[sn41]

Narthangai in Tamil is Naranga in Malayalam. Not coincidentially, Naranja in Spanish/Portuguese is Orange. (I think this is an instance of Indian words migrating west, probably via Arabia.)

The reverse is also true - lot of words in Kerala which had sea-trade with Portugal and Spain, are close to their Portuguese/spanish equivalent, more than in other Indian languages. They are very closely related to the Iberian terms

- papaya

- sabola (Malayalam) versus Cebolla (Spanish/Portuguese)

- kashuandi (Cashew nut)

Other related terms like kappalandi (ship nuts - i.e. peanuts) indicate sea trade and that they were not endemic to India.

Looking at Malayalam terms gives a good indication as to which foods came to India via sea trade, possibly from South America, since the South was often the port of call. The only major exception I know is Mulaku (chillies) - even though chillies came from South America, the word does not indicate that.

[valarauko]

>Other related terms like kappalandi (ship nuts - i.e. peanuts) indicate sea trade and that they were not endemic to India.

Reminds me of the Shibboleth about Kappalandi vs Kadala in Malayalam, where the choice of vocabulary points to which region you come from (North vs South Kerala).