Fried Rice
The Skinny Chef
After becoming acquainted with Indian cuisine, the first thing I bought were green cardamom pods and I had absolutely no idea what to do with them. You may know the taste of cardamom, if you've ever sipped a chai latte, but cardamom is also used in many savory Indian dishes including curries, pulaos and fritters.

Cardamom comes in two varieties -- black and green (which is much easier to find). Black cardamom, which has a dark and musty flavor, is used for breads and potato dishes in Nordic countries as well as in India. Green cardamom, which is also called the "true" cardamom, can have a pungent menthol overtone that some people have mistaken for mint when tasting my cardamom chocolate chip ice cream.

Here are simple ways to experiment with cardamom:
  • Adding 1/2 teaspoon ground green cardamom to ground coffee for a Turkish-inspired treat.

  • Cardamom pairs well with dried apricots. Try adding both to an oatmeal raisin cookie recipe -- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom along with 1/4 cup chopped apricots.

  • Mix your next batch of mashed sweet potatoes with a little orange juice and 1/4 teaspoon cardamom.

  • Make a luscious chai latte with green cardamom pods.


Get the Skinny Chef's Indian Fried Rice with Cardamom recipe.

Nutritional Stats Per Serving (1 1/2 cups):
352 calories, 7 g protein, 54 g carbohydrates, 12 g fat (1 g saturated), 0 mg cholesterol, 2g fiber, 297 mg sodium.