Long Pepper Powder (Piper Longum - Pippali - Lindi Piper)

Pippali or Long pepper is a unique aromatic herb that has been with us for centuries owing to its extensive properties. The traditional herb goes by the botanical name Piper longum and comes from the Piperaceae family. Clad by the vernacular names 'Pipli' in Hindi, 'Tippili' in Tamil, 'Pippalu' in Telugu, 'Tippali' in Malaylam, and 'Pipul' in Bengali, the long pepper is indigenous to several parts of India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Srilanka.

In India, it is mostly found at an altitude of 1800 metres, in the hotter parts of Khasi and Mikir hills, the central Himalayas to Assam, lower hilly regions of Bengal and the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats from Konkan to Kerala. Even ancient Sanskrit scriptures have mentioned long pepper in various vernacular names such as Kana, Magadhi, Vaidehi, Chapala, Krushna, Trishna, Shoundi, Kola, etc and extensively used it in various herbal formulations. It is a good appetizer.