Spice of Life, a gourmet’s delight
From a Spice shop in Goa, India A variety of spices and herbs are used by humans to make an otherwise plain meal delightful. The use of right spice makes for a gourmet’s delight. Of all the regions of the world, South Asian cuisine makes most use of spices. There are several reasons for this, foremost being that climatic zones of South Asia are most suitable for growth of a variety of spices. This region has had a long civilization history stretching back more than five thousand years, much of it prosperous although recent centuries have seen much poverty too. With Buddha, some two and half thousand years ago, came the concept of vegetarianism and with that also arose the necessity of making many, otherwise bland, vegetarian dishes delicious with use of spices. Moreover, most of the spices used have health benefits too. Perhaps that is the reason the Lord gave them such a nice taste. Europeans came to India in search of spices and Columbus discovered America because his shi...