus Capsicum. Capsicum annuum is an annual sub –shrub, the flowers of which are borne singly and fruits usually pendent, which provide red peppers, cayenne, paprika and chillies and sweet pepper (bell pepper) a mild form with large inflated fruits. Capsicum frutescence is a perennial chilly with small sized pods which are highly pungent. It is commonly known as ‘bird chilly’ and ‘Tabasco’. }} ***Uses*** {{Dry chilly is extensively used as spice in curried dishes. It is also used as an ingredient in curry powder and in seasonings. Bird chilly is used in making hot sauces as pepper sauce and Tabsco sauce. Paprika, Bydagi chilly, Warangal chapatta and similar high colour less pungent varieties are widely used for colour extraction. This colour is highly popular among food and beverage processors for its use as a colourant, since this being a ‘natural plant colour’. As a medicine it is used as an counter irritant in Lumbago, Neuralgia, and Rheumatic disorders. Capsicum has a tonic and carminative action. Taken inordinately it may cause gastro-enteritis. The enzyme isolated from chilly is used in the treatment of certain type of cancers. Oleoresin capsicum is used in pain balms and vaporubs. Dehydrated green chilly is a good source of vitamin ‘c’}} ***5) Clove***Description {{The clove of commerce is the air-dried unopened flower bud obtained from evergreen medium sized tree. The tree grows to a height of 10-12 mtrs and start flowering in about 7 years. It continues to produce flower buds for 80 or more years. It is a valuable spice of the orient. Clove clusters are plucked by hand when the buds are fully developed with a pronounced pink flush and then dried over several days in the sun. Unopened flower buds, leaves and stalks yield essential oil. The tree prefers well drained rich soil with sufficient soil moisture throughout the year. High atmospheric temperature (25 to 35 degree C) with heavy sun light, good and well-distributed rainfall (above 150 cm) and high humidity (above 70%) are preferred.}} ***Uses*** {{The use of clove in whole or ground form is mainly for culinary purposes and as a flavouring agent in food industry. Its flavour blends well with both sweet and savory dishes. It is highly valued in medicine as carminative, aromatic and stimulant. In Indonesia, the lion share of production is consumed in production of ‘kretek’ cigarettes. The antiseptic and antibiotic properties of clove oil are used in medicine especially in dentistry, oral and pharyngeal treatments. It has wider applications in preparations of toothpaste and mouthwashes, soaps and perfumes. It is also reported to help diabetics in sugar assimilations. }}

\ ***1)Bishop's Weed ***Description {{An erect, glabrous or minutely pubescent, branched annual. The stems are striate; the leaves are rather distant, 2-3-pinnately divided, the segments linear. The flowers occur in terminal or seemingly-lateral pedunculate, compound umbels, white and small; the fruits are ovoid, muricate, aromatic cremocarps, greyish brown; the mericarps, which are the components of the fruit, are compressed, with distinct ridges and tubercular surface, 1-seeded. ***Uses*** {{It is traditionally used as a digestive aid, relieves abdominal discomfort due to indigestion and antiseptic. In southern parts of India dry ajwain seeds are powdered and soaked in milk, which is then filtered and fed to babies. Many assume that it relieves colic in babies and for kids it also improves digestion and appetite. Ajwain can be used as digestive mixture in large animals.}} ***2)Cambodge ***Description {{Cambodge is a tropical fruit commonly known as ‘Malabar Tamarind’ is a medium size evergreen dioecious tree with rounded crown and horizontal or drooping branches attaining a height of 18 mtrs. Fruit is a berry having a size of an apple, yellow or red, 6 to 8 grooves, forming blunt lobes with tough rind, 6 to 8 seeds and succulent arils. Fruit is weighing 50 to 180 gms.}} ***Uses*** {{The dried rind is used as a condiment for flavouring curries. In Sri Lanka the dried rind with salt is used for curing fish. The rind contains hydroxy citric acid and is widely employed in anti-obesity drugs. }} ***3)Caper ***Description {{Capers also known as caper berry are immature flower buds of Capparius spinosa. They are small shrubs, reach 1 meter height, leaf stipules are transformed into spines, flowers are borne on first year branches, they are white with long conspicuum tassels of purple stamens. The flowers open in the morning and close by sunset. Dry heat and intense sunlight provide the preferred environment for caper plants. It survives temperatures of 40 degree C and in an area with 350 mm annual precipitation. It also survives at temperature up to –8 degree C. It grows well in nutrient poor, sharply drained gravelly soils. They are salt tolerant and have an extensive root system for deep penetration. ***Uses*** {{The flower buds, semi mature fruits and young shoots with small leaves are pickled for use as a spice. It gives flavour, aroma and saltiness to Pasta sauces, pizza, fish, meats and salads. It is reduces flatulence and anti-rheumatic. It helps to improve liver function and used against arteriosclerosis, as diuretic, vermifuges and tonics. It has anti-oxidant property. Caper extracts and pulp are used in cosmetics. }} ***4)Caraway Seed ***Description {{Caraway of commerce is the fruit of a biennial herb. The plant has a fleshy root and slender branched stem that attains a height of 0.5 to 0.6 mtrs, with small white flowers in compound umbels. The fruit when ripened splits into narrow elongated carpel, 4 to 6.5mm long, curved, pointed at ends with 5 longitudinal ridges on the surface. The dried fruit is brown in colour has pleasant odour is with sharp taste. Seeds are hard and sharp to touch.}} ***Uses*** {{Caraway is widely used as a spice for culinary purposes and for flavouring bread, biscuits, cakes and cheese. It is also used for seasoning sausages and as medicine. }} ***5)Cinnamon ***Description {{The “True Cinnamon” or Sri Lankan Cinnamon is the dried inner stem bark of Cinnamomum Verum. Cinnamon plants are grown as bushes. When the plants are of two years age, they typically measure at about 2 meter in high and 8-12 cm at the base. It is at this stage they are ready for harvesting.}} ***Uses*** {{The commercial products of cinnamon are quills, quillings, featherings, chips, cinnamon bark oil and cinnamon leaf oil. ‘Quills’ are scraped peel of the inner bark of the mature cinnamon shoots, joined together with overlapping tubes, the hollow of which has been filled with smaller pieces of cinnamon peels which is dried first in the sun and thereafter in the shade. ‘Quillings’ are broken pieces and splits of all grades of cinnamon quills. ‘Featherings’ are feather like pieces of inner bark consisting of shavings and small pieces of bark left over. Cinnamon ‘chips’ are rough unpeelable barks scraped off from the thicker stems. Cinnamon leaf and bark oil are obtained by distilling the leaf and bark separately. Cinnamon bark is a popular spice with a delicate fragrance and a warm agreeable taste. It is used in the form of small pieces or powder. It is widely used in flavouring confectionary, liquors, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It is found to help diabetics in digestion of sugar. It has astringent; stimulant and carminative properties and can check nausea and vomiting. The cinnamon bark oil has anti-fungal properties and cinnamon leaf oil is widely used in perfumery and cosmetics}}

\ ***1)ALLSPICE [PIMENTO] ***Description {{Allspice trees are evergreen medium sized, grow up to a height of 8 to 10 meters and with a slender upright trunk and smooth greyish bark. The mail trees produce only few fruits. The male and female trees are similar in appearance and cannot be identified till flowering commences.}} ***Uses*** {{The major use of allspice is in food industry (65 to 70%) in domestic use (5% to 10%), production of berry oil (20% to 25%), extraction of oleoresin (1% to 2%) and pharmaceutical and perfume industry. Berry, berry oil, oleoresin, leaf oil are products of economic use. It is used mostly in Western cooking and less suitable for Eastern cooking. It has medicinal, anti-microbial, insecticidal, nematicidal, anti-oxidant and deodorant properties.}} ***2)Aniseed***Description {{Aniseed is an annual plant with an average height of 30 to 50 cm. The plant is completely covered with fine hairs. Aniseed is ground-grey to greyish brown in colour,3 to 5mm in length, oval in shape with short stalk attached. Five longitudinal ridges are visible on each pericarp. Vittae (oil ducts) are almost always present embedded in the fruit wall beneath the ridges. It has a characteristic agreeable odour and a pleasant aromatic taste.}} ***Uses*** {{It is used mainly as a flavourant, culinary, household, cosmetic and medicinal. The fruit of anis, commercially called aniseed is widely used for flavouring curries, bread, soups, baked goods, dried figs, deserts, cream cheese, pickles, egg dishes, non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages. The essential oil is valuable in perfumery. The oil is used for production of anethole and sometimes as sensitizer for bleaching colours in photography. The other functional properties are anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-oxidant, stimulant, carminative and expectorant.}} ****3)Asafoetida ***Description {{Asafoetida is the dried latex (gum oleoresin) exuded from the living underground rhizome or tap root of several species of Ferula (three of which grow in India), which is a perennial herb (1 to 1.5 mtr. High). There are two main varieties of asafoetida ie. Hing Kabuli Sufaid (Milky white asafoetida) and Hing Lal (Red asafoetida). Asafoetida is acrid and bitter in taste and emits a strong disagreeable pungent odour due to the presence of sulphur compounds therein. The white or pale variety is water soluble, whereas the dark or black variety is oil soluble. Since pure asafoetida is not preferred due to its strong flavour, it is mixed with starch and gum and sold as compounded asafoetida mostly in bricket form. It is also available in free flowing (Powder form) or in tablet forms.}} ***Uses*** {{Asafoetida is extensively used for flavouring curries, sauces, and pickles. It is also used in medicines because of its antibiotic properties.}} ***4)Basil ***Description {{Basil also known as French Basil or Sweet Basil or Tulsi is an erect glabrous herb, 30-90 cm high is indigenous to India. The leaves of basil have numerous oil glands with aromatic volatile oil. The herb bears cluster of small white lipped flowers in racemes. The freshly picked bright green leaves turns brownish green when dried and become brittle and curled. The major types are American Basil, French Basil, Egyptian Basil and Indian Basil.}} ***Uses*** {{The dried leaves and tender four sided stems are used as spice for flavouring and for extraction of essential oil. Apart from flavouring numerous foods, it is used for seasoning in tomato paste products. The sweet basil oil is widely used in perfumery compounds. It has application in areas of medicine and also used as an insecticide and bactericide.}} ***5)Bay Leaf ***Description {{Bay Leaf or Laurel Leaf are dried leaves or an evergreen shrub or more rarely a tree attaining a height of 15 to 20 mtrs. The upper surface of the leaf is glabrous and shiny, olive green, and lower surface is dull olive to brown with a prominent rib and veins. The aroma of the crushed leaves is delicate & fragrant and taste is aromatic and bitter. The size of the leaves is ranging from 2.5 to 7.5 cms in length and 1.6 to 2.5 cms in breadth. The shape is elliptical and tapering to a point at the base and tip of the leaves.}} ***Uses*** {{Bay leaves are used as flavouring in soups, stews, meat, fish, sauces and in confectionaries. Both leaves and fruits possess aromatic, stimulant and narcotic properties. The essential oil from the leaves are also used as spice and food flavouring agent and has wider application in traditional medicines of different countries. The major functional properties are anti-microbial, anti-fungal, hypoglycaemic, anti-ulcerogenic etc.}}

\ Samba Dry Red Chilli

\ White- Pepper

\ Dry Red Chilli stemless

\ Black Pepper

\ Fennel

\ Cumin

\ Coriander