In this Chicken Biryani recipe (link), where it says ground cardamom do I grind with/without pods?

Ground cardamom is just the seeds....

if you have no pre-ground spice, you'll need to open the pods to get the seeds out.
I've done this, and don't recommend it unless you have gobs of free time! (and really tough fingernails)

 
OH! But you can't beat the flavor -- fresh is hands-down better!!

I just lay the flat side of my big knife on them, hit it with the heel of my hand, and the pods pop open. I have no trouble getting the little seeds out.

 
fwiw ? Forget the SLOW process.... bang the heck out of it with the flat knife smileys/smile.gif

 
Lol, that's exactly what I did, some of the seeds were black and some brown, are the brown ones over

the hill? I used the Green cardamom from Penzeys. I must say the aroma of the ground seed was wonderful. I saved the extra, but it tends to lose it's fragrance fast.

 
I, too, found different colors, but throw it all in. You can buy green cardomom

REAL cheap at an Indian store -
 
Thanks Judy, I just used mostly black ones, but some of the brown and it was very fragrant. I'll

look for the cardamom at an Indian-owned Italian store near me.

 
Indian grocery stores are such great places

to shop for spices and grains. I cna't see paying supermarket prices for lentils or basmati rice, when it's so much less in one of the many Indian shops we have around.
I stopped into one last weekend and bought a package of garam masala, a bag of red lentils, mango powder and one other item (what it was escapes me right now) and my bagful cost $5.25.

 
I got an Indian cookbook recently....

as a freebie from Jessica's Biscuit. It's Indian Menus for all Occasions, and the author uses mango powder in many recipes. I have yet to open the package, but it's reputed to add a sour note to dishes.

 
It might also have a thickening aspect to it.

When I make mango chutney or salsa, which I cook, they always have a tendancy to thicken up more than the other fruit salsas.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top