Cardamon (buah pelaga) (27 October 2008)
Cardamon or
buah pelaga are small pods with a papery outer skin and small black seeds. There are actually two types of cardamon: green cardamon (pictured on this page) comes from the tree with the scientific name
Elettaria, distributed from India to Malaysia. Then there's the black cardamon,
Amomum, also called Siamese cardamon, found in Asia and Australia. Both these two types of cardamon are used for flavoring foods.
Like the
star anise and
clove, cardamons are also used in curries, especially the Indian type. It is another spice that, though I can't do without, I would not like to bite into. Hence, in dishes where I know there are cardamons, I make sure to remove them to avoid any unpleasant surprises.