Chai Pilgrimage

English: Cardamom

Botanical: Elettaria cardamomum

Sanskrit: Ela

Hindi: Elaichi

Nepali : Alaichi

Cardamom is equal in standing to ginger as a classic masala chai spice. In fact, if you use only these two spices in your chai, you can create a tasty, well-balanced brew. Medicinally, it is used to improve one’s taste sensation. Added to your masala, it can open your taste buds, allowing you to truly appreciate a yummy batch of chai. It also counteracts the mucus-forming properties of dairy, making it a healthy supplement to a milky chai. It has the additional benefit of freshening the breath.

For the lungs, cardamom is useful for those suffering from asthma, breathlessness or bronchitis. It is used to alleviate colds and cough and as an expectorant to expel phlegm. Cardamom is also indicated as an herbal remedy for many symptoms of digestive upset including indigestion, nausea, vomiting, belching, flatulence, bloating, colic and acid reflux.

For the best tasting masala chai, use whole, plump, green cardamom pods. Thoroughly grind the pod, and the brownish seeds within, with a mortar and pestle or a spice/coffee grinder. If you cannot find the whole pods, the decorticated (pod removed) seeds can be used, but will lack the fresh flavor of the full pod. It is not worth buying the powder because it oxidizes quickly after being ground and has already lost its potency and flavor on the shelf. I have found it is best not to boil the cardamom, but to add it to the masala after turning off the heat and let it steep. The volatile oils, and with them the flavor and medicinal value, are diminished with boiling.