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aromatic and intense than what she remembered from Mumbai. Curious to learn more, Kadri decided to return to India. She spent months visiting Indian farms, and spoke with the Indian Institute of Spices Research in Kerala, a meeting she describes as life-changing. She founded Diaspora Co. in 2017 with only one product—Pragati turmeric—which she sourced from a single farm partner named Prabhu Kasaraneni. “The big, audacious dream was to grow a radically new, decidedly delicious and truly equitable spice trade,” Kadri writes.

Diaspora Co.’s growth and international success speak for themselves. Today, the company has expanded into a team of over a dozen employees from India, the United States, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. They sell dozens of spices from over 150 farms. The company’s emphasis on sustainable and organic agriculture, and direct connections with farmers, cuts down on chemical pollution and greenhouse emissions normally associated with the spice industry. And Diaspora Co.’s growing popularity in the United States—which is the world’s biggest consumer and importer of spices—helps spread knowledge and understanding about Indian cooking and culture.

For Kadri, Diaspora Co.’s wide-ranging success all began with knowledge of a fractured past, and dreams of a better future. “Being in this community is about connecting deeply with the culture and heritage of the regions that we source from, and about learning as we go,” she writes on the company’s website.

“Complicating and deepening what ‘Made in South Asia’ means, and how we tell our own stories of freedom, struggle and diaspora through food.” ice, coffee, pumpkin, mango—the crops India grows are rich and varied. But even the most agriculturally productive countries can benefit from international exchange, and the top-quality ingredients that global cooperation makes available. Just ask India’s chefs.

From crisp American cranberries to richly textured California walnuts, ingredients from the United States have influenced how culinary leaders in India practice their craft. In many situations, Indian chefs incorporate ingredients imported from the United States into traditional Indian dishes, creating new variations of classic themes.

Anoothi Vishal is an author, food historian and columnist who specializes in the culinary ties between communities within India and around the world. “Indian gastronomy has historically been characterized by inventiveness using diverse ingredients, many that came via trade from other regions and cultures,” she says, “and which became deeply entrenched within the country’s strong and deep-rooted culinary cultures.”

American ingredients, Indian style

Below: Diaspora Co.’s organic, single-origin spices have gained international attention and widespread praise.

Michael Gallant is a New York City-based writer, musician and entrepreneur.

Vishal has been using imported cranberries from the United States as a key ingredient in her work. She researches the culinary history of regions around India and uses her knowledge to curate food menus that are both traditional and innovative. Her work includes “exploring how traditional dishes can incorporate the relatively new ingredient of American cranberries, while still retaining taste and nuances that make [the dishes] popular in Indian gastronomy,” she describes. Beloved street food dishes and traditional family recipes from Old Delhi, central India and south India, including ones passed down from Vishal’s own ancestors, have all been reinvented with the cranberry in mind. In late 2021, she curated two chaat festivals at The Leela hotel chain and Punjab Grill outlets