- Home
- Ayurveda library
- Cardamom (Ela)
Cardamom (Ela)
Ela
The 'queen of spices': fragrant, gentle and balancing for every dosha. How Ayurveda uses cardamom, what research says about its benefits, and cardamom milk and chai.
- PotencyCooling (sheeta) in the classical texts, though it feels warm and aromatic
Cardamom is prized for its fragrance and for making heavy foods like milk, rice and sweets easier to digest. It is aromatic and lifting without being harsh, so it suits most people, and a single crushed pod changes a whole pot of tea.
Cardamom in Ayurveda
The Bhavaprakasha describes small cardamom (sukshma ela) as light, cooling and balancing to Vata and Kapha, and lists it for cough, breathlessness, urinary discomfort and nausea. In the kitchen its main job is to make heavy, mucus-forming foods such as milk and sweets lighter and easier to digest, and to freshen the breath.
Green vs black cardamom
- Green cardamom (sukshma ela): small, sweet and fragrant; used in tea, milk, rice and sweets
- Black cardamom (brihat ela): large, smoky and more heating; used in savoury dishes and spice blends
Ayurvedic properties
- Taste · rasa
- Pungent, sweet
- Potency · virya
- Cooling (sheeta) in the classical texts, though it feels warm and aromatic
- After digestion · vipaka
- Sweet (madhura)
Effect on the doshas: Balances all three doshas; especially good for Vata and Kapha, and gentle enough for Pitta.
How to use it
- Added to chai and warm milk
- Lightly crushed in rice pudding (kheer) and sweets
- Chewed to freshen the breath
- Added to coffee to soften its harshness
- A pod or two in rice while it cooks
Cardamom milk
- Lightly crush 2 green cardamom pods
- Simmer in 1 cup of milk for 3 to 5 minutes
- Add a pinch of nutmeg for a bedtime drink, or ginger in cold weather
- Strain, and sweeten with a little jaggery or, once slightly cooled, honey
Benefits
A few small clinical trials have tested cardamom powder, usually about 3 g a day, in people with high blood pressure, prediabetes or fatty liver, with some improvements in blood pressure and blood markers. They are small and short, so cardamom should not replace treatment. Its aroma and its effect on digestion and breath are the everyday reasons to use it.
The Bhavaprakasha (Karpuradi varga) distinguishes small and large cardamom and describes small cardamom as cooling, light and good for cough, breathlessness and urinary complaints. Cardamom has been traded from the Western Ghats of India for over two thousand years.
Safety
Safe in culinary amounts. Concentrated supplements may interact with medication, and people with gallstones should ask a doctor before taking large medicinal doses.
Ayurveda is a traditional system of medicine. This guide is educational and does not replace advice from a doctor or qualified practitioner — never stop prescribed treatment based on it.
Questions
Why add cardamom to milk?
Ayurveda uses it to make milk lighter and easier to digest, and to reduce the mucus milk can cause.
Is chewing cardamom good for you?
Chewing a pod after meals is a traditional way to freshen the breath and aid digestion.
Is cardamom heating or cooling?
The classical texts describe green cardamom as cooling, though it tastes warm and pungent. Black cardamom is more heating.
How much cardamom is safe a day?
Kitchen amounts, a few pods or up to about a teaspoon of powder, are safe for most people.