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Cardamom Seeds


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  • 6 months later...

I use the green ones for desserts or biryani's etc. I like to use the large black ones, that are really strong, for meats and chickpeas. In fact a pakistani friend showed me how to make a Murg Chana Masala or chicken chickpea masala.. that uses the black cardamom for the predominant flavor. It is a delicious dish -- I had not put the two together in Indian spices before... done some Moroccon cooking with them together

Monica Bhide

A Life of Spice

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Green are the only ones that are readily accessible to me.

I did see the white ones at Penzeys.com but they were quite expensive and I wasn't sure what to do with them.

Black? I have heard of it but never seen it.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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As with Monica, I love green ones in desserts such as rabri and also in a spicy lassi.

I use the black ones in meatier dishes or some of the dhals I make. I also like to use them in tarkas ( my absolute favourite is to fry bulb chillies, nigella seed, black pods and fennel seeds in ghee) and pour that over dhals or even mix it into a raita of mint and cucumber.

At the weekend we had a meal of lobster and crab and afterwards my mother made the most spectacular indian soup using the shells. She fried off some spices ( a cinnamon stick, chilli powder, turmeric and cumin ) with a lot of black pods and added the lobster and crab shells with a load of chopped ripe tomatoes. She then added two pints of water and cooked on a low heat for 7 hrs. After straining, she added potatoes and chunks of oily fish. The complexity of taste was amazing and the black pods made such a difference

S

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As with Monica, I love green ones in desserts such as rabri and also in a spicy lassi.

I use the black ones in meatier dishes or some of the dhals I make.  I also like to use them in tarkas ( my absolute favourite is to fry bulb chillies, nigella seed, black pods and fennel seeds in ghee) and pour that over dhals or even mix it into a raita of mint and cucumber.

At the weekend we had a meal of lobster and crab and afterwards my mother made the most spectacular indian soup using the shells.  She fried off some spices ( a cinnamon stick, chilli powder, turmeric and cumin ) with a lot of black pods and added the lobster and crab shells with a load of chopped ripe tomatoes.  She then added two pints of water and cooked on a low heat for 7 hrs.  After straining, she added potatoes and chunks of oily fish.  The complexity of taste was amazing and the black pods made such a difference

S

Is it that lunch time is looming? That description sounds wonderful.

I always thought that white cardamom seeds were just a bleached version of the green ones and therefore to be avoided.

v

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As with Monica, I love green ones in desserts such as rabri and also in a spicy lassi.

I use the black ones in meatier dishes or some of the dhals I make.  I also like to use them in tarkas ( my absolute favourite is to fry bulb chillies, nigella seed, black pods and fennel seeds in ghee) and pour that over dhals or even mix it into a raita of mint and cucumber.

At the weekend we had a meal of lobster and crab and afterwards my mother made the most spectacular indian soup using the shells.  She fried off some spices ( a cinnamon stick, chilli powder, turmeric and cumin ) with a lot of black pods and added the lobster and crab shells with a load of chopped ripe tomatoes.  She then added two pints of water and cooked on a low heat for 7 hrs.  After straining, she added potatoes and chunks of oily fish.  The complexity of taste was amazing and the black pods made such a difference

S

That soup sounds really really good. Yum

Monica Bhide

A Life of Spice

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As with Monica, I love green ones in desserts such as rabri and also in a spicy lassi.

I use the black ones in meatier dishes or some of the dhals I make.  I also like to use them in tarkas ( my absolute favourite is to fry bulb chillies, nigella seed, black pods and fennel seeds in ghee) and pour that over dhals or even mix it into a raita of mint and cucumber.

At the weekend we had a meal of lobster and crab and afterwards my mother made the most spectacular indian soup using the shells.  She fried off some spices ( a cinnamon stick, chilli powder, turmeric and cumin ) with a lot of black pods and added the lobster and crab shells with a load of chopped ripe tomatoes.  She then added two pints of water and cooked on a low heat for 7 hrs.  After straining, she added potatoes and chunks of oily fish.  The complexity of taste was amazing and the black pods made such a difference

S

Is it that lunch time is looming? That description sounds wonderful.

I always thought that white cardamom seeds were just a bleached version of the green ones and therefore to be avoided.

v

Bleached they are... But not with chemical bleach. While they are still tender and green, they are washed in brine and dried in the blazing Indian sun. It turns them white.

There is no difference in flavor between the green and white.

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If the white ones are "bleached" green ones, then what are the black ones?

Black cardamom is a woody cardamom that is much larger than you usual cardamom pod. It is also another type of plant but called the same name. The flavor is more camphor like in black cardamom and it is used in savory dishes more often.

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  • 9 months later...

AHA!!! suvir takes the bait :biggrin:

suvir - this is a dish i ate at a bengali friends house.....since she IS bengali i assume it is authentic bong fare too.

this is how it was made -

equal parts of sitafal (pumpkin) and ghia chopped small...fry 1 fresh red whole chilli and green cardomom peel in mustard oil and add the two vegetables. cover and cook on a slow flame. the ghia gives out enough water to cook the vegetables. just add salt to taste and a little more red chilli powder if you so wish.

i found it a simple and yet flavourful dish!

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AHA!!! suvir takes the bait  :biggrin:

suvir - this is a dish i ate at a bengali friends house.....since she IS bengali i assume it is authentic bong fare too.

this is how it was made -

equal parts of sitafal (pumpkin) and ghia chopped small...fry 1 fresh red whole chilli and  green cardomom peel in mustard oil and add the two vegetables. cover and cook on a slow flame. the ghia gives out enough water to cook the vegetables. just add salt to taste and a little more red chilli powder if you so wish.

i found it a simple and yet flavourful dish!

Thanks nimki for giving details. :smile:

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  • 11 months later...

Black cardamom is much earthier than green cardamom. I don't think I've ever seen white cardamom, which would be odd, considering how good the spice stores are in New York. Monica, can you find white cardamom in DC?

Michael aka "Pan"

 

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OK , guys. Here's a poser for you: why why why bleach the delightful green of green cardamom? Why? Why?

It also bleaches out the flavor!!

From what I understand the green pods of lower quality with an uneven color are bleached to make them look better.

Edward Hamann

Cooking Teacher

Indian Cooking

edhamann@hotmail.com

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