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Malabar pepper is a variety of black pepper from the Malabar region of the present day of the Indian state of Kerala. It originated as a chance seedling in the region and was one of the spices traded with Roman and Arab traders, and later with European navigators. [ 1 ]
With ships sailing directly to the Malabar coast, Malabar black pepper was now travelling a shorter trade route than long pepper, and the prices reflected it. Pliny the Elder 's Natural History tells us the prices in Rome around 77 CE: "Long pepper ... is 15 denarii per pound, while that of white pepper is seven, and of black, four."
The characteristic use of spices is the hallmark of Malabar cuisine—black pepper, cardamom and clove are used profusely. The Malabar version of biryani, popularly known as kuzhi mandi in Malayalam is another popular item, which has an influence from Yemen.
There is a record from Tamil texts of Greeks purchasing large sacks of black pepper from India, and many recipes in the 1st-century Roman cookbook Apicius make use of the spice. The trade in spices lessened after the fall of the Roman Empire, but demand for ginger, black pepper, cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg revived the trade in later centuries. [19]
The Topography mentions a pepper emporium called Male, which clearly gave its name to Malabar ('the country of Male'). [11] [12] The second part of the name is thought by scholars to be the Arabic word barr ('continent') or its Persian relative bar ('country'). Al-Biruni (AD 973 - 1048) is the first known writer to use the name Malabar. [1]
The characteristic use of spices is the hallmark of Mappila cuisine—black pepper, cardamom, and clove are used profusely. Kuzhi Mandi (Mandi (food)) is another popular item, which has an influence from Yemen. Malabar biriyani is known as Thalassery biriyani which uses kaima rice for preparation and is called dum biriyani.
The characteristic use of spices is the hallmark of North Malabar cuisine—black pepper, cardamom and clove are used profusely. The Malabar version of biryani , popularly known as kuzhi mandi in Malayalam is another popular item, which has an influence from Yemen .
Black pepper from the hills was brought to the port by the local producers and stacked high in warehouses to await the arrival of Roman merchants. As the shallows at Muziris prevented deep-hulled vessels from sailing upriver to the port, Roman freighters were forced to shelter at the edge of the lagoon while their cargoes were transferred ...