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Cardamom

Bark and pods

Cardamom

Elettaria cardamomum

Green cardamom pods with sticky black seeds and a sweet, floral, eucalyptus-like aroma.

Also called: green cardamom, cardamom pods, elaichi, kakule, hel

  • Floral
  • Citrus & bright
  • Resinous & piney
  • Warm & sweet
  • No heat
Buying & storing156 recipes

Photo: Silar, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-4.0)

Flavour and aroma

sweet, floral, eucalyptus-like, lemony. Sweet, floral, warm, a little minty.

Heat
No heat
Forms
whole, ground

How to use it

  • crush · Dry grinding technique

    Press each pod with the flat of a knife until it just splits, so flavour escapes, for chai, kheer and curries.

  • bloom in fat · Tadka (tempering) technique

    Add whole pods to hot ghee with other whole spices for 20–30 seconds, until they puff, for pulao, biryani and korma.

  • grind · Dry grinding technique

    For sweets, grind only the seeds (husk discarded), with a pinch of sugar to help, just before use.

  • Whole pods in biryani, pulao and korma
  • Crushed into chai and coffee
  • Kheer, halwa and Scandinavian buns
  • Garam masala
  • Arabic coffee (qahwa)

Identifying good quality

Pale green, three-sided pods 1–2 cm long holding sticky dark seeds. Good pods are plump, evenly green and fragrant. Bleached white pods and split, pale-seeded pods have less aroma.

  • Not to be confused with Black cardamom: Black cardamom is a larger, dark brown, smoky pod used only in savoury food.

Origin and history

Origin: The Western Ghats of southern India.. Grown and used: Guatemala is now the largest producer; India (Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu) and Sri Lanka also grow it..

Green cardamom is native to the hill forests of southern India and has been traded from there for over a thousand years. It perfumes Indian biryanis, kormas, chai and sweets, and through trade it also became central to Arab coffee and Nordic baking. Guatemala's plantations, started in the 20th century, now produce most of the world's crop.

Well documented

In masalas, pastes and sauces

Recipes with cardamom

133 more