Black Peppercorns

Known as black gold, pepper ruled long before chilli had been introduced to India. The Portuguese brought this powerful spice in the 15th century, and it has continued to thrive in South India’s Malabar coast ever since. One of my favourite curries gives black pepper a shining role: the South Indian chettinad pepper chicken. Pepper has a very different heat to chilli, is similarly robust and dances around the tongue with great gusto. White, green and black peppercorns all come from same plant, Piper Nigrum, but pink peppercorns are from a different plant entirely. As black pepper dries out it ignites a reaction that creates piperine, the active ingredient in pepper. It’s always best to freshly grind any peppercorns as and when you require them for your curries.