Cardamom
| Language | Name |
|---|---|
| Hindi | इलायची(Elaichi) |
| Marathi | हिरव्यी वेलची, वेलदोड |
| Tamil | ஏலக்காய் (Elakkai) |
| Telugu | యేలకులు(Yelakulu) |
Cardamom is often named as the “third most expensive” spice in the world (after saffron and vanilla), and the high price reflects the high reputation of this most pleasantly scented spice. Despite its numerous applications in the cooking styles of Sri Lanka, India and Iran, 60% of the world production is exported to Arab (South West Asia, North Africa) countries, where the larger part is used to prepare coffee. Cardamom-flavoured coffee, almost a symbol for Arab hospitality can be prepared by simply adding freshly ground cardamom seeds to the coffee powder; alternatively, a few cardamom pods may be steeped in the hot coffee.
In the Moghul cuisine (Northern India), cardamom is abundantly used in the delicious rice dishes called biriyanis, but it is also found in several mild meat dishes from the same region; typically, the pods are fried together with onion, Indian bay leaves and other sweet spices to intensify their fragrance. Throughout India and Sri Lanka, the pods are added to fiery chicken or meat curries, together with cinnamon. Cardamom-flavoured sweets are found all over the south asian subcontinent, e.g., gajar halva, Ras Malai etc..
Sometimes, curry powders contain small amounts of cardamom; cardamom is also frequently added to the Northern Indian garam masala (see cumin), especially in Kashmir, where the Moghul influence is particularly strong. Kashmiri people like sweet green tea flavoured with cardamom pods; With the political and religious instability, Kashmir is no longer the same region it used to be but anyone who has ever visited the old Kashmir and lived in one of the famous house boats of Srinagar will ever forget its taste, but for the rest of his life.
In the rest of India, black tea is much more common than green tea; Although not very common, Spiced tea (chai masala [चाय मसाला]) is often relished in social visits. It contains cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and even black pepper.
