March 9th
2008
Things sometimes disappear in my kitchen. Right, I'm usually quick in blaming Oliver especially for food items miraculously vanishing but my kitchen gadgets & spice collection are starting to crowd my counter tops and I guess its in the nature of things that every so often I can't find my stuff or forget about items that are buried somewhere.
When I recently was going through my Asian spice box - I have a regular one, a sweet one and one dedicated to Asian spices - my eyes fell on a little orange plastic bag. Ahhh, right, this was in the little Indian-spice-gift-box I had received for Christmas and not seen since. Taking a closer look I found a small label on its bottom, saying cardamom. How handy! The cardamom level in my sweet spices box almost had reached rock bottom. I opened up the bag and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow or two, with a frown on my face. Its content did neither look like cardamom, nor did it smell like it. Certainly not like the cardamom I'm actually starting to become better friends with. And where was that stench of tar and medicine coming from? Yuck. And this smoky, earthy tone? 'Gotta go Google.
I'm probably the last one to discover black cardamom pods, but after my first and surely last impression, I come to realize that I can easily do without it them. My nose is still terrified from our encounter, or do these rather pungent pods deserve a second chance? Any ideas, suggestions, experiences?
That is black cardamom! One of the local spice blenders uses it in a Kashmiri garam masala.
Nikki, do give them a second chance! These pods are generally used whole in savory cooking, unlike the green cardamom which is more often used in sweets. Like bay leaves, these are not meant to be eaten, so if served to people not familiar with them, it is better to remove them after cooking. To try them out, saute them in a little butter (or ghee) with other whole spices like cinnamon, bay leaves and cloves, and then cook rice along with this mix for a gently spiced Indian style rice.
They absolutely deserve the space on your spice rack. Black cardamom, used properly, is a wonderful spice. It's indispensable in making authentic Khao Soi, the curry noodle from the North of Thailand.
You can get rid of most of the woody, turpentine-y notes by crushing and discarding the pods. The seeds inside are wonderful stuff, like cardamom but with a bit more anise and even menthol in the nose. Once heated they become even more wonderful. I add them to my homemade five spice mix and use them in all kinds of braised dishes.
looks like cao guo. it's some variety of false cardamom but what makes it false is unknown to me. the Chinese often use it in braised dishes...look up "red-cooked" beef and a crushed cao guo is a very appropriate addition.
Hmm, I think yours must either just have been really old generally bad. I've had black caradamom before and it didn't taste radically different than the green variety. Maybe a little more intense and sharper but nothing unpleasant. You would open the pods, pull out the seeds and then crush them in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
You should courageously face the next encounter: go to your preferred indian or asia shop and ask them, what to do. Dort werden Sie geholfen.
you've got CaoGuo, a chines spice and medicine, dried fruits of amomum tsaoko..we use CaoGuo for chicken soup and red cooked meet.
Well, I don't know if there are different cardamom pods, but my (only) recipe with them is Indian "Spiced Tea". Google says Masala Tea, chai, etc.
It's a winter recipe really, and the funny amount of water is because it originally comes from an English book.
Here's what to do: Put a piece of cinnamon (2,5 cm), 8 cardamom pods, 8 whole cloves in 570 ml water, cover it, bring it to the boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes.
Add 175 ml milk and 6 teaspoons of sugar, bring to the boil again, add 3 teaspoons of strong loose black tea, cover, turn off the stove, leave it for 2 minutes and put it through a sieve.
Makes about 3 mugs, and I find it yummy :-)
BTW: Great site, great pictures, great ideas.
Yes! Long ago, one of my housemate's would use these in his preparation of Pakistani wedding rice. Basmati rice, toasted, with black cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, and coriander.
This has another name and I may have the spices confused but it was four C's (other than cloves) and he used black cardamom, just leaving the pods whole in the rice. It was very good.
Cardamom is pretty overpowering - if it's in a recipe it tends to be the only thing I taste! I am still not sure if it's a friend or foe. I'd be curious if you can salvage those pods - I'm only familiar with the green ones!
Nicky, throw those ones out, they seem to be old (tar?), but you have to give (fresher) black cardamom a second chance. I use them in an Indian-spiced rice dish and also as part of garam masala.
it definitely took me a bit to get used to black cardamom, but it is an indispensable spice in garam masala and used sparingly adds dimension to many a dish. for a truly unique smell try asafoetida ;) and whatever you do, do not wash the container you store it in in the dishwasher - it will forever smell that way!
I find black cardamom is best used like Lapsang Souchong Tea, which is similarly smoky and dark. I'd never drink the stuff straight up, but a tablespoon mixed in with a few cups of Irish Breakfast or English Breakfast tea, and the cup really sings.
Asian fish sauce is the same way. A little provides depth. Too much is disgusting.
I generally save the brown pods for savory uses, but I also use a blend of brown and green cardamom pods in my chai spice blend.
Cheers!
Miss G.
Black cardamom is mainly used for making garam masala - Punjabi or Kashmiri. This is one such recipe that uses freshly ground masala (spice mixture) with black cardamom. Hope it helps.
You're not the last one to discover this spice, but after your description, I am not inclind to seek them out!
Good in meat curries, especially with lamb. As the person above noted, like fish sauce they smell terrible on their own but add serious depth when combined with other stuff. Give 'em another chance.
In Malaysia, the Indians here use that a lot in their cooking! VERY pungent but very unique! I beelieve they shell & grind it then add it to some of their cooking - just of like the Italians use herbs ;)
After reading your post I started googling myself, just to find out there is a third variety, white cardamom. They say it is bleached and has a milder taste. Will have to try both as soon as I can find them!
Deine Ordnungsidee werde ich übernehmen, sehr smart: Ich verbringe viel Zeit bei der Suche nach dem richtigen Glas, einem unter vielen. Auch Kardamon ist dabei.
I use black cardamom in my dry spice rub, a pungent concoction of (among other things) cumin, dried ginger, smoked paprika, amchur powder, salt and brown sugar. I like its smoky menthol-y notes. Like Pim, I use just the seeds and discard the husky pod.
Never heard about black cardamom, but now I want to try it. Can somebody recommend a proven recipe for making garam masala?
I service several Indian restaurants and I frequently find this spice in their stores. I mean A LOT of it. The vast majority of it is infested with food pests and and when I examine the seeds it's easy to see that almost every one of them has a little hole bored into it where a larva of some grain beetle has bored its way out.
I've asked managers about this and why they don't throw it out. Their answer is that it almost always comes that way, so they eiter accept that and use it, or do without. They apparently love it too much to do without.
I still have no idea what they use it for, specifically. I don't cook or eat Indian food. But if you're thinking of expanding your own repetoire in that direction, you might want ot hang onto those seeds. With or without grain beetles.
My dream is to have a kitchen where every shelf is only one item deep, all shelves are exactly at shoulder height, and all shelf doors are glass so I can see everything inside.
I'm going to need a much, much bigger kitchen.
Cheers!
Black cardamom is wonderful in savoury Indian dishes. As others have said, it is used as a flavouring (like bay leaf) and is not meant to be eaten.
Try it with green cardamom seeds and bay leaf in Rogan Josh. I really do think you'll change your mind about it!
-Elizabeth
Black cardamom can give vegetarian foods a distinct "bacon-y", smoky flavour - nice to know for your vegetarian cooking!
I had a recipe for Garam Masala, but can't seem to put my hands on it. It is worth the effort to make your own, and find a recipe you like. My vegetarian cookbook by Kurma Dasa, talks only about green or bleached cardamon, so I am not of much help today.
Thank you all for your input, I'll make sure to buy another batch (which hopefully will have a better aroma) - probably making some Garam Masala soon ;)
Your article made me curious so I stopped at the Asian shop and bought some black cardamom. Huuuh, how I can understand your flavour description now! Not sure if I will use it though.
I'm not a huge fan of black cardamom but it is tasty when grated or cooked with white potatoes...
The smell of black cardamom shouldn't be that different from the green one. Probably yours is too old.
For numerous Indian recipes:
Do a search for "black cardamom" in the "Search Food blogs-India" compiled by the talented lady (Indira) at (I am breaking the link into 2):
http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/
about/mahanandis-food-blog-list/
I always ran across whole pods of black cardamom in my favorite restaurant's palak makai (like palak paneer, but with corn instead of cheese) . It is slightly pungent and smoky but very savory and worthwhile--as long as you don't leave the pod for a guest to "find". If your stock at home is really smelly, it might be rancid--check at a nearby Asian grocery, and only buy a couple to try out.
I used black cardamom in making chicken soup stock. For a long while I tried replicating the taste and smell of Vietnamese soup broth. Black cardamom finally gave it that distinctive fragrance. Chicken carcasses (about 5 to 8), water (1 stockpot full), a chinese soup spoon full of a mix of fennel seeds, coriander seeds, 4 cloves and a few green cardamom pods. One black cardamom. Bring to boil, simmer for 3 hours, skim. It is VERY strong.
Put with green cardamoms, black cardamom is actually delicious in chai. The smoky flavour is just what it needs.
I had a Xinjiang-style (western Chinese) stew or stir fry in a chinese restaurant in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2000 or so. If anyone knows this dish or recipe let me know.
Chicken, potato, cubed sweet red pepper, ginger, and pods of black cardamom. Gave it an interesting and seductively smoky flavor. Took 3 years for me to find out it was black cardamom - i thought it was nutmeg. Now I just have to find what this mystery dish is. Any ideas? I can't remember other ingredients.
I'm not fond of them myself; they're a far cry from green cardamom, my favorite spice. They add a nice smoky note to bean and/or ham dishes, but I always keep them out of Indian dishes.