The major use is for the preparation of ‘gahwa’ – a strong cardamom coffee concoction which is a symbol for hospitality among Arabs. Apart from this cardamom is widely used as a flavouring material in whole and ground form. In Asia, it can add a lingering sparkle to every kind of dishes both traditional and modern. In Scandinavian countries it is used in baked goods and confectionaries. In Europe and North America it is an ingredient in curry powder and in some sausages products.

Cardamom oil and oleoresin has applications in flavoring processed foods, cordials, and liquors and in perfumery and in Ayurvedic medicines.

Benefits of Cardamom Seeds For Skin:

Whoever thought that cardamom seeds would be the fountainhead to clean and healthy skin? Cardamom seeds indeed help in cleansing the skin, thereby removing all toxins and giving it a natural glow.

1. Cardamom seeds will help in hydrating your skin.

2. These seeds have been used since time immemorial for their healing powers. They also have good antibacterial properties.

3. They help in internal and external warming of the body, thereby resulting in increased circulation of blood.

4. They are also known for nourishing the skin and giving it a tranquil effect.

5. Cardamom seeds are also beneficial for their regulatory properties on the skin.

Benefits of Cardamom Seeds For Hair:

6. This delectable spice also stretches its merit to your hair’s health. This spice helps in strengthening the roots, thereby helping you gain strong hair. It is also known to provide shine and luster to your hair.

7. Steep the cardamom pods in Aloe Vera, oil and heat till you get the strong, delightful scent of cardamom. Take the saucepan off the stove and let it be for a day. Filter it out and voila. You have the cardamom-rich oil for your hair. Remember to use oil that doesn’t dominate the cardamom scent.

Benefits of Cardamom Seeds For Health:

This Queen of Spices offers a plethora of advantages due to its numerous healing capabilities and medicinal properties. In order to get an overview of its health benefits, read on.

8. Have you lost your appetite? Then add some powdered cardamom to your curry or chew some of its seeds to improve your appetite.

9. How many of us suffer from cold and headaches when its winter? You need to look no further. Just make cardamom tea and your headache will be gone in a jiffy!

10. Are you looking for a natural mouth freshener? Do you have odor problems? Chew a couple of cardamom seeds and it solves your breath problem (halitosis).

11. These seeds are the best solution for indigestion, belching and flatulence problems. Cardamom helps improve your digestion of food.

12. It is rich in minerals and vitamins like Vitamin A, B, C, niacin, riboflavin etc. It also helps in detoxification by removing toxins from the body. It is a great blood purifier and removes excess urea, calcium and other toxins from the kidney. This way, cardamom seeds are good for your kidney as well.

13. For those of you who suffer from hypertension, its time you consume cardamom on a regular basis as this spice has the capability of improving blood circulation to the lungs. This helps in reducing your blood pressure.

14. Various studies have shown that cardamom seeds are the storehouse of anti-bacterial and even anti-tumor properties. It is also known to be rich in antioxidants.

15. It also improves metabolism and boosts your immunity.

Cardamom Chewed as a Breath Freshener

Popping a cardamom pod in your mouth can help get rid of unwanted food smells and give your breath a nice, fresh odor. It makes a nice change from chewing gum and is great to chew after a spicy meal.

That’s just a small selection of the uses of this
gorgeous spice and it’s easy to see why it’s loved all around the world and has made its mark on so many cuisines. Once you’ve tried adding cardamom to your dishes on a regular basis, you will be hooked on its subtle flavor and warm tones. Try mixing it with other spices or adding different amounts of it to dishes, until you’ve worked out the ideal amounts for your favorite recipes. Begin with just a pinch in a bread or cake recipe, or a pod
in with casseroles or stews and work up from there.

Cardamom is an extremely versatile spice that is used in both sweet and savory cooking. It should be an essential store cupboard staple that can be used to add a touch of exotic flavor to bland dishes.

There are two main types of cardamom that are used for cooking – whole pods, and ground cardamom. The pods are fairly expensive and tend to be used more sparingly. In fact, cardamom is one of the world’s most expensive spices, after saffron and vanilla.

Here are just some of the recipes and foods that will benefit from the addition of cardamom:

1.Cardamom Flavoured Smoothies

Add some cardamom to fruit smoothies to give them an extra edge. It doesn’t matter what flavor
the basic smoothie is – in fact, the more exotic the better. Mango, pineapple, and guava are particularly good matches for this heady spice.

2 Cardamom Flavoured Fruit loaves

If you want to jazz up your banana bread or add a bit of life to your tired fruit loaf recipe, then a touch of ground cardamom will make a world of difference. Just add the spice when you are mixing in the rest of the dry ingredients and you will get a lovely warm, rich flavor from the finished loaf.

3 Cardamom Flavoured Bread

As with fruit loaves, a sprinkling of cardamom will do wonders for your bread rolls and loaves. Don’t worry about the cardamom turning green Cardamom podssavory bread into sweet; the spice will add just a hint of warmth to the flavor and you can add as little or as much as you like, depending on taste.

4 Cardamom Flavoured Puddings

Many desserts benefit from the addition of cardamom – rice pudding works especially well, but you could also try adding a little ground cardamom to ice cream, set custards, yogurt, and baked fruit.

5 Cardamom Flavoured Casseroles

A few pods added to a casserole dish will give a lamb, chicken or vegetable casserole an extra zing and makes a great entertaining or moving home cooked meal.

6 Cardamom Rice

A lot of people add a couple of bruised cardamom pods and a few cloves to the pot when they cook rice. It adds a subtle flavor to the rice, which works really well with Indian curries and vegetable dishes. This can be done with any kind of rice – basmati, brown, white, etc and it also works well with rice dishes like pilaff and biryani.

7 Roast Meat Flavoured with Cardamom

Cardamom is strong enough to hold its own with any grilled or roasted meat and yet it only adds to, and never detracts from, the main flavor of the recipe. Try adding a few pods to the roasting pan. The juices will make fantastic gravy once the meat has cooked.

8 Soups Flavoured with Cardamom

Spices always work well with soup, but have you tried cardamom yet? As it works equally well with sweet and savory dishes, you can experiment with any kind of soup – try it with carrot and coriander, or a chunky root vegetable soup.

9 Cardamom Tea and Coffee

Yes, that’s right; a couple of cardamom pods can transform a cup of tea into an exotic drink. Chai tea traditionally includes cardamom, as well as a number of other spices, but you can create your own drink based on your favorite flavors. Hot milk has a natural affinity to warm spicy
ingredients and cardamom is no exception.

Cardamom is also used to flavor coffee, sometimes referred to as Turkish coffee, and is especially popular drink in Arab countries. Lightly roasted and ground coffee is added to ground cardamom and brewed to create a flavored and perfumed coffee that indicates
social standing. Turkish coffee recipe.