Spice up Your Meals with Cardamom

A staple of Indian food, cardamom is an immensely versatile ingredient that can be used in all manner of classic cooking as well as unusual dishes. With a citrus quality to it, cardamom doesn’t just lend itself well to savoury Indian foods but a whole host of desserts, puddings and especially drinks. The strong spicy flavour of the cardamom pod is not generally considered to be one of the subtle spices; however, when used to its best qualities in cooking it can bring a fresh aromatic element to meals, adding a depth of flavour that can really transform a dish.

Cardamom can be added whole to a dish, the green pods around the same size as a redcurrant make excellent spices to enhance the flavour of rice dishes or to provide a delicious marinade for meat. Cardamom seeds can be extracted from the pod, around 20 seeds can be found in each, and are perfect for grinding into a paste and adding to masalas or even adding to desserts for a unique flavour combination. While the cardamom pod is normally removed after cooking, the short time cardamom spends with your food is enough to impart a lot of flavour into your dish.

One of the most stunning Indian ingredients, cardamom also comes with a massive array of health benefits, a little cardamom a day can go a long way to helping with digestive problems. The properties of cardamom allow it to aid digestion in many different stages, including increasing the body’s natural bile production to help for the more efficient absorption of fats into the body. This in turn actively helps to reduce stomach cramping and bloating as well as acting to fight infections in the stomach. As opposed to other natural spices that help the digestion process, the sweet flavour of the cardamom seeds makes it a favourite for small children.

Cardamom further lends itself as a natural remedy to fight off bad breath, the antibacterial nature of the small seed and the oil produced kill off germs before they can affect your breath. The health properties of cardamom are extensive; with antioxidants to detox your body, the ability to lower blood pressure and improve the health of your kidneys, it is a very versatile spice. Being naturally full of minerals that regularise your heart rate, not only will cardamom improve your dish but it will continuously help your body stay in good health.

When it comes to mixing up your meals and exploring with the use of cardamom, there are many tried and tested affinities of cardamom that are an excellent place to start. As with many Indian spices, cardamom is an ideal addition to almost any variety of curry or curry marinade. It also pairs well with spices such as cinnamon, allspice and cloves to add a depth of flavour to a meal. One of the primary uses of cardamom is as an ingredient in tea, often a flavour-packed substitute to ginger tea.

Our early morning cardamom Indian tea is the perfect way to start the day in a way that is not only healthy but easy and delicious. The benefits that cardamom can bring to your meals and to your health are well worth investing in, especially since it pairs extremely well with chocolate!

See below for our Tasty Recipe for Early morning Cardamom Indian Tea.

Ingredients

For making 1 cup

• Milk- 1 cup
• Whole cardamom,
• Ground Tea - ½ tbsp
• Sugar - 1 tsp
• Jalpur Tea Masala – ¼ Tea Spoon (Optional)

Instructions

1.Place a saucepan over medium heat, pour milk into the pan.

2.Add whole cardamom. (You can also add Jalpur Tea Masala to give it a hint of Spice. This is Optional. Add this in with whole cardamom)

3.When milk comes to a slight boil, add ground tea, combine well.

4.Add sugar and combine well.

5.Let the milk come to a boil.

6.Remove the pan from the heat.

7.Strain the tea into a mug using a sieve.

8.Enjoy cardamom tea when hot along with biscuits. Dunk the biscuits in tea and enjoy.

Jalpur Tea Masala is optional to give it a delicious kick of spice. This complements well with Cardamom. 

For the whole period of June & July 2017 - we will be offering 10% off all Jalpur & Akaroo Branded Cardamom Products. Simple enter coupon code at check out.