Pepper
The Tamil name for Pepper is "Milagu".
This is one of THE traditional spice
of Tamils even before Chilli came into use. By pepper, in general we refer to "Black Pepper"
In present day, Tamil cuisine and in general Indian cuisine, Pepper plays a major role.
In Tamil cusine, there are various ways of using "Milagu":
Pepper whole:
This is one important spice that is used for cooking veg and non-veg foods, curries and side dish. Non-veg foods get a great taste because of pepper in the garam masala. Many dishes of Tamil are named as Ingredient+Pepper+masala or something similar. For eg: Chicken pepper masala.
Pepper powder:
Pepper powder are mostly used for convenience. Common use is in the omelettes. Some times pepper is powdered by hand by crushing it over a hard surface and used. This is to get the strong pepper taste for that dish.
Popular dish where Pepper is used:
Chicken fry, Mutton kuruma.
Spelling variations in Tamil name for Pepper:
Milagu, Milaghu, Melagu, Melaghu