serves
4
prep
45 minutes
cook
4 hours
difficulty
Mid
serves
4
people
preparation
45
minutes
cooking
4
hours
difficulty
Mid
level
Green cardamom is the dessert queen of Indian spice.
It has a floral sweetness that makes it a perfect match with condensed dairy and rosewater and is used in everything from kulfi and kheer to barfi and halwa. However, green cardamom’s husky eucalyptus quality makes it an ideal inclusion in savoury dishes, too.
In traditional Kashmiri cuisine, green cardamom is a staple in paneer and rogan josh - festive, time-consuming dishes that employ this particular spice to cut through the heavy aromatic weight of rich tomato-based masalas.
Outside of curry, I use green cardamom in the same way.
With chicken cacciatore, the strength of green cardamom is in its ability to match up to strong salty umami flavours of chicken fat, olives, slow-cooked tomatoes and salted capers and provide a point of floral contrast. A prettier spice might get lost. But not green cardamom.
Using the spice in this kind of tomato-based slow cooks means always using the spice in its whole state, as a pod and not as a ground spice. Changing the form of spice changes its flavour profile: by grinding down cardamom much of its last and intensity is lost, and the spice itself becomes prettier but far less impactful.
Leave the pods in for the whole cook. Upon reheating the meal after refrigeration, remove the pods - whole spice will go through the dish a second time upon heating, overpowering existing flavours.
Green cardamom top tips
• Use a mortar and pestle to crack the pods before putting them in the dish to help the spice release its aroma with more speed and intensity.
• Green cardamom pairs beautifully with whole black cardamom pods in savoury dishes. When combining, use less of both: two black cardamom pods and four or five green cardamom pods is plenty in a dish with a heavy aromatic profile.
• Green cardamom pods are delicious warmed through porridge with ground cinnamon and clove.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cornflour
- 3 chicken Maryland
- 3 tbsp mustard oil (see note)
- 4 celery sticks
- 4 carrots
- 1 leek
- 1 small white onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 bay leaves
- ½ tsp fine pink salt
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- ½ tsp Kashmiri red chilli
- 6 green cardamom pods, cracked
- ¼ cup salted capers
- ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 600 ml veal stock
- ½ cup sugo
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- On a plate, season cornflour with white salt and cracked black pepper and coat the chicken well.
- Heat the mustard oil in a large pot until sizzling then brown off the chicken until slightly caramelised, turning to brown on both sides.
- Once browned, remove the pot from the heat and place chicken on a paper towel, reserving the oil and fat in the pot.
- On a chopping board, finely dice the onion, garlic, celery, carrot and leek to form the mirepoix.
- Put the pot back on the stove to medium heat and add the diced vegetables. Cook down until softened.
- Once the mirepoix is softened, add all the remaining spice, the additional pink salt and black pepper, capers, olives and tomato paste. Stir through.
- Once combined, add the veal stock and sugo. Top with a little water if extra liquid is needed in the pot.
- With the lid off, slow cook for three to four hours on very low heat, or until the chicken falls off the bone.
- Prepare couscous, rice or pasta and serve with a green salad.
Note
• Mustard oil is available at Indian and Asian grocers. It’s made from crushed mustard seeds and is a staple of cooking across India’s regions. If you don’t have mustard oil simply use the traditional olive oil in its place.
'Not just curry' is a fortnightly recipe column on SBS Food lead by spice lover, Sarina Kamini. It shares the flavourful insights and potential behind a different spice that may be tucked away in your pantries and is celebrated with a brand-new recipe. .
Photography, styling and food preparation by Sarina Kamini.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
Green cardamom is the dessert queen of Indian spice.
It has a floral sweetness that makes it a perfect match with condensed dairy and rosewater and is used in everything from kulfi and kheer to barfi and halwa. However, green cardamom’s husky eucalyptus quality makes it an ideal inclusion in savoury dishes, too.
In traditional Kashmiri cuisine, green cardamom is a staple in paneer and rogan josh - festive, time-consuming dishes that employ this particular spice to cut through the heavy aromatic weight of rich tomato-based masalas.
Outside of curry, I use green cardamom in the same way.
With chicken cacciatore, the strength of green cardamom is in its ability to match up to strong salty umami flavours of chicken fat, olives, slow-cooked tomatoes and salted capers and provide a point of floral contrast. A prettier spice might get lost. But not green cardamom.
Using the spice in this kind of tomato-based slow cooks means always using the spice in its whole state, as a pod and not as a ground spice. Changing the form of spice changes its flavour profile: by grinding down cardamom much of its last and intensity is lost, and the spice itself becomes prettier but far less impactful.
Leave the pods in for the whole cook. Upon reheating the meal after refrigeration, remove the pods - whole spice will go through the dish a second time upon heating, overpowering existing flavours.
Green cardamom top tips
• Use a mortar and pestle to crack the pods before putting them in the dish to help the spice release its aroma with more speed and intensity.
• Green cardamom pairs beautifully with whole black cardamom pods in savoury dishes. When combining, use less of both: two black cardamom pods and four or five green cardamom pods is plenty in a dish with a heavy aromatic profile.
• Green cardamom pods are delicious warmed through porridge with ground cinnamon and clove.
