Herbs & Spices

Cardamom / Elaichi

Cardamom is one of the world's very ancient spices. Known as "the Queen of Spices", it is the fruit of a large perennial bush that grows wild in the rainforests of the Western Ghats in Southern India. Today it also grows in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Indo-China and Tanzania. The ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom seeds as a tooth cleaner; the Greeks and Romans used it as a perfume. Vikings came upon cardamom about one thousand years ago, in Constantinople, and introduced it into Scandinavia, where it remains popular to this day.

Cardamom is an expensive spice, third only to saffron followed by vanilla. It is often adulterated and there are many inferior substitutes from cardamom-related plants, such as Siam cardamom, Nepal cardamom and winged Java cardamom. However, it is only Elettaria cardamom which is the true cardamom. Indian cardamom is known in two main varieties: Malabar cardamom and Mysore cardamom. The Mysore variety contains higher levels of cineol and limonene and hence is more aromatic.

Cardamom seeds come in hard green pods, containing 15-20 tiny dark brown or black seeds - the stickier the better. Ideal seeds have a green to green-amber colour; the best at displaying this characteristic are those from Kerala which stand as the 'item' quality of others are compared to in order to determine their price, whereas Guatemalan cardamom, though not as good as the Kerala pods, is the most exported.

The aroma of cardamom is strong and penetrating yet fruity and mellow. The taste is lemony and flowery, with a note of camphor or eucalyptus due to cineole in the essential oil; it is pungent and smoky with a warm, bittersweet note, whilst also being clean and fresh.

As far as its uses go, cardamom is a very versatile spice with many uses in Indian cuisine: from tea flavouring to an essential ingredient in many curries, as the main constituent of garam masala, through to dhals, sweetmeats and kulfi (ice cream). Cardamom is also believed to aid digestion and act as a breath freshener, for example in paans.

Ground cardamom is present in Patak's Rogan Josh, Jalfrezi, Garam Masala, Biryani and Dopiaza pastes.

Did you know?
Cleopatra found the scent of crushed cardamom seeds so enticing that she is rumoured to have scented the rooms of her palace with cardamom smoke when Marc Anthony paid
her a visit!