Spices Indian Cooking Ingredients

Black Cardamom (Kali Elachi)

These are large black pods that have a thick outer casing with seeds inside. They give a very different aromatic to their green counterparts. The pods have a deep earthy flavour with coolness similar to that of mint, but with an unusual astringent aroma.

Using Black Cardamom in Indian Cooking

The pods are dried over flames, which give them a distinct smokiness. These are not eaten, but just cracked and used to infuse flavour mainly in savoury dishes such as deep rich lamb curries as well as some rice dishes. You only use one or two in any dish.