Elakkai (green cardamom)

Elakkai (ஏலக்காய்) is Tamil for green cardamom, the pod of Elettaria cardamomum. It is called the queen of spices, and it is the one aromatic that South Indian sweets, chai and biryani all share. If you searched for aelakkaai or elakkaayi, this is the same spice – the spelling varies with transliteration.

Where ours comes from

Ours is grown in Burliar and Gudalur in the Nilgiris and picked green – the pods are dried slowly so they keep their colour and the seeds stay moist inside. A pale, slightly plump pod with a tight skin is what you want; a bleached white pod has usually been over-treated.

How it is used in South Indian cooking

• In payasam and halwa – the seeds crushed and added off the heat, so the aroma survives.
• In chai – crushed into the water with cloves and cinnamon before the tea goes in.
• In biryani – whole pods fried in ghee with the other whole spices.
• In kurma – with coconut, cashew and cinnamon for the pale Tamil kurma served with idiyappam.
• In coffee – a South Indian habit: one pod in the filter.

Storing it

Cardamom is at its best in the first six months. Keep the pods whole in an airtight jar and crush them as you need them; ground cardamom loses most of its aroma within weeks.

Buying and cooking

See pack sizes and prices, and the recipe for Semiya payasam with elakkai.