Kali Mirch (noun.) In English peppercorns is the king of spices. True peppercorns are tiny little fruits, known as drupes, which grow in clusters on a vine called Piper Nigrum of the Piperaceae family. It is historically the most valuable and most traded spice. Today, we get multiple variations of peppercorns and majority of the cultivation takes place in Asia.
Indian cuisine uses the black or Kali Mirch Powder extensively to get sweet and hot preparations. It is known for pungent hot aromatic flavor. Kali Mirch is often found in sweet Thandai, the milk based drink taken in summers to lower body heat. Historically, it was used to preserve salted meat.
Green peppercorns can be mashed with garlic (lehsun), cinnamon (Ilaichi) to get a base for curries, or it can be added to milk cream to make a spiced butter or to sauces to prepare curry for fish.