JaanYar
Chapter 1 of 20

Cardamom

The Essentials

A handful of pale green cardamom pods gathered in the bowl of a stone mortar, each pod ridged and pointed at both ends
Whole green pods keep their oils; once ground, cardamom loses its perfume within weeks.

If you've ever finished a meal with cardamom tea, you'll know why cardamom is the everyday Persian after-meal lifter. Chai-ye hel (Persian cardamom tea) covers both jobs at once — the digestion and the mood.

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Use the green pod (Elettaria) for Persian and Ayurvedic remedies, not the smoky black pod (Amomum).

Two to four crushed pods a day is a comfortable culinary range, and they're best crushed just before use. The aroma collapses within hours of grinding.