Tirphal

Spice No.1 

Starting this Masala trail with my favorite spice Mullilam, Tilfda, Kamte Kai, Jummina Kayi, Teppal, Tippal, Kaatmurikku, Chirphal, Tirphal. Many names in this multilinguistic Bharat. Mind you Tirphal is not your Triphala, while one is a coveted spice the other is a laxative. 

It gets its name from the tri-lobed pericarp or outer part of the berry. Some of you guessed correctly it does look like Sichuan pepper not only that it looks like the Japanese or Korean pepper too. That is because they are the same genus Zanthoxylum botanically. However Tirphal is distinctive species rhetsa.

In the west coast we discovered that seafood paired with this pretty native spice like long lasting lovers. The spice tingles the tongue as it hits it, causing numbing and works magic with protein and fat from seafood. While the Kokani people use it whole in their preparations Kolis use it in their dry ground masala as one of the main ingredients. You will be surprised to know that the local anesthetic Sanshool is derived from this spice. 

How to distinguish Tirphal from Sichuan pepper? Tirphal is brown or black larger in size compared to Sichuan which is reddish and smaller.

I am sure you are already bowing to our ancestors for their knowledge of ayurved, food and the application of it in our lives. How deep is our heritage. Keep following!