Cardamom Uses Around The World Part III. Africa

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

MANGO LASSI WITH CARDAMOM

Ingredients:

2 Mangoes 

1/4 milk

6 tsp of Yogurt

Sugar ( to your taste)

Seeds of 1 Green cardamom Pod.

Welcome to Cardamom Nation

This is not just a blog about cardamom recipes, this is a place dedicated to showcase the benefits, uses and history of this millenary spice and how it has spread around the globe through the centuries. we are also going to  pay close attention to a cardamom farmers project that started in Colombia about eight years ago,  by my grandfather Alonso in the region of Antioquia.

I hope you will find this blog interesting, please feel free to comment or share your experiences as a cardamom lover, producer, distributor. this is the place to be if you are a cardamom fan.