Nepal pepper Sichuan pepper, Chinese pepper-Timmur - (टिम्मुर, तिम्बुर)

Nepal pepper - Szechuan pepper, Sichuan pepper, Chinese pepper, (Z. armatum) - Timmur - (टिम्मुर, तिम्बुर)

Also known as ban timmur or Nepali pepper, this is a highly pungent, sharp tasting dried berry from the prickly ash shrub family.  It is often mistaken for black pepper, but has an entirely different flavor and is, in fact, not related to the black pepper family.

Sichuan pepper could also be a spice from the Sichuan cuisine of China's southwestern Sichuan Province. it is a singular aroma and flavor that's neither hot like chili peppers nor pungent like black pepper. Instead, it's slight lemony overtones and creates a tingly numbness within the mouth because of hydroxy-α-sanshool. it's commonly utilized in Sichuanese dishes like mapo doufu and Chongqing hot pot, and is typically added in conjunction with chili peppers to form a flavor known in Mandarin.

Despite its name, Sichuan pepper isn't closely related to either black pepper or the chili pepper. It comes from the seeds of a minimum of two species of small trees within the worldwide Zanthoxylum (colloquially mentioned as "prickly ash") within the Rutaceae , which includes citrus and rue. The husk or hull (pericarp) around the seeds could even be used whole, especially in Sichuan cuisine, and thus the finely ground powder is one of the ingredients for five-spice powder. Related species are utilized within the cuisines of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, the Konkani and Kumaoni people of India, and thus the Toba Batak of Indonesia.

When the berry matures, it splits into two halves with a shiny black seed.  It has a rough, wrinkled, and uneven surface and the aroma lies in the split covering of the pod, not in the seed.

In the picture, the szechwan pepper,  red pepper and gooseberry (amalaa) are displayed together.  It was transported from the hilly area of Nepal in a doko (wicker basket).  It seems that the vendor did not have another container to separate her goods.  A local measuring devise called ek maanaa, adhaa maanaa, 1/4 maanaa is displayed.  The metal handy tool is used to measure spices, rice, lentils and other grains.

Close-up look of berries with black seeds

Crushed and finely ground  timmur - Nepalese describe its taste as "per-peraune" which means "biting taste with an anesthetic feeling on the tongue"  The spice should be used only in moderation; otherwise it will overpower the dish.

Timmur is most commonly used spice in Nepali pickles and chutneys. 

Five different measuring tools (similar to cups) are used here to measure timmur.

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