the Queen of Spices

If you visit tourist places in Goa and Kerala, you can visit spice gardens.Some plantation owners have improvised their spice gardens into tourist attractions.
You can see a variety of plants where different spices come from.
The guide will answer your questions and clarify your doubts.
Your host will serve you authentic local meals in virgin surroundings and arrange a traditional dance.

Background

We Indians use a lot of spices in our daily food.
But most of us do not know where the spices come from.
Someone suggested that I should write about the spices in my blog.
So here we go.
This one on Elaichi is another in a series on Spices of India. Elaichi (Cardamom) is one of the most popular spices and is known as the “Queen of Spices”. It is used in tea and coffee; various food preparations; and in medicinal concoctions.I personally love Elaichi tea and lassi. In most parts of India, hotels and restaurents will serve you Elaichi tea and lassi on asking.

What is Elaichi (Cardamon or Cardamon)

The name Elaichi is used for the fruits of the herbs within two genera of the ginger family Zingiberaceae, namely Elettaria (the commoner Green or Choti Elaichi) and Amomum (the larger Black Elaichi). The fruits of both varieties are small seedpods, triangular in cross-section, spindle-shaped, with a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds inside.
The Elettaria seedpods are smaller and light green in colour.
The Amomum seedpods are larger and dark brown to blackish in colour.The black seeds of both varieties are used.

Culinary Uses

Elaichi has a strong, distinctive taste, with an intense aromatic fragrance. In the Middle East and Asian countries, powdered Green Elaichi is used as a spice for sweet dishes and for flavouring tea and coffee.
Black Elaichi has a distinctly more astringent aroma, with a coolness similar to mint.
Black Elaichi is used in ‘garam masala’ for curries.In some Middle East countries, coffee and Elaichi are cooked and ground together in a ‘mihbaz’, an oven using wood or gas, and crushed in a wooden mortar to produce mixtures that are as much as forty percent cardamom.
In European countries, Elaichi has been used for making gin.

Medicinal Uses

Green Elaichi is used to treat infections in the teeth and gums; to prevent and treat throat troubles; congestion of the lungs and pulmonary tuberculosis; inflammation of the eyelids; and a host of stomach disorders including stomach-aches, constipation, dysentery and other digestion problems.
It is used as an antidote for both snake and scorpion bites.

Planting

Fresh Elaichi seeds are sown in special nurseries within 7-10 days of collection.
When the plants are about 1-2 years old, they are planted into a field, below shady trees.
Elaichi is often intercropped with tea, betel nut  or black pepper.

Harvesting

The fruits are harvested in the third year when they are still green, but the seeds inside them have changed from white to brown or black.
The fruits ripen over an extended period and are harvested every 3 to 5 weeks.
They are then washed and the stalks are clipped off.

Curing

After harvesting, the Elaichi is cured – the moisture is reduced from 80% to 10 to 12% at an optimum temperature of 50C to retain the green colour to the maximum extent.This is done by natural (sun drying); or artificial drying by using fire wood (traditional flue pipe system), electrical current, etc.  After drying, the Elaichi is polished by rubbing against hard surface or using polishing machines.
The dried Elaichi is then stored in gunny bags.

Njallani variety

Sebastian Joseph, a 76-year-old farmer, and his son Regimon, developed a new variety of Elaichi in Idukki in Kerala.
Named Njallani, it gives yield of 1,500 kg/ha against the traditional yield of 200 kg/ha hectare.The father and son also started planting shoots instead of seedlings which cuts down the fruiting time from three years to two years. 

Oil

When the seeds are crushed, they give us Elaichi oil.
Oleoresins are also produced commercially using crushed fruits.
They are used mainly as an alternative to the spice, for flavouring a wide range or processed and frozen foods, condiments, gelatines and beverages.
These are also used to a minor extent as tobacco flavouring, in cosmetics, soaps, lotions and perfumes.  

Recommendation

Elaichi is one of the most expensive spices by weight, and one of the most sought after spices.
From time immemorial, India was the home of the Elaichi and its major producer. But Guatemala has crossed us and become the world’s largest producer and exporter of Elaichi with a staggering exports of US$137.2 million for 2007.