Arab and Chinese traders also had a contribution to Indian cuisine as we know it today. Among other groups that influenced it we can name the Persians, Mongolians, Turks, the British and the Portuguese. Ayurveda speaks of food that is either satvic, rajasic or tamasic, depending on the effect that particular diet has on the body and the mind. Spices were cultivated in India since 3000 BC and rice plantations began appearing in the Ganges delta.