Cardamom / Elaichi

The queen of spices. The soul of Kardemome. The most extraordinary thing in your kitchen.

There is a reason we named our brand after this spice.

Cardamom — elaichi — is unlike anything else in the spice world. It is simultaneously warm and cooling, floral and earthy, sweet and complex. It sits in your chai and in your biryani, in your kheer and in your garam masala, in Ayurvedic medicine and in the finest Indian desserts. No other spice crosses so many boundaries so effortlessly. No other spice has meant so much to Indian cooking, Indian culture, and Indian wellness for so long.

The word Kardemome is the Norwegian-English spelling of cardamom. We chose it because cardamom is the purest form of spice — the one that started everything for us, the one that runs through almost everything we make, the one that for us represents everything a great spice should be. Complex without being complicated. Bold without being aggressive. Irreplaceable without being difficult.

Kardemome's Green Cardamom — Elaichi — is sourced from premium quality whole green cardamom pods, plump and vibrant, with that immediate, extraordinary burst of fragrance the moment you crack one open. These are not pale, shrunken pods with seeds rattling loosely inside. These are full, tightly packed pods with seeds that carry real essential oil — the kind that perfume your fingers for hours after you handle them.

No artificial colours. No preservatives. No fillers. Just pure, premium whole green cardamom — the finest expression of India's greatest spice.

How to use whole cardamom pods

Crack, don't crush: For most applications, lightly crack the pod with the flat side of a knife or between your fingers — just enough to split it open slightly. This releases the aroma gradually into whatever you are cooking rather than all at once.

In hot oil or ghee: Drop cracked cardamom pods into hot fat at the beginning of cooking alongside other whole spices. They bloom immediately — the fragrance is extraordinary. Essential in biryani, pulao, and rich meat curries.

In boiling liquid: Drop whole pods into milk when making chai, kheer, or any sweet preparation. They infuse gently, releasing their flavour slowly and building in complexity the longer they sit.

Freshly ground: Remove the seeds from the pods — the green outer shell has almost no flavour, it is only the black seeds inside that carry the magic. Grind the seeds freshly using a mortar and pestle for the most vivid, immediate cardamom flavour possible. Use in chai masala, desserts, and any preparation where cardamom is a featured flavour.

As a mouth freshener: The oldest use of all. A single cardamom pod chewed after a meal. The seeds release their cooling, fragrant oils and leave the mouth fresh and clean. This is what Indians have done for thousands of years — long before any manufactured mouth freshener existed.

Where cardamom makes everything better

Chai: One cracked pod per cup, added to the water before the tea leaves. The flavour it gives to a cup of chai is irreplaceable — floral, warming, slightly cooling. This is what separates masala chai from ordinary tea.

Biryani: Whole pods bloomed in ghee are the first thing into the pot in every great biryani. They perfume the ghee which then coats every grain of rice.

Kheer and payasam: Two or three pods simmered in the milk as it reduces. The whole dessert takes on a gentle floral warmth that is the signature of great kheer.

Garam masala: Green cardamom is one of the defining spices in every authentic garam masala. Its presence is what gives great garam masala that floral, warming complexity that cheap blends can never achieve.

Sheer khurma: The Eid dessert. Whole cardamom pods simmered in ghee and milk with vermicelli, dates, and nuts. One of the finest things Indian cooking has ever produced.

Lassi: A pinch of freshly ground cardamom seed in a sweet lassi. Simple. Extraordinary.

Sweets and mithai: Cardamom is the defining flavour of most Indian sweets — gulab jamun, barfi, ladoo, halwa. It is what makes them taste unmistakably, beautifully Indian.

The Kardemome connection

Every single masala blend we make at Kardemome that calls for cardamom uses green cardamom sourced to the same standard as what is in this pouch. When you buy our whole cardamom seeds you are buying the same spice that goes into our Chai Masala No. 135, our Garam Masala No. 24, our Biryani Masala No. 15. The same source. The same quality. The same standard.

This is not a coincidence. It is a commitment.

The spiritual dimension

In Ayurvedic tradition cardamom is considered one of the most sattvic spices — pure, clarifying, conducive to calm and clarity of mind. It has been used for over 4,000 years in Ayurvedic medicine for digestive health, respiratory support, and as a natural breath freshener. In the spiritual traditions of India it is associated with abundance, warmth, and welcome — which is why it appears in so many celebratory and festive preparations.

We chose to name our brand after it for all of these reasons. The purity. The complexity. The history. The warmth.

Why Kardemome Green Cardamom?

• 100% pure — premium quality whole green cardamom pods, carefully sourced
• No preservatives, no artificial colours, no fillers
• Plump, full pods with tightly packed seeds rich in essential oils
• That immediate extraordinary fragrance that signals genuine freshness and quality
• The same spice that goes into every Kardemome masala blend that calls for elaichi
• The same uncompromising standard as every single Kardemome product
• Sourced with the reverence this spice deserves

Perfect for Every Indian kitchen, chai lovers who want their cup to taste the way it is supposed to taste, anyone making biryani or kheer at home, Ayurveda enthusiasts who use cardamom for its traditional wellness properties, bakers and dessert makers exploring Indian flavour profiles, anyone who chews an elaichi after meals and wants the best possible version of that ritual, and everyone who has ever opened a packet of cardamom and been transported somewhere warm and beautiful by the smell alone — because that is exactly what these pods will do the moment you open this pouch.