A sweet, cooling spice that lifts heaviness without sharpening it.
In the pot
Buy the green pods whole. Crack them with the flat of a knife and use the small black seeds inside, or drop the whole pod into rice and lift it out before serving. The flavour fades quickly once ground, so I grind in small batches.
I add cardamom to milk that is already hot, never at the start. For chai I crack four pods into the pan with the ginger, and the kitchen tells you when it is ready.
In the body
Ayurveda places cardamom in the sweet and pungent tastes. It suits all three doshas (body constitutions) and is one of the few spices that calms pitta (the fire constitution) while still helping digestion along.
I reach for cardamom after a heavy meal, in warm milk before bed, or stirred into a milky pudding to stop it sitting too thickly. It does quiet work on bloating.
