About us

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Recognising the worldwide emphasis that healthy living and going back to the roots of traditional agriculture were receiving as the 21st century got underway as much-deserved and timely was the stimulus that prompted a desire in us to grow organic spices, particularly organic green cardamom and black pepper, at our family-owned plantation as well.

Thus, placing sustainable living and nourishment at the heart of all we would do, and putting aside the well-honed practices of chemical farming that we had been pursuing for nearly a decade, we made a deliberate shift from the conventional agriculture of green cardamom to its organic cultivation in mid-to-late 2016.

With this high goal in mind, we began the laborious and time-consuming process of systematically and successively replanting our plants over the next couple of years, so that our new generation of plants would have been grown entirely as per traditional organic practices. This was necessary so that they would grow up as hardy saplings and be acclimatised to the organic manures and biopesticide formulations that we intended to use.

Black pepper became a concurrent focus of our efforts along with green cardamom, cohabiting the same agricultural space.

In the 3-year window we knew we had as we started out — juvenile green cardamom and black pepper plants only reach maturity and full yielding capacity by year 3 — we intended to engage and train a dedicated, close-knit farm workforce that would look after all its needs hands-on and year round; standardise farm practices and organise requisite facilities; as well as set up in-house exclusive processing and packaging infrastructure that would cater solely to our produce.

dhaani naturals thus came into being in late 2018, as we stood on the cusp of an exciting year during which our plants were poised to reach full yielding potential.

In the intervening years, our plants have been diligently taken care of and nourished, adopting proven age-old organic farming techniques. Our dedicated, close-knit in-house farm workforce is involved in all stages of the farm’s upkeep and harvest operations, minimising the likelihood of external factors or forces affecting our plants or produce. We've taken the greatest care to gather reliable information on the best practices to be adopted for the organic cultivation of our crops as well as to source the best materials for input in our fields. We've also put in place in-house post-harvest processing capabilities that exclusively cater to our produce to ensure that it reaches our customers and the end user with all its intended unadulterated purity.

Envisioning a more broad produce profile under dhaani naturals, we've, in late 2018, expanded our plantation crops to include other spices, such as nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, bay leaf, star anise, etc, as well as coffee. In the coming years, we hope to offer you a wider-ranging bouquet of farm direct, single origin, pesticide free, genuinely organically grown spices.

To emphasise our commitment to being organic and pesticide free, we've been getting batches of our green cardamom tested for compliance with ASTA guidelines/specifications and up to 93 chemical pesticides at premier NABL-accredited laboratories in Kerala since late 2018.

To minimise exposure to sunlight, heat and moisture as well as ensure the prolonged freshness and quality of spices from dhaani naturals, our spices are vacuum packaged in embossed food-safe, BPA-free vacuum bags within food-safe aluminium foil-lined resealable zip-lock standup pouches or completely recyclable paper tubes.

Finally, with the basics firmly behind us, in early 2019, we began the process of formal Indian NPOP accreditation for spice production. After years of diligence and commitment to the organic way of life, in April 2022, dhaani naturals was CERTIFIED ORGANIC.

Come, explore, befriend and embrace the wholesomeness of CERTIFIED ORGANIC Indian spices with dhaani naturals...

… for, ‘Good being is organic’!

Over 2018 through 2019, we've diversified our plantation crops to include the following spices and plants, so that dhaani naturals would encompass a wider, more comprehensive produce profile.

Arabica coffee

Scientific name: Coffea arabica

Common name: Arabica coffee

Local names: Arabian coffee, Arabica coffee, būna

Coffee Arabica is loved the world over, accounting for over 60% of annual coffee production. It has been brewed into a delicious beverage, both hot and cold, for ages.

When compared to Robusta coffee, Arabica is less bitter, as it has less caffeine, sweeter due to higher sugar content, has higher lipid content and acidity, which adds to its fruity, chocolaty and nutty undertones, and is more pleasant to taste. Arabica is also a popular choice for iced coffee due to its subtle, delicate flavours.

Ceylon cinnamon

Scientific name: Cinnamomum zeylancium or Cinnamomum verum

Common name: Ceylon or true cinnamon

Local names: karuvappatta, dalchini, tvak, canela, darchin

Native to Sri Lanka, true cinnamon has been traded since ancient times as spice and medicine, and is valued over other varieties of Cassia cinnamon due to its superior and unique chemical characteristics. It has extremely low levels of coumarin when compared to varieties of Cassia cinnamon, and is thus very safe for human consumption.

Ceylon cinnamon, being more pricey, uncommon and non-toxic, is one of the most sought-after spices in the world. It is used as an aromatic condiment and flavouring agent in a wide variety of cuisines, and is an inseparable additive in sweet and savoury dishes alike, with frequent use in soups, tea and cocoa, breakfast cereals, breads and pies, as well as candies and liqueurs.

Nutmeg

Scientific name: Myristica fragrans

Common name: True nutmeg

Local names: jathikka, jaiphal, muscade, muskatnu, jouza at-teeb

Native to Indonesia, the seed of the nutmeg tree is a valuable spice that has been traded since the Middle Ages.

Its oils find wide application variously as condiment, medicine, perfume, etc. Nutmeg is used in both sweet and savoury dishes, and is a common flavouring in desserts, baking, confectionary, puddings, vegetable and meat dishes and curries, as well as beverages.

Mace

Scientific name: Myristica fragrans

Common name: Mace

Local names: jathipathri, javithri, fleur de muscade, muskatblüte, basbasa

Native to Indonesia, the dried aril of the nutmeg fruit is a coveted spice that has been traded for centuries.

Mace, like nutmeg, is widely used as condiment in Indian, traditional Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian and European cuisines. It is milder than nutmeg, and is used for both sweet and savoury dishes in desserts, cakes, scones and spice cookies, puddings, vegetable stews, sauces, soups, sausages and roast meat, jams and pastries, and beverages.

Clove

Scientific name: Syzygium aromaticum

Common name: Clove

Local names: grambu, laung, clavos, nelke, kabsh, karanfil

Native to Indonesia, cloves find wide use as spice in a number of cuisines as well as traditional medicine. It has been traded for centuries, playing an important role in the establishment and development of world trade routes in ancient times.

Cloves lend flavour to rices; meats and squash dishes; curries, marinades, chutneys and pickles; cakes, pies and desserts; as well as hot beverages and winter drinks.

Indian bayleaf

Scientific name: Cinnamomum tamala or Cinnamomum tejpata

Common name: Indian bayleaf or malabathrum

Local names: vazhanayila, edana, tejpatta, tamalpatra

Known for mild, aromatic undertones, Indian bayleaves are commonly used in Indian cooking and for medicinal purposes. It delicately spices biryanis and kormas, Kashmiri curries, Mughlai cuisine and Terai vegetarian preparations, and South Indian delicacies. It is also an integral part of the ubiquitous garam masala in the Indian kitchen.

Allspice

Scientific name: Pimenta officinalis

Common name: Allspice or pimento

Local names: sarvasugandi, kabab cheene, pimento, Jamikapfefer, Jamaican pepper, bahar

Native to South and Central America, allspice has been used since antiquity. It is valued because its aroma and flavour are a combination of spices, especially cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pepper. It is mainly used as a spice in Western cuisines, and for medicines and perfumes.

Allspice is used for rices; meat dishes; in soups, marinades, pickles and sauces; and cakes, fruit and vegetable pies, puddings, ice creams and chocolates.

Vanilla

Scientific name: Vanilla planifolia

Common name: Vanilla

Local names: vanilla, vanikkodi, vanille, wanilla, al-fanilya

Native to Mexico, vanilla is one of the most valued spices in the world and is even regarded by many as the most popular aroma and flavour. It is valued in the food, perfumery and pharmaceutical industries, and has been used as a flavouring, aromatic and medicine since ancient times.

Vanilla is a basic ingredient in Western cuisines, and is used to flavour desserts, cookies and cakes, beverages and milk products.

Kasthuri manjal

Scientific name: Curcuma aromatica

Common name: Kasthuri manjal

Local names: kasthoori manjal, jangli haldi, wild turmeric

Kasthoori manjal has been used for external applications, as a cosmetic and traditional herbal medicine, for ages.

Kudampuli

Scientific name: Garcinia cambogia or Garcinia gummi-gutta

Common name: Cambodge or kudampuli

Local names: kudampuli, Malabar tamarind, kattcha puli, goraka, vrikshamala, brindleberry, cambodge, gummiguttbaum

Native to Southeast Asia, the dried rind of kudampuli is commonly used as a souring agent and substitute for tamarind, especially to flavour fish curries in Kerala, for pickling in Sri Lanka, and cooking in Southeast Asian countries, such as Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia. It is also used in traditional medicine.

Kokum

Scientific name: Garcinia indica

Common name: Kokum

Local names: kokam, punampuli, aamsol, murgal, Indian tallow tree, garcinia, brindonnier

Indigenous to the Western Ghats of India, kokum has culinary, pharmaceutical and industrial value. Its oily extracts have been used for cosmetic preparations as well.

The dried fruit is used as a souring agent and alternative to tamarind, especially in the regional cuisines of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat and Assam. It is used for making sherbets, and cooking fishes, vegetable dishes like potatoes or dals, coconut-based curries, chutneys and pickles. Kokum butter from the seeds is used for preparing chocolates and sugar confectionery.

Irumban puli

Scientific name: Averrhoa bilimbi

Common name: Bilimbi

Local names: irumban puli, bilimbi, bimbul, pulima, cucumber tree, tree sorrel, zibeline, bilimbibaum, kamias

Native to Malaysia and Indonesia, bilimbi lends a sour or acidic flavour to food, and is used as a readily available substitute for tamarind or tomato in Southeast Asian cuisine. It is also used as traditional medicine.

Its fruits are used either raw or sundried while preparing fish curries and grilled fish, chutneys, pickles, relishes, curries, jams and cooling beverages.

Nelli or Amla

Scientific name: Phyllanthus emblica

Common name: Indian gooseberry or Amla

Local names: nelli, amla, amalaki, dhatri, emblic, myrobalan, Malacca tree

Amla is widely used in Indian cooking, both raw and dried, and in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. It has cosmetic and industrial applications as well.

Apart from the ubiquitous amla juice and amla choorna, amla is used to make rices, fruit chaats, murabba, raitas and salads, pickles, chutneys, dips, tikkis, curries and dals, tea and other juices, candies, jams and chyawanprash.

In the near future, we hope to bring you a more expansive spread of organically grown, farm-to-table wholesome spices to choose from at will and with certainty.