“Pepper it was that brought Vasco da Gama's tall ships across the ocean…first to Calicut and later… to Cochin… we were 'not so much sub-continent as sub-condiment,’ as my distinguished mother had it.”
? Salman Rushdie, The Moor's Last Sigh

Spices are no longer the impetus of conquest and colonization they once were, but they continue to suffuse cuisines worldwide. Spices have long defined the rich, complex South India cuisine— known for its hot red chilies and saffron-hued turmeric that are produced in the region—spices that also seem to be echoed throughout this multilayered culture. Photographing...