Black pepper is a spice obtained from the berries of pepper, which are fermented and then dried. The name pepper comes from the Sanskrit Pippali, and is called Kali Mirch (Hindi) in India. India is still a major producer of black peppercorns. The black peppercorns are used in Indian cooking, either whole or ground with other spices like clove, cardamom or coriander for the preparation of curries.