Spice And All Things Nice: Cardamom
Cardamom is one of the Eastern spices often referred to as an “aromatic”, meaning it is one of the sweeter spices; cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves are in the same grouping, as opposed to the earthier flavours of such spices as cumin and turmeric, which you might class as bitter in comparison to the sweeter aromatics. But in fact cardamom, though striking you first as sweet, even heady, does have a bitter undertaste: it’s quite a complex spice. So don’t get carried away and use too much!
What is cardamom?
You’ll find cardamom for sale as little dried capsules or seed pods. Cardamom is an ancient spice, native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. It has been known in the East for thousands of years. Cardamom plants belong to the ginger family, the Zingiberaceae, but unlike ginger, it’s the seeds which are eaten, not the tuberous roots. There are two genera of this plant family which are known as cardamom: Elettaria and Amomum. It’s Elettaria, typically the species Elettaria cardamomum, which is grown in bulk and marketed as dried “green” cardamom pods; the “black” ones are less common.
Cardamom is a popular spice in the Indian subcontinent and is grown in considerable quantities in India for both home consumption and export, but it’s actually Guatemala that’s the biggest exporter of the spice today. (“Cardamom”, Wikipedia.)
The ancient Greeks knew of cardamom, and for hundreds of years thereafter it was one of the coveted spices only obtainable through the “silk road” traffic which had its Western terminus in Venice. Like all spices, even pepper, it was both rare and incredibly dear in the Western world, and used only by the rich. It was only in the wake of the first European sea voyage to India by Vasco da Gama in 1498 that spices began to appear on the Western market in any sort of quantity, and they were still worth a fortune. “Within three years, the Portuguese were back in India. In 1505, Lopo Soares’s fleet of nine vessels departed from the Malabar Coast with a cargo that included 1,074,003 kilograms of pepper, 28,476 kilograms of ginger, 8,789 kilograms of cinnamon, and 206 kilograms of cardamom.” (Lizzie Collingham. Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors. Oxford, University Press, 2006, p. 51). The voyages to the Malabar Coast (in the modern Indian state of Kerala) made Portugal’s fortune for the next hundred years.
Unlike pepper, or even cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg, which remained relatively popular, cardamom fell out of favour as the West stopped using spices in savoury dishes: by the mid-18th century there were very few of the old Mediaeval and Elizabethan-style recipes still extant.
In the East it remained a favourite and most of the recipes we see today that use cardamom are influenced by or derive directly from Indian or Middle Eastern cuisine.
When you’re cooking with cardamom, try and use the pods, not the powdered version, which loses flavour very quickly and lacks complexity. Most recipes call for the commonly grown variety, the “green” pods, the ones we usually see in Australasia, which are often dried to a fawn or grey shade.
Cardamom in drinks
If you’re not used to cardamom, you might like to start off by trying it in a drink. The recipes tend to use cardamom powder, but I find that you’ll only get the real flavour from the pods. I usually crush a pod and put the whole thing in the drink.
The first recipe below is for the traditional Indian milk drink, “Illaichi Milk”, which translates as “Cardamom Milk”, not “Honey Milk” as in the recipe book! (Note that the Indian words for “cardamom” may have a great number of variant spellings: I’ve seen elachi, eelachie, elachie, elaichi, and illaichi in various sources.) I’ve had this drink hot, and I can tell those who don’t fancy the idea, that this isn’t “hot milk”, it’s nectar! But in summer the combo would also be delicious cold, as the author suggests:
Honey Milk (Illaichi Milk)
* 1 cup milk * 2 teaspoons honey * pinch of cardamom powder
Heat the milk but do not allow to boil. Stir in the honey and serve sprinkled with cardamom.
This may be drunk hot as a nourishing daytime drink or nightcap, or chill to make a refresher.
Source: Jack Santa Maria. Indian Vegetarian Cookery. London, Rider, 1973
Cardamom is one of the spices that have become traditional in the spiced milky tea that the Indians call masala chai. It’s now marketed in the Western world under various names, sometimes just chai, or chai latte, and you can even get teabags of what purport to be mixtures for it. I haven’t tried them but I’ve read that they tend to substitute allspice for the more expensive cardamom. Here’s a genuine Indian version from an Indian TV channel’s website. To make Indian tea you would normally boil the tea leaves, water, and milk together in a saucepan or kettle. The mixture is usually served very sweet: on the subcontinent condensed milk is often used.
Masala Chai
- Roast equal quantities of cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and star anise.
- Grind the Ingredients together.
- Take the mixture out in a bowl.
- Add the mixture to your Chai [tea] on boil along with milk.
Source: Sushmita Sengupta. “History of Masala Chai: A Quick Dive Into The Origins of India’s Favourite Drink”, NDTV - Food, April 20, 2017,
The yoghurt drink “lassi” which originated in India as a mixture of yoghurt and salt, ideal in the hot, humid weather where you sweat a lot and the milk goes off quickly without refrigeration, has been taken up enthusiastically by the West as a sweet drink. Here’s a New Zealand version using mangoes and cardamom: yum!
Mango and Cardamom Lassi
* 2 cups mangoes, ripe, cut into cubes * 2 cups yoghurt
* 1/2 tsp ground cardamom * 1 tsp runny honey
* 1 cup ice, crushed * 1 tablesp chopped mint
1. Into a blender place the mango, cardamom, yoghurt, honey and ice. Blend until smooth.
2. Serve in glasses and sprinkle with mint and a little extra cardamom.
–Serves 2.
Source: Angela Casley, Eat Well,
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/eatwell/recipes/mango-and-cardamom-lassi/TXQ5EM6BXLZCNYTR7EJC64YBLU/
For a refreshing iced tea which features cardamom along with other spices, try this modern mixture from the vegetarian cookery writer Heidi Swanson. She gave it in her email newsletter rather than on her website, 101 Cookbooks: A Natural Foods Recipe Journal, because several people on her mailing list had requested it.
Ginger Verbena Turmeric Iced Tea
To eight cups of boiling water add 20 crushed cardamom pods, 10 lemon verbena leaves, 20 black pepper corns, and 10 ginger slices (peeled, 1/4-inch thick, size of a quarter [about 2 cm in diameter] + crushed a bit). Boil for 15 minutes, remove from heat and stir in 1/8 teaspoon dried turmeric. Let it sit for another couple of minutes. Strain, chill, & serve over ice. Another variation I love is the same exact tea made with saffron threads (about 10) in place of the turmeric.
Source: Heidi Swanson. Sep 6, 2020.
Cardamom in sweet dishes
In the areas where cardamom has long been a popular spice, the distinction the Western world makes between dishes which are served as desserts and those which are treated as snacks generally doesn’t exist. Little cakes or sweets and other nibbles are often street food; they are traditionally offered to visitors regardless of the time of day; and they may also appear at mealtimes. Many of them are suitable as desserts.
The first two sweet dishes below, both really easy, are for pears: one Eastern, one Western. The first one is a version of the traditional Indian snack, “chaat” (or “chat” with a macron over the a). You can serve it as a snack or as a relish to accompany a curry.
“Throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh there are thousands of small stalls dotted along the roadside serving chilled fruit, cut up into small pieces and spiced with a mixture of chilli powder and black pepper. More often than not, salt is sprinkled onto the fruit as well. The collective name for this type of dish is Chaat and the stalls where it is sold are known as Chaat houses. The fruit is spiced and salted, not only to add flavour but to increase perspiration and in so doing rid the body of all kinds of toxic wastes. The salt serves to replace that lost through perspiration. Chaat can be made with virtually any combination of fruits. The essential thing to remember is not to cut the fruit too thin or into too small pieces otherwise the fruit will go mushy. Ingredients may, of course, be varied according to the fruit available.” (Khalid Aziz. The Encyclopedia of Indian Cooking. London, Michael Joseph, 1983)
Pear Chaat
“This little relish may be made with both black pepper and cardamom, or with either one.”
* 1 medium pear * salt to taste * seeds of 1 cardamom pod
* 1/2 teaspoon roughly ground black pepper (or to taste)
1. Core but do not peel pear. Cut lengthwise into narrow slices.
2. Put in a saucer or small bowl and sprinkle with the salt, pepper and/or cardamom seeds, crushed or ground.
Source: Khalid Aziz. The Encyclopedia of Indian Cooking. London, Michael Joseph, 1983
If you’ve never tried freshly ground pepper with pear, give it a go. It’s fantastic! Here the wonderfully aromatic cardamom adds an extra fillip: mmm!
The second recipe is just my variation on stewed pears. The fruit and the spice go wonderfully well together: one of my all-time favourite combos.
Pears with Cardamom
* 6 pears * seeds from 4 cardamom pods
* 1/2 litre water * 2 tablesp raw sugar (or to taste)
1. Peel, halve and core the pears.
2. Put pears, lightly crushed cardamom seeds, sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat to medium, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until the pears are cooked through.
3. Pour the pears and their cooking liquid into a serving bowl and leave to cool a little. Then cover and place in the fridge until well chilled.
4. Serve as is or accompanied by cream or plain vanilla ice cream.
–Serves 4-6.
Here’s a simple Middle Eastern snack that could be served as party food or with meze (or mezze: hors d’oeuvres), or as a dessert. “Mersu” is an old Mesopotamian term that the author uses for little snacks of nuts and/or dried fruit that in Turkey are called cevizli. (Laura Kelley. “Turkish Cevizli ARE Mesopotamian Mersu”, The Silk Road Gourmet, June 10, 2020)
Mersu with Cheese
Ingredients for Mersu stuffed with soft or blue cheese:
* 1 Medjool date, sliced and pitted *2 teaspoons of labneh
* 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander or cardamom (or to taste) (optional)
“(You can use gorgonzola in the place of the labneh – I didn’t use spice with the gorgonzola because its flavor was quite strong already – feel free to try that as a variation if you so choose.)”
Spoon the cheese filling into the dates. The amount of filling used will vary with the size of the date. If using a spice, mix it prior to filling.
Source: Laura Kelley. The Silk Road Gourmet,
https://silkroadgourmet.com/mesopotamian-cookoff-10-mersu-with-cheese/
Labneh is a type of Middle-Eastern cheese made by draining yoghurt. You could use any soft white cheese instead: a simple cottage cheese, ricotta, or a goats’ cheese. I like Philadelphia Lite cream cheese with dates, too. I found that a blue vein cheese (not Gorgonzola!) was lovely with the dates but didn’t suit the spices.
Next is a really easy Indian recipe for a dessert. The “Royal Bread” is, believe it or not, the less rich of the two versions I’ve got of this dish! The name varies: Shahi Tukara or Shahi Tukra. It’s rather different from the good old English bread pudding:
Royal Bread (Shahi Tukara)
* 4-6 slices white bread * 4 tablespoons ghee or butter
* 1/2 cup sugar * 1/2 cup water * 1 cup double cream
To finish: * 12 almonds, blanched & chopped
* 4 cardamoms, skinned & crushed * 1 tablesp rosewater
Cut bread in cubes and fry in ghee till golden. Drain and put into a dish.
Boil sugar and water to make a thick syrup. Pour over the fried bread and leave to soak for fifteen minutes. Pour cream over the cubes, garnish with the nuts and cardamom and sprinkle with rosewater.
Serve chilled.
Extra garnishes could include ground almonds mixed with the cream, chopped pistachio nuts and fried sultanas.
–Serves 4.
Source: Jack Santa Maria. Indian Vegetarian Cookery. London, Rider, 1973
I’m very fond of rosewater, so I’d put it in the syrup after boiling: about 1/2 tsp.
I’ve given you my recipe for a variant of one of the most popular Indian sweetmeats, “halwa” in the blog post on semolina. Unlike many halwa recipes, which require long, slow cooking and lots and lots of heavy stirring, like a fudge, the semolina one thickens very fast, and is very easy to make. You could flavour it with any spice you like, but I think cardamom is by far the nicest.
Cardamom and semolina feature not only in one of the easiest South Asian sweetmeats, but also in one of the most complicated: “Gulab Jamun”. I have made the dish, but I’m not claiming it was easy. It was very hard to get the temperature right so that the balls cooked right through but were not scorched on the outside. I had a different recipe at that stage, but this Afghan one is much easier to follow if you want to give it a try:
Parwana Afghan Kitchen’s Gulab Jamun
The Adelaide eatery’s version of these sweet, syrupy spheres of delight.
“This is my sister Fatema Ayubi's recipe,” says Durkhanai Ayubi. “Gulab jamun are a popular sweet throughout South Asia, but the special thing about this recipe is that it uses cream in the dumplings and a light syrup for soaking them. It’s not as heavy as many other versions.”
* 260 gm (2 cups) full-cream milk powder
* 150 gm (1 cup) self-raising flour
* 90 gm (1/2 cup) fine semolina * 300 ml thickened cream
For deep-frying: * vegetable oil
Rose and cardamom syrup:
* 475 gm (2 1/4 cups) caster sugar * 10 cardamom pods
* 3 cinnamon quills * 3 tsp rosewater * [750 ml water]
1. For rose and cardamom syrup, stir sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and 750 ml water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and cook until a slightly sticky syrup forms (8-10 minutes; test between thumb and index finger—it should form a thread when stretched). Remove from heat, cool to room temperature, then stir in rosewater.
2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, add cream and stir to just combine. Turn out onto a work surface, knead lightly to bring dough together, then divide mixture into 25 portions and shape into balls.
3. Heat oil in a wok [or deep-fryer] to 170 C. Carefully lower dumplings into oil in batches (be careful, hot oil will spit), then cook, gently shaking the wok so they brown evenly, until golden and cooked through (2-3 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon, immerse in sugar syrup to soak for 1 hour, then serve [in the syrup].
–Serves 6 - 8.
Source: The Ayubi family, Gourmet Traveller, May 20, 2020
https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/recipes/recipe-collections/eid-recipes-18570
In the Middle East cardamom is used in sweet pancakes. Here is a recipe from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates:
Cardamom and Saffron Cakes / Khanfaroush
* 120 g (2/3 cup) rice flour * 75 g (1/2 cup) plain flour
* 1 tsp baking powder * 6 eggs, lightly beaten
* 1/4 cup caster sugar * 1 tablesp rosewater
* 1 tsp ground cardamom * 1/2 tsp saffron threads
* vegetable oil, to fry * icing sugar, to dust
1. Place all ingredients except oil and icing sugar in a bowl. Whisk to form a smooth, thick batter. Set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Heat 5 mm [yes, not cm] oil in a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Working in batches, place tablespoonfuls of batter into oil and cook for 2 minutes on each side or until golden.
Drain on paper towel [keep warm in oven if making large batch], and serve hot, dusted with icing sugar.
–Makes 20.
Source: Feast (SBS), circa 2019; a version also online at:
https://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/cardamom-and-saffron-cakes-khanfaroush
The last of the sweet recipes is quite different: a modern Australian recipe for an upside-down tart using cardamom with pineapple. I would leave out the ground cloves: cloves tend to dominate a dish; also, their harsh note always seems to me to reinforce that harsh tinge that cardamom can have. The recipe includes instructions for making the pastry, but you could use any ready-made sweet short pastry.
Pineapple and Cardamom Tarte Tatin
“One of the benefits of upside-down cakes and tarts is that, because the fruit sits on the base where the heat is highest, the sugary juices caramelise, adding a wonderful depth of flavour.”
Use a cast-iron frying pan for this recipe.
* 1 medium ripe pineapple (1.25 kg)
* 165 gm (3/4 cup firmly packed) brown sugar
* 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon * 1/2 tsp ground ginger
* 1/2 tsp ground cardamom * pinch ground cloves
* 90 gm butter, coarsely chopped
* whipped cream or ice-cream, to serve
Pastry:
* 225 gm (1 1/2 cups) plain flour * 1 1/2 tablesp caster sugar
* 125 gm chilled unsalted butter, coarsely chopped
* 1 egg, lightly whisked * 1 tablesp iced water
1. For the pastry, process flour, sugar and butter until mixture is crumbly. Add egg and water, processing until large clumps start to form. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and form into a disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a 26cm heavy-based ovenproof frying pan with baking paper.
3. Trim top and base from pineapple and remove skin. Cut pineapple into 5mm-thick slices. Using a pastry cutter, cut centre core from each slice [and discard].
4. Add butter, sugar and spices to a large frying pan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves (2 minutes). Add half the pineapple slices, bring to a simmer and cook, turning, until just tender (3 minutes). Using a slotted spoon, transfer pineapple to a tray and set aside to cool. Repeat with remaining pineapple. Reserve syrup.
5. Arrange pineapple slices, slightly overlapping, in lined ovenproof frying pan. Add pineapple juices left on the tray to reserved syrup in pan.
6. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to a 27cm round, place over pineapple and tuck in the edges.
7. Bake tart until pastry is golden and cooked through (25 minutes). Leave in pan for 10 minutes. Carefully invert tart onto a rimmed platter and peel away lining paper.
8. Reheat reserved syrup mixture in pan over medium heat, stirring until thickened slightly (2 minutes). Drizzle or brush syrup over pineapple and serve tart immediately with whipped cream or ice-cream.
–Serves 6.
Source: Gourmet Traveller, Sep 8, 2020,
https://www.gourmettraveller.com.au/
Cardamom in spice mixes
If you want to grind your own spice mix, don’t muck around with a mortar and pestle, as in those unbelievable telly-chef scenes where you never see the complete process. We’ve discovered electricity now. Use a small electric coffee grinder. Mine is a Braun and it’s an absolute marvel.
For those to whom the sweet, heady smell of cardamom appeals, here’s a selection of spice mixes from different cuisines.
The first one is an old Dutch recipe, doubtless dating back to the days when the Dutch had defeated the Portuguese in the race for the spice islands and the Dutch East India Company dominated the East-West spice trade. It’s still used today in spicy sweet biscuits, such as the “speculaas” it takes its name from. There are lots of recipes for them online: you can find a nice simple one on the New Zealand website Eat Well, and a rather more elaborate one which incorporates ground almonds on the New York Times Cooking site.
Speculaas Spice Mix
* 8 parts ground cinnamon * 2 parts ground nutmeg
* 2 parts ground cloves * 1 part ground ginger
* 1 part ground cardamom * 1 part ground white pepper
Source: “Seasonal Dutch Spice Cookies and Sinterklaas”, The Dutch Foodie,
www.thedutchfoodie.com/spice-cookies-sinterklaas/#.W5kx_JNKjBI
In Indian cookery garam masala is typically used to finish a dish and the mixtures—each family, let alone each region, will have its own favourite—are made in small quantities and used quickly while they are still fresh. Put the spices in a heavy-bottomed dry frying pan and heat until the aromas are released; then grind and put into a tightly-sealed container. Here are a couple that use cardamom; you will see that garam masala is typified by the presence of aromatics.
Garam Masala (1)
* 4 parts cardamoms * 1 part cinnamon * 1 part cloves
* 1 part cumin seeds * 1 part peppercorns
Grind fresh as needed.
Source: Carolyn Heal and Michael Allsop. Cooking with Spices. London, Panther Books, 1985 (Originally published: London, David & Charles, 1983)
******
Garam Masala (2)
* 3 parts cardamom seeds * 3 parts cinnamon
* 1 part cloves * 1 part cumin seeds
Grind together.
Source: Jack Santa Maria. Indian Vegetarian Cookery. London, Rider, 1973
Just as there are many versions of garam masala, so there are of the famous North African spice mix, Ras-el-hanout. They are hot as well as spicy. This recipe includes cardamom.
Ras-el-hanout (Moroccan Spice Blend)
* 1 tsp ground allspice * 1/2 tsp ground anise seeds
* 2 tsps ground cardamom * 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon * 1/4 tsp ground cloves
* 1 tsp ground coriander seeds * 2 tsps ground ginger
* 2 tsps ground mace * 1 tsp ground nutmeg
* 1/2 tsp ground black pepper * 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
* 1 tsp ground turmeric
Combine all ingredients and transfer to a glass jar for storage.
Source: Andrew Clarke, in Stop Hunger, Start Cooking! Recipes Fresh From the Garden. Carlton, Vic., Oxfam Australia, [2012]
Cardamom in savoury vegetarian dishes
Cardamom is used in many savoury recipes on the Indian subcontinent. Let’s look at three vegetarian dishes first: a “dal”, a rice dish or “pullao”, and a vegetable curry. These are three of my favourites, which I’ve adapted slightly over the years.
The vegetarian dishes which we tend to call “dal” these days are curries of pulses, i.e. of dal. This one is the version I use with red lentils. You can also do it without tomatoes if you prefer. The picture shows a very similar recipe from the website The Spruce Eats: “Orange or Red Lentils With Tomato (Masoor Dal)”.
Red Lentil or Split Pea Dal
* 2 cups red lentils OR yellow split peas (yellow gram or “channa dal”)
* 1 tin tomatoes (440 g) * 1 large onion * 3-cm piece of ginger
* 5 cardamom pods * 1/2 tsp chilli powder * 1 tsp turmeric powder
* 1/3 tsp cinnamon * 2 tablesp oil or butter * 1/2 tsp salt
1. Red lentils do not need to be soaked, merely rinsed and well drained. If using split peas, rinse them and then soak them in fresh water overnight.
2. Chop the onion fairly finely. Peel the ginger; chop very finely or grate it.
3. Heat the oil and fry the onion in a deep lidded frying pan or electric frypan on medium heat until soft. Stir in the ginger, chilli, cardamom seeds and turmeric, and fry for a few minutes.
4. Add the drained lentils or peas. Allow to sizzle. Add the tomatoes and cover with water.
5. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, covered, for about 20 mins (red lentils) or 30 mins (split peas), then uncovered, till completely tender, about another 25 mins (split peas will take longer than red lentils). Just before finishing, stir in the salt.
If liked, top each helping of dal with a tablespoonful of yoghurt to serve.
Accompany it with plain rice and either 1 or 2 vegetable dishes or simply some undressed salad vegetables such as cos lettuce, rocket or curly endive (frisée).
–Serves 4.
Source: Adapted from “Split Yellow Gram (Channa dal)” in Jack Santa Maria. Indian Vegetarian Cookery. London, Rider, 1973
Adding cardamom to a basic rice “pullao” (or “pillao”, “pilau”, “pulau”), gives it a real lift. Here the coconut milk adds an extra dimension:
Rice Pullao with Coconut Milk
* 1 1/2 cups rice * 1 1/2 onions, sliced *1 tin (400 ml) coconut milk
* 1 to 1 1/2 cups water * 4 cloves * 6-8 curry leaves
* 1 level tsp cardamom seeds or 6 crushed pods * 1 tsp turmeric
* 12 peppercorns * 4 tablesp oil * 1/2 to 1 tsp salt
To garnish: * 12 nuts (blanched almonds or cashews), chopped
1. Wash the rice well, drain it and set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a medium-sized non-stick electric frypan or deep non-stick frying pan on moderate heat, and fry some of the sliced onion until soft and golden (about 1/4 of the total). Set aside for the garnish. If you prefer, also fry the nuts.
2. Fry the rest of the onions, the spices and curry leaves on medium heat until the onions are soft but not browned.
3. Add the drained rice to the pan and fry, stirring gently, on medium heat until the rice loses its white appearance and starts to look semi-translucent.
4. Lastly add the coconut milk, the salt, and half a cup of water.
5. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently, stirring occasionally and as the rice thickens adding more of the water, until the moisture has all been absorbed but the mixture is still moist.
Serve garnished with the fried onions and chopped nuts.
Source: Loosely based on “Yellow Rice Pulau”, in Jack Santa Maria. Indian Vegetarian Cookery. London, Rider, 1973
This pea curry is an old favourite of mine. I often do it with tofu, and it works well:
Pea Curry with Panir or Tofu
* 450 g frozen peas * 1 good-sized onion
* 1 - 2 loosely packed cups panir or tofu, cut into 2-cm pieces
* 2 tsp turmeric * 1/4 tsp chilli powder * 1/2 tsp cinnamon
* seeds of 4-5 cardamoms * 2 tablesp oil * 1/4 teaspoon salt
Optional: * 2 chopped mint leaves
1. Peel the onion and slice fairly thickly.
2. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan or electric frypan, on moderate heat.
3. Fry the onions and cardamom seeds until the onions are softened and pale golden.
4. Add the peas, turmeric, cinnamon and mint leaves (if used) and mix well, stirring gently.
5. Add the chilli powder and salt, and stir well; then the paneer or tofu cubes, mixing them in gently. Lastly add a scant 1/4 cup water and bring to the boil.
6. Turn the heat down to medium and cook uncovered until peas are done. If the dish is still rather liquid turn the heat up and boil the liquid off. Serve hot.
–Serves 4 as part of an Indian meal.
Based on: “Mattar-Paneer (Peas with Cheese)”, in Dharam Jit Singh. Classic Cooking from India. London, Arco, 1958. (Originally published: Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1956)
Cardamom in savoury egg or meat dishes
Now for some non-vegetarian savoury dishes which use cardamom. This first recipe is my simple spicy fried egg dish with Indian flavours. There are lots of genuine Indian recipes for egg curries, some of which use yoghurt and some of which use coconut milk to form a sauce. They usually entail hard-boiling the eggs first and frying up onions. This is a quick and easy alternative. Serve it on a bed of plain rice or mashed potato, garnished with coriander leaves if you have some to hand. It can be simply accompanied by plain steamed vegetables, or a green side salad, or if you have a more complex vegetable curry left over from a previous dinner, use that as a side dish:
Quick Egg Curry with Yoghurt
Per Person:
* 1 - 2 eggs * 3 tablesp yoghurt * 1 or 2 cardamom pods
* 1/2 tsp ground coriander * 1/4 tsp chilli powder * 1 tablesp oil
1. Heat the oil in an electric frypan or frying pan at a moderate heat.
2. Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods; add the seeds and other spices to the pan and cook for a few seconds, stirring, until the heat releases their odour.
3. Break the egg into the pan. Fry gently for a few moments, spooning the oil and spices over it.
4. Add the yoghurt and continue to cook. Finish it by putting the lid on for a minute or so. Now it is ready to serve.
Cardamom also crops up in a lot of meat curries. It’s lovely in a beef rogan josh: I’ve given a recipe in the earlier blog article, “Bread and Butter and Sapodillas: The Dehradun Train.” Here’s a very nice rice pillao (pullao) where it is used with lamb:
Lamb Pillao: Pillao Gosht
“This is quite simply pillao [or pullao] rice cooked with a little lamb. It has its origin more in the Arab world, where the idea of cooking meat together with rice stems from necessity as the nomads had to cook quickly and simply and with the minimum number of cooking pots.”
* 750 g boned lamb * 225 g rice * 50 g sultanas
* 50 g blanched almonds * 1 lemon * 2 large onions
* 3 cloves garlic * 300 ml natural yoghurt
* 4 tsp ground coriander * 4 tsp ground cumin * 4 cardamoms
* 1 bay leaf * 170 g ghee or 175 ml oil * [salt to taste]
Cut the lamb into cubes, removing any fat. Heat 100 g of the ghee or 120 ml of cooking oil in a large saucepan and fry the lamb to seal each piece on all sides. Remove the pieces of lamb from the pan and place to one side.
Peel the onions and garlic and thinly slice them. Add to the pan and fry for 3 1/2 minutes. Add the coriander, cumin, cardamoms and the bay leaf and fry for a further 1 minute. Squeeze the juice from the lemon into the pan and then add the yoghurt and pieces of lamb. Cover the saucepan and cook for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, wash the rice well and drain as much water off as possible. Heat the remaining 50 g of ghee or 60 ml of cooking oil in a large pan and add the rice. Fry until it is well coated with the ghee or oil. Cover the rice with barely enough water to submerge it, [add 1/2 tsp salt or to taste] and cook for 10 minutes.
Now add the lamb, together with the sauce in which it has been cooking, mix in well, cover and continue to cook until the rice is soft. Then mix in the sultanas and blanched almonds, stirring gently to ensure they are well dispersed without crushing the rice.
–Serves 4.
Source: Khalid Aziz. The Encyclopedia of Indian Cooking. London, Michael Joseph, 1983
It’s rare to find a Western-style meat dish using cardamom. I’ve found one for lamb and one for chicken. This first one is from an English cook:
Roast Leg of Lamb with Cardamom Sauce
* 1 leg lamb (4-5 lb) [2 to 2 1/2 kg] * about 8 cardamom pods
* juice 1/2 lemon; *1 tablesp olive oil * 1 oz [30 g] butter
* 1 oz [30 g] cornflour * 3/4 pt [450 ml] milk
* 2 tsp mild French mustard * 1 dsp [or 2 tsp] powdered cardamom
* salt * freshly ground black pepper
The day before, make several incisions in the lamb. Peel cardamom pods & stick the little black seeds into the incisions. Put lamb on dish & rub all over with mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt & black pepper. Cover loosely with cooking foil and leave in the fridge until next day.
Pre-heat oven to 190° C. Rub a bit more olive oil over the lamb & roast about 2 hrs, basting occasionally.
Now make the sauce: Melt the butter and take off the heat. Stir in the cornflour then fairly gradually add the milk. Put back on heat, bring to boil stirring continuously (it will thicken) and simmer 3 mins gently. Stir in the mustard, powdered cardamom & salt & black pepper to taste.
When the joint is ready, pour off excess fat from baking pan & stir remaining juices into the sauce. Put the sauce into a gravy jug & serve with the lamb.
Serve with new or boiled potatoes, not roast.
–Serves 6.
Source: Josceline Dimbleby. A Taste of Dreams. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1976
It was four decades before I found this next Western-style dish! (Note that on the website the word “cardamom” is misspelled as “cardamon”.)
Chicken with Ginger Cardamom Sauce
* 4 chicken breasts, skinned and boned
* 2 apples, cored and finely sliced
* 2 garlic cloves, crushed * 1 tsp ground cardamom
* 2 tablesp ground ginger * 2 tsp brown sugar
* 1 tablesp lemon juice * 1/4 cup water
* 140 g low-fat sour cream * 25 g butter * 1 tablesp oil
To serve: * 1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
1. Melt butter in saucepan. Add apples and garlic and cook for 4 minutes. Sprinkle over cardamom, ginger and sugar. Stir through apple mixture.
2. Mix lemon juice, water and sour cream together and stir through warm apple mixture.
3. Meanwhile, cut each chicken breast in half horizontally and brush with oil. Grill, turning at times, for 10 minutes.
Serve chicken with sauce, roasted walnuts and vegetables.
Source: NZ Woman’s Weekly, in Eat Well,
Cardamom can become a passion. I hope you’ve found at least one recipe here to convince you of it!
