Huh? Whah? Why?
I know that cardamom is not a very oft-used spice in American cuisine, but I've grown to love it because of a trip to Turkey, my love for Indian food and my Swedish heritage.
In Turkey, I fell in love with the STRONG Turkish coffee. It is made by boiling water with ground cardamom and ground (very strong) coffee in a small brass pot with a handle. It is drunk unfiltered, so you leave the grounds at the bottom (or otherwise peel yourself off the ceiling 30 minutes later). What a delish combo: coffee and cardamom. Apparently, this is common throughout the Arab world.
Indian cooking uses it mainly in sweets, as well as the fabulous Chai tea which also consists of cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg in many recipes. Sometimes black cardamom is used in garam masala for curries.
(Photo: This isn't the Miele espresso machine I ordered...Old School Turkish Coffee Pot- microscopic single serving!)
Swedes use it in sweet rolls, cookies and cakes of all sorts. Some meatball recipes also call for cardamom- no wonder they are world famous! It sounds weird, but trust me- it's amazing. Apparently the vikings brought it back to Scandinavia because of the extensive trade route they had developed with India and the far East...who knew!?
Even though it's still 80-100 degrees here is So Cal, I am getting that "Fall feeling". For me, cardamom fits the bill for Autumn cooking. Lately I've been throwing cardamom onto or into everything. I've used it in morning green drink, my Smoothie-In-A-Bowl, even on top of my coffee foam (replacing the rainbow sprinkles). I plan to roast some veggies with some cardamom (and other spices)- I'm thinking winter squash, cauliflower, carrots, parsnips- YUM! A Chai-inspired winter squash soup also sounds tasty to me.
Sadly, I have not found cardamom pods (not ground) here in the USA, so once I'm finished with my stash that I brought from my last trip to Sweden, I'll be using ground cardamom instead. Grinding the pods fresh makes a big difference in taste.
I have also been using more cinnamon, and nutmeg. You can use powdered cinnamon or nutmeg, but I've been using the whole versions in the smoothies because the VitaMix can handle it. This way there are still little tiny crunches of cinnamon surprise left to enjoy. Did you know that cinnamon is actually pretty spicy if you get a little "bite" of it? I didn't!
(Photo: green smoothie with cardamom)
(Photo: Green smoothie with cinnamon)
Kabocha squash with Greek yogurt and Peanut butter mixed ground cardamom. (yes I even put the cardamom INTO the PB) ... SOOOooo yummy! I love to make my own nut butters, so it's an easy addition: click here to see more on nut butter making.
Question: Is there a spice or herb that you just love that may seem a bit "different" in the way you use it?
18 comments:
Thanks for the nice comment on my blog!
I don't really add spices to my food. I do like to add curry powder to my tuna fish, though. I put parmesan cheese on EVERYTHING, so I consider it my spice.
I love Kabocha squash. You're lucky you can buy it. It's really popular in Korea, where it's used to make soup, dessert fillings, and even drinks!
I have to admit that I love Indian food so I'm somewhat familiar with cardamom. I have some ground up in my pantry for some dish I made but I never thought to use it in things other than curries, etc. Very interesting!
On a totally random note, where the heck did you find kabocha?! I have been looking for it EVERYWHERE and none of my grocery stores seem to have it - unless it goes by another name??
What a great post...wow, super informative and your PB komboucha with cardamom looks spectacular. Wow!
Spices I use alot are cinnamon & ginger. I use them in just about everything...nothing too oddball but I did put a hunk of ginger in a yellow smoothie the other day. Turned out really good!
I looooove cardamom!! My old roommie used to make cardamom sugar cookies that were to die for.
I put cinnamon on everything, including my veggies :)
Mandy & Hayley- I found the kabocha at an Asian market in Chinatown. Can't find it at the local market for sure! It's great, but all the others are pretty good too- acorn, b-nut. Kabocha is just a bit richer in color (and flavor I suppose?)
Averie- yes, I do a hunk of ginger in my AM green drink- adds a nice "kick" dontcha think?
Susan- those cookies sound so Swedish yum! I also put cinnamon on veggies, and eggs too- you should see the abuse I got for doing that while visiting friends on vacation :-O There was a huge uproar over me, my egg white/broccoli/cinnamon dish!
Kabocha - so much sweet love in those squashes. Hoping my local Asian Mkt. gets some good ones soon. Last few batches were totally blah.
You should totally try making chai peanut butter Deb. I bet that would be so good.
Still in awe of the hazelnut chunks in your cardamom PB. Such a nice touch.
Your smoothie looks so green and fluffy. Thanks goodness for the gums!
I love the smell of cardamom, but I never think to use it. What do the pods look like? I feel like I might have pods, they are white and oval shaped? If they are the pods, let me know and I will mail you some!
Erika- that's very sweet of you.
Look what I found: http://www.worldspice.com/spices/0077cardamompod-white.shtml
Can you get out your mortar and pestle (what, you don't carry them in your purse??)see if it's the real deal? That's so cool- like an albino cardamom pod! :-D
Fascinaating about your bond with cardomom. I have to get into it.
I love Indian food, so obviously, I should sprinkle and experiment at home with, veggies, etc. Never knew it was part of Swedish cookine.
Great tip.
Does anyone love Pesto? My pesto compromise that I've not only learned to live with, but love is:
Put lots of basil leaves in the blender. Instead of oil, chicken stock ( or veggie stock) , pine nuts, (or not), walnuts, (or not) garlic, s#p, but, Deb, I'll bet you can thicken it with one of your magic potions, bit of Parm cheese. Blend. BTW, the parm cheese thickens also.
PS A drop or two of olive oil will be just fine.
Pour over anything to bake or use creatively, as only you all can.
Cardomom .. . . . . mmmmmmmm......
have to get.
Great pesto recipe Rhoda- thanks for that! Sounds so yummy!
Deb
mmm cardamom. i know i love it but i never have used it myself with my own cooking. great post! i think cinnamon is universal spice for ANYTHING.
I love using chile pepper flakes in almost everything - stuffed shells, chickpea cutlets, on pizza, pasta.. they're soooo good.
I LOVE cardamom too! Real chai tea is heavenly as is kheer pudding. Maybe I should venture out and try it at home?
I used to eat the Chai tea Luna bars often but haven't since last year.
Glad I found your blog :-)
Thanks Michelle! Glad I found your blog too- loved your post today with useful tidbits of info :-)
Must try kheer!
I've never even tried cardamom! Perhaps I'll give it a go.
I use cinnamon in lots of things and have recently fallen in love with cumin. I also put garlic salt in everything, which I should perhaps reconsider ;) It's tasty, though!
Have you found whole cardamom yet? I buy it from Penzey's Spices (http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/p-penzeyscardamom.html) whole scandanavian pods!
Thanks PG- when I run out of the stuff from Sweden, I'll definitely get more. I need the real stuff now- need to grind it fresh myself= eek I've become a cardamom snob! Save me from myself!
BTW, the first time I had turkish coffee was at a restaurant with dessert. Being young and naive, I stirred the grounds around and drank the whole thing!!!
About 15 hours later, I was still wide-eyed and sleepless. Note to self: don't eat turkish coffee grounds.
Post a Comment