Mudlady, I bought cardamon to make Sol's Dirt Bombs. I wasn't going to make them because cardamom was $8 a bottle at the local WalMart, but I found it at Penzey's for $2.35. So much for the theory that Penzey's is expensive and Walmart is cheap! Anyway, I had posted that I wouldn't make the Dirt Bombs because no way was I baking an $8 batch of muffins, and a couple of members here promptly sent me cardamom pods.

I found that cardamom is a lot cheaper and readily available at Indian/Mediterranean groceries and Penzey's, and it comes in different colors, in pods as whole cardamom and already ground for you.

And, if you want, here's the recipe for the Dirt Bombs. My current quest to lost that 12 pounds I gained back is preventing me from making any, but they are yummy...

Dirt Bombs
Yields: 12 muffins*

3 cups AP flour, minus 3 tablespoons
1 tablespoon baking powder
teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cardamon
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk **

Topping ***

¾ cups unsalted butter, melted
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400º F. Place the rack in the center position. Generously grease a 12-cup standard muffin pan.

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cardamon into a mixing bowl. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl down half way through. Mix in the eggs. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk in two additions, mixing gently by hand to incorporate all the flour. The batter will be on the stiff side, but airy. DonÂt over mix or beat the batter as this will make the muffins tough. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, without smoothing the tops. Bake for about 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. As soon as the muffins are cool enough to handle, turn them out onto a wire rack.

Add the melted butter to a bowl. In another bowl, mix the sugar and cinnamon.
Dip the muffins (top, sides and bottom) in the butter, using a pastry brush -if necessary- to cover areas not buttered by dipping. Immediately roll the muffins in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*I've made this twice, and both times, this recipe has yielded 16 muffins instead of 12.
**I substituted whole buttermilk for whole milk because I always have it on hand and prefer it for baking.
*** The amounts listed for the sugar and cinnamon are not quite enough to coat all the muffins, so I recommend you double it.

I also have this recipe saved, I haven't tried it, but I'm going to, it's Marigene's:

CARDAMOM SOUR CREAM COOKIES

1 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
5 cups flour
½ tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 Tblsp. cardamom (ground)
1-1/2 cups walnuts, ground fine

Beat shortening until light; add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and eggs to mix thoroughly. Beat in sour cream.

Soft together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Fold in ground walnuts.

Chill 1 hour or until dough is easy to handle.

Roll pieces of dough into about an inch ball (I use a small ice cream/cookie scoop), roll in mixture of sugar and cardamom. Flatten with bottom of lightly greased drinking glass.

Bake in 350° F. oven for about 12 minutes. Remove to racks to cool.

Posted by Marigene at the ths.com Cooking Forum.

Of COURSE I saved a healthy recipe. Yeah, it has carrots, and this one was posted by Caliloo/Alexa:

Cardamom Carrots

Ingredients:
1/4 cup orange juice
2 pounds carrots, cut into 2-inch julienne strips
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon grated orange peel

Directions:
1. Place 1 in. of water in a saucepan; add carrots and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 7-9 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. In a large skillet, combine the orange juice, butter, brown sugar, cardamom and orange peel. Cook and stir over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Add carrots; toss to coat.

That ought to help you use up the jar of cardamom that you KNOW you're gonna buy, LOL.

Annie

I think any dry spice--even cinnamon--benefits from being heated gently in oil or liquid. Dry cardamon sprinkled on top doesn't really appeal to me.

Cardamom, both black and green, is used in many Indian dishes, both savoury and sweet, but you notice the flavour more in sweet dishes. In Europe it's almost exclusively used in cakes, cookies and desserts. Here is an Indian drink recipe I like:

Classic cardamom chai:

1 cup water
1 cup milk
1-2 tbs loose-leaf black tea (the finer the tea, the stronger the taste, so adjust amount accordingly) OR 2-3 bags of black tea (do not use flavoured tea, like Earl Grey. English Breakfast blend works fine. Teas with robust flavour work best)
8 green cardamom pods
sugar to taste

Bring the water to the boil. Lightly crush the cardamom pods (don't break them, just crush them enough to open them up) and cook in the water for about 5 minutes. Add the tea and cook for 2 minutes or so. Add the milk and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat, strain and serve with sugar to taste.

For extra strong cardamom flavour, let the water boil, cook the cardamoms, let stand for about an hour, bring back to the boil, etc.

Welcome to cardamom -- one of my personal favorites and supposedly the "it" spice of 2010!

Do a quick search and you should tturn up aa tone of recipes.

A pinch sprinkled over a hamburger as it cooks.

A pinch over your coffee grounds before the coffee brews.

: )
lyra

Love love love cardamom! It may well be my favorite, surpassing cloves, cinnamon and even allspice which I adore. Lyra, I have had it over coffee grounds, but never thought to have it on a burger LOL! I will be ginving that a try the next time I make them.

And Netla, I cant wait to try the cardamom chai recipe.

Alexa

My husband and I lived in Saudi Arabia for years, and we enjoyed a chicken-and-rice dish called kapsa. (Kapsa can actually be made with any meat, and chicken is the least preferred for most locals, but we loved it.) Take your favorite pilaf recipe and add raisins and cashews, as well as whole cardamom pods and whole cloves (about 5 of each for 1 cup of rice.) Serve with roasted chicken. Just be sure to pick out the cloves and cardamom pods before you bite into them. They're way too strong undiluted.

You can, of course, do this with cardamom powder and clove powder, too. It's a very nice, subtle flavor.

jenel, that sounds good! Just plain roasted chicken? No garnish or sauce of any kind?

The sour cream apple pie I just made has a cardamom struesel on it.

Here's something I like.

Cardamom Spice Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
2 Cups Half &Half
1 TBSP Honey
½ Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cup Sugar
1 ½ TSP Cardamom
1 ½ TSP Cinnamon
1 ¼ TSP Vanilla Extract
2 TSP Lemon Juice
1 Pinch of Salt

Instructions
Blend all ingredients together and freeze according to your ice cream maker instructions.

I tried this last weekend. Not bad, but I don't think I'll make it again.

Cardamom-Honey Bread Pudding

6 thick slices crusty, stale French bread
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups milk
1 egg
pinch salt

Shred the bread, into 2cm cubes and arrange, tightly packed, into a glass baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the egg, milk, cardamom, vanilla and nutmeg until well blended. Add the honey, and whisk until the mixture is frothy. Pour the liquid over the bread and leave for 1 hour, pressing the top every 10-15 minutes with a spatula to prevent the top from drying out. Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes or until the top is puffy and browned. Cool on a rack for 20-30 minutes before serving.

jimisham, that ice cream sounds really good, I'd love the combo of brown sugar and spice, I think. Thanks!

And welcome to the Cooking Forum.

Annie

Its one of the ingredients in a Swedish Meatball recipe I got on this forum....sorry the person who gave it to me escapes me and the recipe is in another place. But the recipe is killer!

AnnT once posted a recipe for Creamy Coconut Cardamom Rice Pudding Brulee along with a mouth-watering picture of it. If someone has it and knows how to link it with her photo, please do.

I'll check back to see if anyone posts it here. If not, I'll at least pass on the recipe.

Cardamom is probably more expensive from WalMart and at your local grocery store than from Penzeys or the Indian market because it is so rarely used in Western cooking, and once ground, loses flavor quickly. It is one spice I never buy pre-ground, as the pods seem to seal in the flavor of the little seeds. Breaking open pods I have had several years to grind the seeds provides an aroma that fills the whole kitchen, whereas a container of pre-ground has very little aroma even a couple months after purchase.

Jimisham, that ice cream sounds heavenly, and I have copied it to try this summer when we pull out the ice cream maker once again.

Many of what we Westerners would think of as "sweet" spices (cinnamon, cloves, mace, cardamom, fenugreek, allspice etc) are used to very good effect in Indian meat dishes and other savory concoctions.

Here is the recipe for the first curry I ever made, a good intro into both Indian curries and cardamom as the flavors, while distinct, are not so strange to folks unfamiliar with Indian foods as to be off-putting. It is from, "The Book of Curries & Indian Foods" by Linda Fraser, HP Books.

Madras Meat Curry

1 1/2 lbs beef round steak
2 T veg oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
4 whole cloves
4 green cardamom pods, bruised
3 green chiles, seeded, finely chopped
2 dry red chiles, seeded, crushed
1 (1 inch) piece fresh gingerroot, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 t ground turmeric
1/4 c water
1/4 c tamarind nectar*
salt to taste

Cut beef into 1 inch cubes. Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan, add beef and cook until browned all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add onion, cloves and cardamom to pan; cook, stirring, about 8 minutes, until onion is soft and golden brown. Stir in chiles, gingerroot, garlic, coriander and turmeric; cook 2 minutes. Return beef to pan, add water and cover. Simmer one hour.

Stir in tamarind nectar and salt; simmer another 20 to 30 minutes, until beef is tender.

*Tamarind nectar: Soak a walnut sized piece of tamarind paste in 1 cup boiling water about 20 minutes, then squeeze in a cheesecloth to extract liquid, discard pulp. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week. Tamarind nectar is also available commercially.

My recipe notes: Unless you/your fellow diners really like spicy hot food, you might want to cut the amount of green chili and forbear to crush the dry red chilies. As written, the recipe isn't overly hot to someone accustomed to the Indian style of using chilies, but better to have to add some pepper at table than to be unable to eat dinner.

I have never found tamarind nectar sold commercially. Tamarind concentrates are easy enough to find in Indian and SouthEast Asian markets, but vary in strength I'm afraid, so it's difficult to provide instructions on how to use them. You can use sweetened Lime juice as a substitute, I would probably use 4 parts lime juice to 1 part light brown sugar.

I've had those "Dirt Bombs" on my to-try list for I can't tell you how long. I still remember the beautiful picture of them. I must get my act together and start getting through that list!

One of my (many) favourites!

It is claimed that eating cardamom every day will improve eyesight, strengthen the nervous system and generally improve health. Seeds prepared as a tea are used to treat sore throat, as a preventative for morning sickness and nausea, rheumatism and migraine, incontinence, bronchitis, asthma, complaints of the lung, bedwetting and digestive disorders. Seeds are chewed to aid digestion and sweeten the breath. A little cardamom taken each day may improve gluten intolerance.

Crush cardamom pods and saute with vegetables and or add to rice or lentils before cooking.

Young shoots can be steamed or roasted as a vegetable. Large leaves can be used to wrap fish, chicken or meat before cooking.

Infuse the seeds or pods in liquid to flavour ice-cream, sorbets and custards, or add seeds to cakes and biscuits.

Cardamom Rolls
2 cups milk, scalded
2 sachets dry yeast
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
7 cups flour
melted butter or egg white
chopped almonds

Grease 2 loaf tins. Preheat oven to 190°C. Cool milk till lukewarm. Sprinkle yeast on top of milk. Let stand for 10 minutes (do not stir). Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time. Stir yeast and milk and add cardamom. Combine with egg mixture, then stir in flour. Knead dough till smooth. Place in a greased large bowl and let rise till double. Punch down and let rise again till double. Divide dough and shape into dinner size rolls. Place in prepared tins and let rise again till double. Brush tops with butter or egg white; sprinkle with chopped almonds. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Pineapple with Cardamom Syrup
1 medium pineapple, peeled, cored, and sliced into 8 rings
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons crushed cardamom seeds
vanilla ice cream

Preheat the oven to 150°C. Place the pineapple slices on an oven tray and heat them until warm. In a medium saucepan, stir the sugar, orange juice, and cardamom seeds over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat slightly and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until syrupy. Let cool until warm. Place two pineapple slices on each dessert dish and drizzle with cardamom syrup. Top with one or two scoops of ice cream and pour on a little more syrup. Pass the rest of the syrup at the table.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Creamy Coconut Cardamom Rice Pudding
====================================

Rice:
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp jasmine rice or basmati rice
1/4 cup sugar
1 (13.5 fluid oz) can coconut milk
1 cup whole milk
1/4 tsp salt

Custard:
16 cardamom pods
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
5 egg yolks
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Cook the rice: Preheat the oven to 325F. Place the rice in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Place the rice in a heavy-bottomed medium-sized saucepan with 2 cups cold water. Bring the rice to a boil and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Strain the rice and discard the starchy water. Place the blanched rice back in the pan and add the sugar, coconut milk, milk, and salt. Bring to a boil, remove from the heat, and cover the pan with aluminum foil or the lid. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the rice expands and absorbs all liquids, 30 minutes. If the pan is not oven proof, transfer the rice to a metal or glass baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. If there is still runny milk in the pan, continue to bake, covered, for another 5 to 10 minutes. When the rice is done, remove it from the oven, leave it covered, and set it aside.

2. Make the custard: While the rice is baking, make the custard. Using the bottom of a small frying pan, crush the cardamom pods to split them open. (*I used a mortar and pestle.) In a heavy saucepan combine the cardamom pods and seeds, 1/2 cup of the sugar, milk, and cream and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat and allow the cardamom to steep for 10 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, combine the egg yolks, egg, and remaining 2 tbsp of sugar and briefly whisk for 1 minute. Using a ladle, slowly whisk some of the hot cream into the egg mixture to warm it. Gradually pour the warmed egg mixture into the hot cream, whisking the cream constantly as you pour.

Cook the custard over medium heat, stirring continuously and scraping the bottom with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, until the custard thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and strain the custard to remove the cardamom pods and seeds.

3. Combine the custard and the rice: Scoop the rice into a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot custard over the rice and, using a whisk, slowly whisk until all of the rice granules are dispersed evenly and the mixture is thoroughly combined. Add the vanilla extract. Allow the rice pudding to cool completely. This pudding will keep, refrigerated, for 3 days.

Variation: "Brulee"

Spoon pudding into ramekins and chill.

Sprinkle sugar over top of custards and place under the broiler or use a torch to caramalize.
. My Notes:

Substituted a vanilla bean for the cardamom pods.

I split a vanilla bean and scraped the seeds into the milk and cream,
along with the sugar, brought to a simmer and left to steep for 10
minutes.

Ann that pudding looks heavenly! It's a little after 9:00 here and I would just kill for a spoon full of that.

Craig Claiborne's Cardamom Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 to 1 teaspoon ground cardamom seeds (use freshly ground if you can, it will make a tremendous difference)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Sift flour and cream of tartar into a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, cream together butter, cardamom, baking soda and salt. Add sugar and beat until well combined, then beat in egg and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture, 1/3 at a time, until fully incorporated. Pluck tablespoons of dough and roll them into 1 1/2 inch balls between your hands, flatten them slightly in your palms, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet about 1 inch apart (the cookies will not spread much). If youre bored, you can score a crosshatch design on them with the back of a thin knife. Bake cookies at 350°F for 10-12 minutes, until light golden brown and look slightly dry around the edges. Cool on baking sheet 10 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

These are "adult" cookies and are addictive and wonderful!
Jim in So. Calif.