Spices Collection

Coriander
It is also known as Chinese parsley or, particularly in the Americas, cilantro. Coriander is native to southern Europe and North Africa to southwestern Asia. It is a soft, hairless plant growing to 20 in. tall. All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are commonly used in cooking.

Garlic
Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, and chive. Garlic has been used throughout recorded history for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It has a characteristic pungent, spicy flavor that mellows and sweetens considerably with cooking. The leaves, stems, and flowers on the head are also edible and are most often consumed while immature and still tender. Garlic is also claimed to help prevent heart disease.

Turmeric
Turmeric is a perennial plant of the ginger family. It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20°C and 30°C, and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive. Plants are gathered annually, and re-seeded from some of those in the following season. Then they are ground into a deep orange-yellow powder commonly used as a spice in curries and other South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, for dyeing, and to impart color to mustard condiments. It has a distinctly earthy, slightly bitter, slightly hot peppery flavor and a mustardy smell.

Peppercorns
Black pepper is a flowering vine, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is dark red when fully mature, and containins a single seed. Peppercorns, and the powdered pepper derived from grinding them, may be described as black pepper, white pepper, green pepper, and very often simply pepper. Green peppercorns are simply the immature black peppercorns. Black pepper is native to South India,and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. Dried ground pepper is one of the most common spices in European cuisine and its descendants, having been known and prized since antiquity for both its flavor and its use as a medicine. It may be found on nearly every dinner table in some parts of the world, often alongside table salt.

Holy Basil
Also known as Tulsi. Tulsi is native throughout the Old World tropics and widespread as a cultivated plant and an escaped weed. It is cultivated for religious and medicinal purposes, and for its essential oil. It is widely known across South Asia as a medicinal plant and an herbal tea, and has an important role within the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism, in which devotees perform worship involving Tulsi plants or leaves. There is also a variety of Tulsi which is used in Thai cuisine, and is referred to as Thai holy basil, or kha phrao

Lemongrass
Lemon grass is native to India. It is widely used as a herb in Asian cuisine. It has a citrus flavor and can be dried and powdered, or used fresh. Lemon grass is commonly used in teas, soups, and curries. It is also suitable for poultry, fish, and seafood. It is often used as a tea in African and Latin American countries. When used in dishes, lemongrass is commonly combined with the following ingredients: shrimp, chili pepper, chicken, cilantro, basil, kaffir lime, crab and scallops.

Thai Chili
Also known as Bird's eye chili. Bird's eye chili is a chili pepper, commonly found in Cambodia, Laos,Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. It can also be found in India, where it is used in traditional dishes of the Kerala cuisine.