Grains of Paradise are seeds from a plant that is a relative of the plant that gives us cardamom. Native to Western Africa, grains of paradise are also known as Guinea pepper, Melegueta pepper, and occasionally alligator pepper. The spice was once popular throughout Europe as a replacement for the more expensive true pepper. It is still used in Scandinavia to flavour aquavit. It also continues to be one of the essential spices in African spice mixtures such as qalat daqqa and ras el hanout.