Your suggestions the other day for more herbs and spices that need our attention were fantastic! We're jumping right in with a look at cardamom. Ground or whole, this is warming and highly aromatic spice is one of our favorites during cold winter months. How do you use cardamom?
Cardamom starts out life as the seedpod of a plant in the ginger family. There are two main kinds of cardamom: malabar and mysore. Malabar tends to have a delicate and floral flavor, while mysore tastes more pine-like and woodsy. In general, cardamom is considered a warming spice like cinnamon and nutmeg, and is valued as much for its fragrance as its flavor.
We learned some interesting facts while doing background research for this post! Did you know that cardamom is one of the world's most expensive spices, falling right behind saffron and vanilla beans? Also, it is indigenous to southwest India, and was exclusively cultivated there until relatively recently (around 1900). Now Guatemala has become one of the largest producers of the spice.
Cardamom is used extensively in Indian cuisine, where it shows up in savory dishes, desserts, and even beverages. It also shows up in Middle Eastern cooking, particularly as an ingredient in coffee. Cardamom is also one of the main spices in a lot of Scandinavian baked goods. You'll often find cardamom used in combination with other spices like cinnamon and clove or in savory spice mixes like garam masala.
We like using whole pods of cardamom to give subtle seasoning to pots of rice and braised meat dishes, much like we would use bay leaf. If you crush the pods before throwing them in the pot, more of their flavor will be extracted.
When it comes to cakes, breads, and pastries, we usually opt for pre-ground cardamom. The flavor is less potent, but cracking open the pods, scraping out the seeds, and grinding them up can be a pain when we need more than a pinch of the spice.
What are your favorite dishes with cardamom?
Related: Recipe: Authentic Chai
(Image: Flickr member INeedCoffee licensed under Creative Commons)
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I love me some cardamom. Amazing for chana masala...and another cool use is in orange cardamom sugar cookies.
mmmmm......I love cardamom but don't actually use it that often. I do make lassi and cookies with it occasionally....and there is an ice cream shop nearby that makes cardamom ice cream..yum. I guess I need more recipes.
I love cardamom too, especially in my coffee. But the orange cardamom sugar cookies sound really, really good!
mmmm... I drop it in a pan of milk and heat it on the stove with some sugar & vanilla then add to tea or coffee.
Cardamom madelines with orange zest and orange icing are soooooo good.
Cardamom is also good to flavor rice with.
I have made the recipe below for "Strawberry Clouds" from Gourmet several times (meringues with berries and cream). The delicious twist is that the strawberries macerate in a simple syrup flavored with cardamom, and the whipped cream is also flavored with cardamom, which is a delicious and unexpected combination. Link to recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Strawberry-Clouds-234684
Growing up we always popped one pod, slightly crushed, in a cup of Earl Grey (Persian blend even better) tea. My friend just made a cardamom pineapple upside down cake. So tasty. I also had a cardamom flavored cupcake at Renegade Craft Faire in SF. I am so happy cardamom is becoming popular!
You forgot the way most people know Cardamom - its the flavour in Chai Tea. I like to add cardamom to porridge and ice cream to give it more flavour.
Lebkuchen!
http://classiccookery.blogspot.com/2007/11/smells-like-christmas.html
I love the idea of putting it in coffee, that sounds really good.
A friend made grilled hamburgers with it.
I make Mango Cardamom Frozen Yoghurt all the time! I love cardamom and cinnamon... any spice with that warm flavor
I put cardamom into my basic white bread recipe. It adds a depth of flavor that's very pleasing, but not identifiable as "sweet" or "spicy".
In oatmeal -- Delicious and different.
Every morning I grind one cardamom pod with my coffee beans. A little milk and sugar and my day is happy.
I like the coffee idea above. Cardamom is an ingredient in chai tea. I recently made my own chai tea concentrate (no more weak tea bags!). Wonderful when it's dark and rainy outside. Cardamom rice pudding is also delicious and warming.
I make cardamom hot chocolate. Cocoa, milk, a little sugar, a little salt and two pod of cardamom on the stove for 15 minutes. It is divine.
Tea, tea, tea. Best way to get a strong flavor is to put water in a saucepan the night before, mash up some ginger in a mortar and pestle, and then mash up some cardamom pods the same way (make sure you smash the seeds as well). Put the ginger, cardamom, and some ground black peppercorns into the water and leave overnight. Boil in the morning as you normally would boil water for tea -- either add tea leaves, or pour over a teabag, and add milk.
I used ground cardamom in any baking recipes that call for cinnamon, because of my extreme dislike of cinnamon.
in tea
in coffee
in rice pudding a.k.a kheer
in meat dishes
I've heard of a creamy salad dressing which calls for cardamom that I really want to try. If only I could remember where I saw that.
I love cardamom - I use it a lot in desserts, from chocolate to pavlovas! It gives a dish such a warm feeling
I put cardamom in my apple pies. It really adds a nice, different dimension to the traditional pie spices.
Also, if you're looking for cardamom, make sure you check out your local Asian or Indian grocery. I got a huge bag of green cardamom at my Asian market for about $8. It was much cheaper than the regular supermarket and it will last me forever.
I've made cardamom ice cream (just sub for a vanilla bean, crush and steep in the cream until it's strong enough, then strain it out) and it's fantastic. I also like it in shortbread.
I like cardamom with berries, for example simply ground and sprinkled over strawberries, or in a berry or cherry smoothie.
I use cardamom and cinnamon when I make granola.
I truly think cardamom is addictive.
I grate just a little and throw in some whole pods when I roast my sweet potatoes--so good! Also good in freshly whipped cream for hot chocolate!!!! I'm loving everyone else's ideas, too!
There's a roasted chicken with cardamom (like 15 pods) thyme, and garlic I like to make
But I really love cardamom in a simple pound cake or shortbread or kheer or shrikhand and especially in Finnish or Swedish breads...they smell so good coming out of the oven.
I keep whole pods in my pantry but instead of ground cardamom I also like to get the little black cardamom seeds without the pods. It's more instant than dealing with the pods but much more fragrant and fresh than the ground stuff that seems flavorless to me. The seeds just need a quick crush with a pestle or whizz in the spice grinder.
Ground in scalloped potatoes with gruyere cheese!
I had some amazing homemade Apple Pear Cardamom Butter a number of years back. I wish I knew the name of the book that the woman who made it got the recipe for it out of.
What a coincedence! My boss, who is from India was just suggesting to me today to grate some cardamom into my tea pot when steeping tea leaves..can't wait to try it!
Kalypso: I would love to know what your recipe is for your Mango Cardamom Frozen Yoghurt!! Care to share?? Sounds delish!
saer
http://cravenmaven.wordpress.com
I made up a really yummy dark chocolate cardamom cake using fresh-ground cardamom and I top it with a vanilla bean whipped cream frosting. So good. I'm making it for my wedding someday (serving with strawberries).
Bulla! They're a Swedish cardamom roll, almost like small challah rolls but flavored with that hard-to-describe flavor. My husband hates it but having grown up (in an Italian-Irish household; long story on the Swedish baked goods) eating them obsessively, my brother and I can't get enough. Good reminder that I should make some.
My dad posted the recipe here: http://sites.google.com/site/davidsonrecipes/bulla
Check out what Spicey Beaver has to say about cardamom pods:
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_list_1&listing_id=36890819&ga_search_query=cardamom&ga_search_type=user_shop_ttt_id_7755101
katef, do you mean Finnish Pulla bread??
They're really popular here in Minnesota (due to the Scandinavian-heavy heritage) and quite a few bakeries offer them either in rings, braids, or small rolls. They are delicious! Yet pulla are always identified as Finnish even though Swedish also have their own cardamom breads.
My family makes Bulla too. It's a traditional Swedish coffee bun. My mom makes them with cinnamon and cardamom. The cardamom goes in the yeasted dough and then is rolled and filled with butter and cinnamon sugar. The rolls are topped with crushed sugar before baking. Yum, yum. It makes me crave them now!
I also put cardamom into cooked rice pudding with cream.
katef & JunoM -- it's Pulla in Finnish and Bulla or Bulle in Swedish! They're both yeasted cardamom breads and they both generically mean "bun." (Kanel Bulle are Swedish cinnamon buns and kottbulla are Swedish meatballs.)
Funny how the Finnish Pulla is so much more popular here in MN than Swedish Bulla. The Swedish contingent is just as big as the Finns. They're delicious no matter what they're called though!