Swad or Durbar Cardamom Seeds: Cardamom, a member of the ginger family, is known as elaichi in Hindi. These are the seeds from the green or black cardamom pod. It is a fragrant spice and may be used whole or powdered. Cardamom is used to enhance meats, rice dishes and desserts. When powdered, cardamom is also an important ingredient in several common spice blends.
More About Cardamom:
Cardamom is one of the world’s very ancient spices. It is native to the East originating in the forests of southern India, where it grows wild. 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, second only to saffron. 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 Spice Description:
Cardamom comes from the seeds of a ginger-like plant. The small, brown-black sticky seeds are contained in a pod in three double rows with about six seeds in each row. The pods are roughly triangular in cross section and oval or oblate. Their dried surface is rough and furrowed, the large ‘blacks’ having deep wrinkles. The texture of the pod is that of tough paper. Pods are available whole or split and the seeds are sold loose or ground.
Cardamom's Flavor:
Warm and eucalyptine with camphorous and lemony undertones.
Cardamom's Culinary Uses:
The pods can be used whole or split when cooked in Indian substantial meals — such as pulses. Otherwise, the seeds can be bruised and fried before adding main ingredients to the pan, or pounded with other spices as required. Cardamom is used mainly in the Near and Far East. Its commonest Western manifestation is in Dutch ‘windmill’ biscuits and Scandinavian-style cakes and pastries, and in akvavit. It features in curries. Cardamom is often included in Indian sweet dishes and drinks. Other uses are; in pickles, especially pickled herring; in punches and mulled wines; occasionally with meat, poultry and shellfish. It flavors custards, and some Russian liqueurs. Cardamom is also chewed habitually (like nuts) where freely available, as in the East Indies, and in the Indian masticory,
betel paan. It is a flavoring for Arab and Turkish coffee which is served with an elaborate ritual.
Cardamom's Attributed Medicinal Properties:
A stimulant and
carminative, cardamom is not used in Western medicine for it own properties, but forms a flavoring and basis for medicinal preparations for indigestion and flatulence using other substances, entering into a synergetic relationship with them. The Arabs attributed
aphrodisiac qualities to it (it features regularly in the Arabian Nights) and the ancient Indians regarded it as a cure for obesity. It has been used as a digestive since ancient times. A medicinal (perhaps aphrodisiac) cordial can be made by macerating seeds in hot water..
Cardamom's Other Names:
Cardamon, Lesser Cardamom
French: cardamome
German: Kardamom
Italian: cardamomo, cardamone
Spanish: cardamomo
Burmese: phalazee
Chinese: ts’ao-k’ou
Indian: chhoti elachi, e(e)lachie, ela(i)chi, illaichi
Indonesian: kapulaga
Malay: buah pelaga
Sinhalese: enasal
Tamil: elam
Thai: grawahn, kravan
References:
the Epicenter Website
The Book of Spices, F. Rosengarten Jr. (Livingston Publishing Co. , Penn., USA, 1969)
Cooking With Spices, Carolyn Heal & Michael Allsop (David & Charles, Vermont, USA 1983)
Cupboard Love, A Dictionary of Culinary Curiosities, Mark Morton ((Insomniac Press, Toronto, Canada 2004)
The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism, Malcolm Stuart (Macdonald & Company, Turin, Italy, 1987)
The Herb Book, John Lust (Bantam Books, New York, USA, 1984)
New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, Felix Guirand (The Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, Middlesex, England, 1968)
