CHANDIGARH: The southern connection with quintessential Punjabi delicacies is now causing a bit of heartburn in the north. Butter chicken and mutton roganjosh get their aroma and flavour from spices and herbs grown mostly in Kerala. Now dhaba, restaurant and hotel owners as well as countless households in Punjab are a worried lot, as the prices of essentials such as cardamom, nutmeg, mace and clove have skyrocketed following the floods in the southern state.
In August end, agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said spices such as cardamom in nearly 2,000 hectares of land had been affected due to the floods. The spices from Kerala play a major role in the preparation as well as enhancing the taste and flavour of signature Punjabi dishes like chicken rara, mutton tikka masala, karahi paneer, dal makhni, etc. said food critic Ajay Tandon.
Gurcharan Arora, the owner of A Plus Foods based in SBS Nagar, told The Sunday Standard that spice prices had gone up significantly over the past few weeks. “Green cardamom’s wholesale price has gone up from Rs 1,300 per kg to Rs1,600 per kg. While the price of ginger has gone up from Rs170 per kg to Rs220 per kg, melon seeds are Rs 800 per kg — up from Rs 500 per kg. Overall, the prices of these spices have gone up by 20 per cent,” Arora said. “Besides the price factor, rigorous quality check has to be done for ensuring that the spices are free of fungus. Aflatoxin test has now become a must,” he added.
Noting that green cardamom comes only from Kerala while clove comes from other southern states,Vinay Budhiraja, the owner of Moga-based Paras Spices Private Limited, said the floods destroyed spices stored in godowns and in the fields. “In the coming days, there will be a short supply and the prices will increase further,” he said. Shirom Lamba of Grande Catering from the House of Kwality agreed.
It is not just Punjabi restaurateurs and hotel owners who are huffing and puffing. South Indian specialty restaurant chain Sagar Ratna is finding it tough to source its spices. “If spices remain in short supply, it will affect us. For now, we have the stock. But there is a supply crunch in the market due to the floods,” said Rajan Basu, owner of a Sagar Ratna outlet.