Black cardamom: a sexy beast that you can tame with spiced cauliflower

It’s taken me a long time to feel easy around use of black cardamom. Its aroma is forthright, all charcoal and campfire and smoky, dark night. For me, this spice is the man on the motorbike – sexy and slightly terrifying in its upfront appeal.

And yet what has ultimately seduced me about this aromatic is its undeniable sweetness. In the pan and correctly balanced, black cardamom’s dirty overtones soften. Take off the helmet and beneath is a delicate thread of smoky warmth.

Bringing forward black cardamom’s ethereal qualities requires a little insider knowledge.

First up, this spice needs to be buffeted. By this, I mean black cardamom needs companion spices that will rein in its big flavour just a little.

In this gobi sabji, I make use of other strong aromatics like clove and star anise to provide a little healthy aromatic competition. Star anise is an echo of black cardamom’s warmth, while clove’s medicinal element hears itself in black cardamom’s acrid undertone. Creating these kinds of fluid taste profile exchanges is a huge part of effective spice balance; doing so spreads and lengthens the intensity of spices, smoothing the taste experience.

And yet what has ultimately seduced me about this aromatic is its undeniable sweetness. In the pan and correctly balanced, black cardamom’s dirty overtones soften.

The cauliflower itself also plays an important role: its dense structure and complex taste notes (cold, creamy, earthy, bitter, neutral) mean it can carry a very heavy spice load.

Cauliflower also retains its shape through multiple cooking stages. This recipe calls for twice-cooked cauliflower. Wet-roasted or fried in the first instance, and then cooked on very low heat in ghee and spices for up to an hour. Cooking for this length of time gives black cardamom the opportunity to mellow and soften. Cauliflower will hold its shape throughout.

A few points to note:

Black cardamom pods are used whole. Their intense flavour is too much when crushed, at least in this dish. When reheating, I always remove the pod so that the flavour does not go through the dish twice and overpower with smoke.

Black cardamom and green cardamom are not interchangeable. Green cardamom’s taste notes run to menthol and eucalypt, the husk-green pod classified as a cool rather than a warm spice. (Identify cool spices by smelling – if they clear the back of your nasal passage, even gently, put them in this category.)

But the two cardamoms do work well together. My ratio? Around two or three green pods to black cardamom’s one.

Sarina Kamini is The Spice Mistress - spices tell her their secrets and she shares theirs with you. Don't miss her column, The Spice Mistress, on SBS Food. Keep in touch with in touch with her on Facebook @sarinakamini and Instagram @sarina_kamini.