Video
Podcasts
Blogs
Watch VideoGlossary
Cardamom
An aromatic spice from southwestern India. The spice has a pungent aroma and a warm, spicy-sweet flavour and is widely used in Scandinavian and East Indian cooking. Cardamom is better bought in the pod as the ground seeds soon lose their flavour. Remove the seeds and grind them or grind the whole pod, quickly done with a pestle and mortar. If using cardamom to flavour dishes such as stews and curries, lightly crush the whole pod and add it to the mixture: the shell will disintegrate while the dish cooks. Be frugal when using cardamom - a little goes a long way. In Indian cooking, black cardamom has a smoky flavour and is integral for Rogan Josh. The green is used more in desserts and sweets and is an important ingredient in Garam Masala.
00:01:42
Featured Recipes
- Pumpkin flowers stuffed with prawn (bong bi don thit)
- Market vegetables, cooked in a clay pot (u cu tay cam)
- Choko, stir fried with beef and garlic (trai su xao thit bo)
- Penne with prosciutto, peas and mint
- Green chilli and coriander steamed mussels
- Asparagus and green tea noodle salad with Thai prawns
- Zucchini flower fritters with feta and basil
- Corn chowder
- Corn fritters
- Udon soup with roast duck, broccoli and coriander
Hot Tips
Soaking a clay-pot
Before cooking with a clay-pot soak it in water (which is absorbed into the pores of the clay). As the pot heats up in the oven, the water will evaporate, producing steam, this will prevent the food from drying out.
Glossary
Spelt
A distant cousin of modern wheat, high in fibre and protein. Often able to be tolerated by people with gluten intolerances.
