In this article we will learn about:- 1. Introduction to Cardamom 2. Description of Cardamom 3. Attributed Medicinal Properties 4. Cultivation 5. Other Names 6. Varieties 7. Uses.
Introduction to Cardamom:
Cardamom is one of the world’s very ancient spices and also known as the queen of all spices. It is native to the East originating in the forests of the Western Ghats in southern India, where it grows wild. Cardamom is grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
It is the dried fruit of a herbaceous perennial plant. Warm humid climate, loamy soil rich in organic matter, distributed rainfall and special cultivation and processing methods all combine to make Indian cardamom truly unique-in aroma, flavour, size and it has parrot green colour.
It has well established culinary values, and it is used in a wide range of sweets and confectionery. It is an important ingredient of gram masala, a combination spice for many vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Cardamom acts as a mouth-freshener after metals. Tea and coffee made with cardamom are pleasantly aromatic and refreshing.
There are three grades in which Indian cardamom is well known in the International market, ‘Alleppey Green Extra Bold’ (AGEB), ‘Alleppey Green Bold’ (AGB) and ‘Alleppey Green Superior’ (AGS). Cardamom oil is an essential factor in food items and in preparation of certain medicines. Indian cardamom is known worldwide for its quality and is exported to various countries.
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. It is often adulterated and there are many inferior substitutes from cardamom-related plants, such as Siam cardamom, Nepal cardamom, winged Java cardamom, and bastard cardamom. However, it is only Elettaria cardamomum which is the true cardamom. 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.
Description of Cardamom:
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 between 5-20 mm (1/4″-3/4″) long, the larger variety known as ‘black’, being brown and the smaller being green. White-bleached pods are also available.
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. It is best to buy the whole pods as ground cardamom quickly loses flavour.
Bouquet – Pungent, warm and aromatic.
Flavour – Warm and eucalyptine with camphorous and lemony undertones. Black cardamom is blunter, the eucalyptus and camphor suggestions very pronounced.
Attributed Medicinal Properties of Cardamom:
A stimulant and carminative, cardamom is not used in Western medicine for its own properties, but forms a flavouring 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.
Cultivation of Cardamom:
A perennial bush of the ginger family, with sheathed stems reaching 2-5m (6-16 feet) in height. It has a large tuberous rhizome and long, dark green leaves 30-60 cm (1- 2 ft.) long, 5-15 cm (2-6″) wide. It grows in the tropics, wild and in plantations. Trailing leafy stalks grow from the plant base at ground level. These bear the seed pods. The flowers are green with a white purple-veined tip.
Cardamoms are traditionally grown in partially cleared tropical rain forests, leaving some shade. Similarly, in plantation cultivation, forest undergrowth is cleared and trees thinned to give just enough shade and the rhizome or seeds planted at 3m (10 ft.) intervals. The plants are gathered in October-December, before they ripen, to avoid the capsules splitting during drying. They are dried in the sun or bleached with sulphur fumes.
Other Names of Cardamom:
i. French – Cardamome
ii. German – Kardamom
iii. Italian – Cardamomo, cardamone
iv. Spanish – Cardamomo
v. Burmese – Phalazee
vi. Chinese – Ts’ao-k’ou
vii. Indian – Chhoti elachi, e(e)lachie, ela(i)chi, illaichi
viii. Indonesian – Kapulaga
ix. Malay – Buah pelaga
x. Sinhalese – Enasal
xi. Tamil – Elam
xii. Thai – Grawahn, kravan
The name cardamom is used for herbs within two genera of the ginger family Zingiberaceae, namely Elettaria and Amomum. Both varieties take the form of a small seedpod, triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds. Elettaria pods are light green in color, while Amomum pods are larger and dark brown.
The two main genera of the ginger family that are named as forms of cardamom are distributed as follows:
i. Elettaria (commonly called cardamom, green cardamom, or true cardamom) is distributed from India to Malaysia.
ii. Amomum (commonly known as black cardamom, brown cardamom, Kravan, Java cardamom, Bengal cardamom, Siamese cardamom, white or red cardamom) is distributed mainly in Asia and Australia.
The Sanskrit name for cardamom is “ela”. In Urdu/Hindi/Gujarati and some Southern Indian languages. It is called “elaichi” or “elchi.”
Varieties of Cardamom:
There were initially three natural varieties of cardamom plants:
1. Malabar (Nadan/Native):
As the name suggests, this is the native variety of Kerala. These plants have panicles which grow horizontally along the ground.
2. Mysore:
As the name suggests, this is a native variety of Karnataka. These plants have panicles which grow vertically upwards.
3. Vazhuka:
This is a naturally occurring hybrid between Malabar and Mysore varieties, and the panicles don’t grow vertically nor horizontally, but in between both. A few planters isolated high yielding plants and started multiplying them on a large scale.
The most popular high yielding variety is Njallani. Njallani, also known as “rup-ree-t” is a unique high-yielding cardamom variety developed by an Indian farmer Sebastian Joseph at Kattappana in the South Indian state of Kerala.
Sebastian Joseph and his son Regimon let bees cross-pollinate the cardamom plants and came up with a new high-yielding variety that he named Njallani, after his ancestral home. This variety yields 1500 kg/hectare as compared to the conventional 200 kg/ha. The increased yield revolutionised cardamom cultivation in the state of Kerala.
Uses of Cardamom:
Cardamom is often called “the third most expensive spice in the world” (after saffron and vanilla) and the high price reflects the reputation of this most pleasantly scented spice. Despite numerous applications in the cooking styles of Sri Lanka, India and Iran, 60% of world production is exported to Arab countries where it is used to prepare coffee. Cardamom-flavoured coffee qahwa al-arabiya is a symbol of Arab hospitality, prepared by adding freshly ground seeds to coffee powder or by steeping a few pods in hot coffee.
Cardamom is also used for cookery in the spicy mixture baharat from the Arabic peninsular and in the fiery chilli paste zhoug from Yemen. It is often employed for rice-and-meat dishes, e.g. Arabic kabsah and machboos. To prepare these, meats (sometimes vegetables) are braised in a thick, aromatic sauce and uncooked rice is added and cooked slowly so that it absorbs the sauce and all its flavour.
Indian biryani is made by placing layers of cooked rice and aromatic meat or vegetable stews in a large pot. After addition of dried fruits and nuts, the pot is sealed and heated in the oven so that the different flavours mingle. Cardamom is also popular in North and East Africa, where the population is predominantly Arabic. It appears in the Moroccan mixture ras el hanout and in the Ethiopian spice mix berbere.
In European cuisines, cardamom is less well-known but appears in biscuit recipes (e.g. German lebkuchen). European use is low, except in Scandinavian countries, where cardamom is popular not only for biscuits and sweet breads but also for pastries and sausages.
In the Mogul cuisine, cardamom is found in several mild meat dishes in which the pods are fried together with onion, Indian bay leaves and other sweet spices to intensify their fragrance. In Sri Lanka, the pods are added to fiery beef or chicken curries, together with cinnamon. Indian cardamom is slightly smaller than Sri Lankan cardamom, but is generally considered to be more aromatic.
Cardamom flavoured sweets are found across India, e.g. gajar halva, a creamy dessert made from milk, grated carrots, palm sugar and ground cardamom. Sometimes curry powder contains small amounts of cardamom and it is also frequently added to the North Indian garam masala, especially in Kashmir where Mogul influence is particularly strong. Kashmiri people like sweet green tea flavoured with cardamom pods.
Cardamom seeds lose their flavour quickly when ground. Even if left whole, the seeds show a loss of about 40% of the essential oil per year. Therefore, only whole cardamom pods should be bought and the pods crushed prior to use. Green pods are significantly superior in fragrance to the yellow or white bleached ones.
Black (or brown) cardamom is a collective name for several cardamom-related plants growing in mountains from Central Africa to Vietnam. Nepalese cardamom is most often traded in the West. The taste of this spice differs significantly from that of green cardamom and neither can act as a substitute for the other.
Both forms of cardamom are used as flavorings in both food and drink, as cooking spices and as a medicine. Elettaria cardamomum (the usual type of cardamom) is used as a spice, a masticatory, and in medicine; it is also smoked sometimes; it is used as a food plant by the larva of the moth Endoclita hosei. Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic fragrance. Black cardamom has a distinctly more astringent aroma, though not bitter, with a coolness similar to mint, though with a different aroma.
It is a common ingredient in Indian cooking, and is often used in baking in Nordic countries, such as in the Finnish sweet-bread pulla. It is one of the most expensive spices by weight and little is needed to impart the flavor. Cardamom is best stored in pod form because once the seeds are exposed or ground they quickly lose their flavor.
However, high-quality ground cardamom is often more readily (and cheaply) available and is an acceptable substitute. For recipes requiring whole cardamom pods, a generally accepted equivalent is 10 pods equals 1½ teaspoons of ground cardamom. In the Middle East, green cardamom powder is used as a spice for sweet dishes as well as traditional flavouring in coffee and tea.
Cardamom pods are ground together with coffee beans to produce a powdered mixture of the two, which is boiled with water to make coffee. Cardamom is also used in some extent in savoury dishes. In Arabic, cardamom is called al-Hayl. In Persian, it is called hel. In Hebrew, it is also called hel. In Gujurati (a derivative of Hindi), it is “E-li-che”.
In some Middle Eastern countries, coffee and cardamom are often ground in a wooden mortar and cooked together in a mihbaz, an oven using wood or gas, to produce a mixtures that are as much as forty per cent cardamom.
In South Asia, green cardamom is often used in traditional Indian sweets and in Masala chai (spiced tea).
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. Keep the pods whole until use. The pod itself is neutral in flavour and not generally used, imparting an unpleasant bitter flavour when left in dishes.
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, is essential in pilaus (rice dishes) and gives character to pulse dishes.
Cardamom is often included in Indian sweet dishes and drinks. At least partially because of its high price, it is seen as a ‘festive’ spice. Other uses are; in pickles, especially pickled herring; in punches and mulled wines; occasionally with meat, poultry and shellfish.
It flavours 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 pan. It is a flavouring for Arab and Turkish coffee which is served with an elaborate ritual.
Black cardamom is usually used in garam masala for curries. It is occasionally used as a garnish in basmati rice and other dishes. It is often referred to as fat cardamom due its size (‘Moti Elaichi’). Individual seeds are sometimes chewed, in much the same way as chewing-gum. In Northern Europe, cardamom is commonly used in sweet foods, pastries or cakes. It has also been known to be used for gin making.
Green cardamom in South Asia is broadly used to treat infections in teeth and gums, to prevent and treat throat troubles, congestion of the lungs and pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of eyelids and also digestive disorders. It is also reportedly used as an antidote for both snake and scorpion venom bite. Amomum is used as a spice and as an ingredient in traditional medicine in systems of the traditional Chinese medicine in China, in Ayurveda in India, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.
Species in the genus Amomum are also used in traditional Indian medicine. Among other species, varieties and cultivars, Amomum villosum cultivated in China, Laos and Vietnam is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat stomach-aches, constipation, dysentery, and other digestion problems. “Tsaoko” cardamom Amomum tsao-ko is cultivated in Yunnan, China and northwest Vietnam, both for medicinal purposes and as a spice.
Increased demand since the 1980s, principally from China, for both Amomum villosum and Amomum tsao-ko has provided a key source of income for poor farmers living at higher altitudes in localized areas of China, Laos and Vietnam, people typically isolated from many other markets. Until recently, Nepal has been the world’s largest producer of large cardamom. Guatemala has become the world’s largest producer and exporter of cardamom, with a staggering export total of US$137.2 million for 2007.
In Hindi, Urdu, and Gujarati cardamom is called elaichi, and “yelakki” in Kannada and other South Indian languages. It is called Elakka in Malayalam, which is the language of Kerala an Indian province that accounts for 70% of Indian cardamom. In South Asia green cardamom, called “Elaichi” in Marathi, Hindi and Urdu. It is called “Yalakulu in Telugu, “elam” in Tamil. In Hebrew, it is known as Hel. In Persian it is also known as Hel. In Arabic, it is called Hayl.
Cardamom is native to South India and Sri Lanka. Although these countries are the largest producers of cardamom, only a small part of production is exported because of large domestic demand. The main exporting country today is Guatemala, where cardamom cultivation was introduced less than a century ago and the crop is grown entirely for export.
Seeds – Because the seeds lose fragrance rather quickly, the fruits (pods) are normally sold and often used whole, or chopped with the seeds.
Family – Zingiberaceae (ginger family).
Effect – Sweet and aromatic, usually described as very pleasant.
The spice has similar names in almost all European languages, e.g. cardamom (German, English), kardemomme (Norwegian, Danish), cardamomo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish) and kardamon (Polish, Croatian, Bulgarian and Russian).
The Greek name kardamomon is recorded for a spice of Persian origin, but this was probably a cress, whereas in Modern Greek the name kardamo can stand for both cardamom and cress. Roman sources tell of the similar spices amomum and cardamomum, both of Eastern origin and probably different varieties of cardamom.
In the New Testament the name amomon appears in reference to an aromatic plant and may derive from the adjective amomos “without reproach”. The genus name elettaria is derived from the name in Indian languages, e.g. Hindi elaichi and Punjabi ilaichi. The common source is Sanskrit, where cardamom is called ela or ellka. From the corresponding Dravidian root el, many modern names of cardamom are directly derived, e.g. Tamil elakkai.