Cardamom pods: how to buy, open and use them

A cardamom pod is a small, ridged capsule that holds a cluster of tiny black seeds, and the seeds carry the flavour. Buy plump, fragrant green pods, crack them open to use the seeds, or drop a pod whole into rice, curry or tea. About ten pods give roughly one teaspoon of seeds.

What is a cardamom pod?

A cardamom pod is the dried fruit of the cardamom plant, a papery green husk that holds around fifteen to twenty small black seeds in three rows. The husk protects the seeds and keeps their oils from escaping.

Green cardamom pods are sometimes called elaichi in Hindi and Urdu, or choti elaichi, meaning small cardamom. Black cardamom pods are bigger, darker and wrinkled, and they have a different flavour. This guide is mostly about green pods, which are the ones used in chai, sweets and rice dishes.

How do you choose good cardamom pods?

Good cardamom pods are plump, firmly closed, even in colour and strongly fragrant when you rub one between your fingers. Flat, split or faded pods are likely old.

• Colour: pale to mid green is typical for fresh pods, while a grey-brown look suggests age.
• Smell: a sweet, perfumed, slightly camphor scent means the oils are intact.
• Shape: pods should be full and tightly closed, not hollow or papery.
• Pack: sealed, opaque packaging protects pods better than a clear bag in a bright shelf.

Check the date on the packet if there is one. Buying a small amount more often beats a large bag that sits for a year.

How do you open a cardamom pod?

To open a cardamom pod, press it flat with the side of a knife or crush it between your thumb and forefinger until the husk splits, then pick out the seeds.

1. Place the pod on a board and press the flat of a knife on it.
2. Lift the cracked husk away from the seeds.
3. Tip the black seeds into your palm or a bowl.
4. Save the husks to infuse tea or rice, or throw them out.

For sweets and baking, grind the seeds in a mortar until fine. For rice and curries, leave the seeds whole or just crush the pod lightly and add it whole.

How many cardamom pods do you need?

Most recipes use two to six green cardamom pods for a pot that serves four, and about eight to ten pods for each teaspoon of ground cardamom. Use fewer in delicate dishes, since the flavour is strong.

Pod size and seed count vary, so these are guides rather than exact figures.

How do you use whole cardamom pods in cooking?

Use whole cardamom pods by crushing them lightly and adding them early to hot oil, simmering liquid or rice so they release flavour slowly. The pods infuse the dish and can be removed before serving.

• Heat oil or ghee, add a crushed pod with cloves and a cinnamon stick, and cook for thirty seconds before adding onion.
• Add two pods to rice water for pulao or a plain basmati rice.
• Simmer pods in milk for kheer, custard or chai.
• Drop a pod into a cup of coffee or tea grounds for a spiced brew.

Whole pods are gentle. Ground seeds are sharper, so the same quantity of seeds gives a stronger taste than the same pods left whole.

Cardamom pods vs ground cardamom: which is better?

Cardamom pods are better for freshness and shelf life, while ground cardamom is better for speed and for smooth batters. The flavour of pods lasts for months, and the flavour of ground cardamom fades within weeks of opening.

Ground cardamom bought in a packet can include husk, which gives a duller, slightly woody flavour. Grinding seeds yourself in a mortar takes two minutes and makes a clear difference in kheer, halwa and baking.

How do you store cardamom pods?

Store cardamom pods in a sealed jar or tin in a cool, dark cupboard away from the hob. Whole pods keep their flavour for a year or longer when kept dry and closed.

Do not store pods above the stove or in a clear jar in sunlight. If you have a large bag, decant a small amount into a jar for daily use and keep the rest closed. Replace the pods when the smell has faded or the pods have gone pale and brittle.

What is the difference between cardamom pods and black cardamom pods?

Black cardamom pods are larger, darker and smokier than green pods, and they are used in savoury dishes such as biryani and meat curries. Green pods are small, sweet and floral.

Using black pods in place of green in a dessert gives a smoky flavour that most people find odd. Using green pods in place of black in a hearty curry works but loses depth. If a recipe says “cardamom pods” without a colour, it usually means green.

What mistakes do people make with cardamom pods?

The common mistakes with cardamom pods are using too many, leaving whole pods in food that will be eaten, and buying old stock. Each is easy to avoid.

• Too many pods: more than four or five in a pot of four servings tastes soapy.
• Eating the husk: whole pods are flavouring, so remove them or warn guests.
• Heating too hard: burning pods in smoking oil turns them bitter, so use medium heat.
• Skipping the crush: an uncracked pod releases little flavour, so split the husk first.
• Old stock: faded pods give water-thin flavour, and no extra quantity fixes that.

A few good pods in a small jar do more for a dish than a large bag of tired ones.

Will Mera Desh Grocery have cardamom pods?

Mera Desh Grocery is an Indian grocery store in Truganina, Victoria, and cardamom pods are the type of item such a store commonly stocks. This is a general expectation, not a recorded fact.

The recorded ranges, taken from a Google reviewer, are lentils, flour (atta), nuts, vegan snacks, frozen vegetables, paneer, yoghurt and buffalo milk, and spices are not listed. There is no online price list. To check, call 0430 123 394, or see the hours and location page and the menu and ranges page. This guide is independent and takes no orders.

Common questions

Planning a visit? Start with Mera Desh Grocery: address, opening hours, menu and directions in one place.

This article is general information from an independent guide, not from Mera Desh Grocery itself. For the store’s current details see hours and location.