Often called the “Queen of spices” green cardamom has a given role in the Scandinavian cuisine. We love to bake with it. The history of this love affair dates back to the Vikings who encountered green cardamom in Constantinople. In Indian and Arabic cuisine it is used in a whole array of dishes and works beautifully with salty, sweet, earthy and savory dishes.The plant is lush, leafy and part of the ginger family. It produces fruit pods on flowering stems that contain around 20 seeds. Almost mature pods are harvested, washed and then dried. The plant is native to India and Sri Lanka but it is Guatemala who have become the worlds biggest exporter leaving many of the heirloom species, especially in Sri Lanka, in the dark. We are happy to be sourcing one of these heirloom varieties, Vhazukka, from the Ashoka family together with EkoLand. It is unlike any other green cardamom we have ever tried with wonderful aroma and very balanced taste. We experience minty tones of kiwi fruit and pine shoots. It comes in whole pods to preserve its true flavor. This also allows you to toast them if you want to release nutty and complex flavors. Pound the pods slightly in a mortar to open the skin and then mildly crush the seeds to bring out most flavor. If you are a cardamom lover like us we would recommend that you get a pepper mill just for this spice. Once in the grinder you can easily add it to your coffee, smoothies, porridge or yogurt. Take an hour to remove the seeds from the husk and just add it to you grinder. Also available as peeled whole seeds Also part of the Starting - Sri Lanka bundle, together with Kandy Black Pepper, Sri Lankan Cinnamon and Polwaththa Curry Blend.
