Kwatra: Indian Spices Carry ‘Indianness’ Into American Homes

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Indian spices are carrying a “part of Indianness” into American homes as their appeal expands beyond flavor to health, wellness and everyday food habits, India’s Ambassador to the US Vinay Mohan Kwatra said in a speech.

Kwatra made the remarks at a special reception at India House celebrating Indian spices, attended by members of the American Spice Trade Association, food industry representatives and other guests.

“But I think spices are much more than trade,” Kwatra said. “What is more crucial, in my personal view, is that through these spices, we bring a very important part of Indianness to the American homes.”

Kwatra described spices as one of the enduring threads of Indian civilization, connecting contemporary households with generations stretching back millennia.

“I always tell people, and I firmly believe in it, that if there is one thing which, through the generations stretching back to millennia, has not changed in Indian society, it is the spices,” he said.

“I take the same spice that my mother got me used to, she took the same spice that her mother got her used to, and story stretches back from generations to generation.”

He said that tradition was increasingly finding a place outside India as Indian spices become more familiar to American consumers.

“What is most exciting is that the network of that expansion now stretches the world over,” he said.

Kwatra cited turmeric as an example of how an ingredient deeply embedded in Indian life has entered contemporary American food culture. Recalling his previous posting in Washington from 2010 to 2013, he said he did not remember seeing turmeric latte on American cafe menus at the time.

“I don’t recall going to the cafes in the US and coming across turmeric latte. I don’t think, I don’t think it was there, on the menu of the cafe,” he said.

He contrasted turmeric’s relatively recent popularity in American cafes with its centuries-old use in India, including its place in Ayurveda, the traditional Indian system of medicine.

Kwatra said Indian spices were increasingly being recognized in the US for their traditional health and wellness associations as well as their flavor.

“What is really gratifying to us is that over the years, we have managed to not only bring Indian spices to the American homes, but also made the American society understand the holistic and the health benefits of the Indian society,” he said.

“So the consumption of Indian spices or it’s spread in the US society is not simply a function of flavor in the food.”

He said the broader goal was for Indian spices to become integrated into American food habits.

“The idea is that the Indian spices should not only, spread far and wide in the US society, but also get integrated into the American food habits,” Kwatra said.

He linked the growing interest in spices with the popularity of organic and healthy food, saying many practices considered modern have roots in traditional food habits.

“I mean, we say organic food is a very trendy thing. Organic food is actually the old food, and, and old healthy food,” he said.

“So in a way, modern trend is to go back to your roots, at least in so far as this part is concerned.”

“Food and the spices definitely do,” he added.

Kwatra said building a lasting connection with American consumers required understanding the history of Indian spices and their relationship to food and everyday life.

“It’s, it’s part of my upbringing. And I don’t think you can market the spice that way,” he said.

Indian spices have travelled across continents for centuries and played a significant role in India’s commercial and cultural exchanges with other parts of the world. Turmeric, cumin, chillies, fennel and black pepper remain central to cooking across different regions of India.

Their presence in the United States has grown alongside greater familiarity with Indian cuisine and food traditions, with ingredients such as turmeric increasingly appearing beyond Indian outlets in the wider American food and wellness market. (IANS)