Is Cardamom the New Turmeric?
Health fads come and go. One day everyone is drinking lukewarm water with lemon juice, and the next the whole world has stopped eating gluten. Now I suddenly read that cardamom is the new turmeric. That’s a fad I can definitely get behind!
Turmeric in your tea, in your rice, put it in everything because, my goodness, it’s so good for you. It’s packed with antioxidants, aids digestion and can even reduce the risk of cancer. No wonder all our food has suddenly been bright yellow—the colour of turmeric—in recent years. But wait, does cardamom suddenly have all these properties too?
Green superfood
Yes indeed, the green spice is popping up everywhere as the ultimate new superfood. Normally, superfood can take a hike, but since I’m crazy about cardamom—and I always only believe the reports that contain fun things—I’m going all in on this one. When I see something with cardamom on a menu, which thankfully happens more and more often, I don’t give the rest of the menu another glance. That it’s packed with calcium, iron and magnesium, keeps your heart strong and helps with blood circulation? I believe that straight away!
Add the pods whole to sauces, stews or curries so the flavour infuses the dish. Be careful, though: as delicious as the flavour cardamom releases is, biting into one of those pods is absolutely horrible. So remove them, or eat around them. If you need cardamom powder, don’t put the whole pod in the blender. The outside isn’t edible, after all. Crush the pod with the side of a knife and remove the tiny seeds, which you can then grind.
As much cardamom as possible
So now the idea is to incorporate as much cardamom as possible into your diet. I’m happy to lend a hand. This originally Indian spice often features in Indian curries, such as this cardamom chicken curry. Or make meatballs with cardamom and tahini sauce. The great thing is that cardamom works well in both savoury and sweet dishes. Bring on the desserts. How about these poached pears with cardamom or cardamom pistachio cake?
