Part III of the series "Cardamom Uses around the world' brings us to Africa. where cardamom was first used by the Ancient Egyptians as a perfume and tooth cleaner. nowadays it is commonly used in northern and eastern African cuisine to flavor numerous dishes, coffee and tea.
Ethiopia
Cardamom is used as an ingredient in berbere and mitmita, two different spice pastes. Berbere may also include ginger, coriander, fenugreek, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, onions, garlic, salt, paprika, cayenne pepper and black pepper. Mitmita may contain chili peppers, clove, salt, and other spices which include, but are not limited to, cinnamon, cumin and ginger. Both spice mixes are used in a wide variety of savory dishes. Cardamom is also used in coffee rituals.
 |
berbere |
 |
Mitmita |
Morocco
Cardamom is used as an ingredient in Moroccan lentil soup and ras el hanout, which typically contains cardamom, chili powder, cinnamon, clove, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, peppercorn and turmeric, although it purportedly may contain up to 100 spices.
 |
| Moroccan Lentil Soup |
 |
| Ras El Hanout |
Egypt
Cardamom is ground and used to flavor coffee. It was claimed that Cleopatra used cardamom to perfume her palace for Mark Anthony as it was considered an aphrodisiac. Smooth, subtle and delicious.
 |
| Coffee with Cardamom |
 |
| Cardamom Scent |
North Africa (general)
In areas of North Africa, cardamom is used in ras el hanout, a popular blend of herbs and spices. Cardamom is one of the most popular spices, with cardamom coffee being a symbol of prestige and hospitality.
 |
| Caramelized Pumpkin Slices with Cardamom Syrup - Algeria |
 |
| North African Braised Chicken |
No comments:
Post a Comment