What to do with cardamom?

Allexie

A friend gave me a big bag of cardamon ages ago and it has been floating around my kitchen cupboards ever since, (my belief in the principle that if you kick something around enough it eventually gets lost has failed this time!). I really must use it up somehow but haven't a clue what to do with it. It's the stuff in pods btw.

I have actually used it twice...

Once to make a scrummy Indian carrot-type cake courtesy of Madhur Jaffrey, and once ground up with coffee beans, (yuk)

Any ideas please as to recipes that use industrial quantities of the stuff?


P.S. Do you use the pods or the seeds or both

Str4berr3

You might need to ask Curry_Queen for that, I know that cardamon's are used for making curry's but that is all I know!

se999

Had a quick look on google, it came up with two main ideas, this link says to use it in bread, apparently they do it in Scandinavia.

http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Cardamom.html

The other was for a magic spell, involving warm wine and ground cardamon seeds using it's aphrodisiac properties!!

http://www.joellessacredgrove.com/Herbs/c-herbs.html

The link does also suggest adding it to apple pies in the pastry mix, but it's a bit vague.

Curry_Queen

Yup, definitely use in curries

Can also use it to flavour rice for a pilau rice or even in rice pudding, which I posted a link to earlier in another thread, and is one of James Martin's creations

It's great in both sweet and savoury dishes


Edit: You can use the pods and seeds either whole, crushed or ground. Are they green or black? as they do have slightly different flavours and uses.

Oh, and another thing, they make great breath fresheners! ... just chew on a whole one

Allexie

Curry_Queen wrote:

Yup, definitely use in curries

Can also use it to flavour rice for a pilau rice or even in rice pudding, which I posted a link to earlier in another thread, and is one of James Martin's creations

It's great in both sweet and savoury dishes


Edit: You can use the pods and seeds either whole, crushed or ground. Are they green or black? as they do have slightly different flavours and uses.

Thanks CQ....Had a feeling you might come to the rescue! The pods are a mucky greeny/beige colour....so I don't have to fiddle about for hours getting the seeds out then??

Curry_Queen

Allexie wrote:

Thanks CQ....Had a feeling you might come to the rescue! The pods are a mucky greeny/beige colour....so I don't have to fiddle about for hours getting the seeds out then??

No, you can just use them as they are. If you want to extract the seeds and grind them to make a powder then that's fine too

Allexie

se999 wrote:

Had a quick look on google, it came up with two main ideas, this link says to use it in bread, apparently they do it in Scandinavia.

http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Cardamom.html

The other was for a magic spell, involving warm wine and ground cardamon seeds using it's aphrodisiac properties!!

http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Cardamom.html

The link does also suggest adding it to apple pies in the pastry mix, but it's a bit vague.

YAY!!! BREAD!!!! WHEEEEE!!!

Just about to make a cinnamon and raisin loaf so will bang a few cardamoms in too!

Now *cough, cough* about this magic spell.....:rotfl: both your links were the same...should there have been another one??

Many thanks

Rikki

In the carrot cake I make with them you crush them to bring out the flavour.

Ted_Hutchinson

Agree with CQ's suggestions. We also throw a few in stewed Rhubarb and rice puddings.
We also do a Banana and Cardamon cake similar to this.

Mango

Not sure if you'll like this, if you didn't like the coffee - but you can use it to flavour tea. Especially if you make tea with leaves in a pan on the hob - just add the cardamon to the water as it boils before you add the leaves. It's a good wake me up in the mornings.

Gingham_Ribbon

An easy way to extract the seeds is to bang them hard with a pestle and mortar and the pods and seeds seperated easily. Then you can grind the seeds.