Spice Guide

Consistency and quality control have been a hallmark of Patak's Foods since the company was founded. The flavor of Patak's® products is heavily dependent on the quality and freshness of the herbs and spices used and as such Kirit Pathak personally supervises their selection and importation from India and around the world.

It is the grinding process that releases aromatic oils from spices and these oils create the delicious flavors of Indian cuisine. Once ground, the flavors of the volatile oils fade rapidly.

With that in mind, one of the many things that set Patak's apart from other manufacturers is that the whole spices are ground at the point of manufacture to ensure freshness of flavor is retained.

Some herbs & spices commonly used in Indian cooking:

Cardamom / Elaichi

Cardamom is one of the world's very ancient spices. Known as "the Queen of Spices", it is actually the fruit of a large perennial bush that grows wild in the rainforests of the Western Ghats in Southern India. Today it also grows in Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Indo-China and Tanzania.

The ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom seeds as a tooth cleaner; the Greeks and Romans used it as a perfume. Vikings came upon cardamom about one thousand years ago, in Constantinople, and introduced it into Scandinavia, where it remains popular to this day.

Cardamom seeds come in hard green pods, containing 15-20 tiny dark brown or black seeds - the stickier the better. The aroma of cardamom is strong and penetrating yet fruity and mellow. The taste is lemony and flowery, with a note of camphor or eucalyptus due to cineole in the essential oil; it is pungent and smoky with a warm, bittersweet note, whilst also being clean and fresh.

As far as its uses go, cardamom is a very versatile spice with many uses in Indian cuisine: from tea flavoring to an essential ingredient in many curries, as a main constituent of garam masala, through to dhals, sweetmeats and kulfi (ice cream).

Cardamom is also believed to aid digestion and act as a breath freshener and Indians will often chew cardamom in the same way Americans chew gum.

Ground cardamom is present in Patak's® Rogan Josh, Jalfrezi, Garam Masala, Biryani and Dopiaza pastes and simmer sauces.

Did you know?

Cleopatra found the scent of crushed cardamom seeds so enticing that she is rumored to have scented the rooms of her palace with cardamom smoke when Marc Anthony paid her a visit!