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Cardamom (Ela)
Ela
The 'queen of spices': fragrant, warming yet gentle, used to lighten heavy foods and freshen the breath.
- PotencyMildly heating
Cardamom is prized for its fragrance and its ability to make heavy foods like milk and sweets easier to digest. It is warming without being harsh, so it suits most people.
Ayurvedic properties
- Taste · rasa
- Sweet, pungent
- Potency · virya
- Mildly heating
- After digestion · vipaka
- Sweet
Effect on the doshas: Tridoshic; especially good for Vata and Kapha, gentle 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 reduce its harshness
In the tradition
Traditional frameworks are labeled as such and are not biomedical diagnoses.
Safety
Practise with care
Safe in culinary amounts.
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.