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In the Standard’s Simply Spiced series, each fortnight food writer Mallika Basu will create a recipe around a specific spice. In this instalment, Mallika adds smoky black cardamom to make her rich vegan stew.
Before pumpkins crash out of the shops and stalls, cook this hearty vegan stew infused with the smoky flavour of black cardamom.
A distant relation of green cardamom, black cardamom gets its signature flavour and shrivelled exterior from being smoked over a wood fire.
A drizzle of Chilli Oil (I love Chiu Chow) at the end really lifts the stew and the spirits.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 2 black cardamoms
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 inch ginger
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 large tomatoes, chopped roughly
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 munchkin pumpkins, peeled and sliced
- 1 x 400g tin chickpeas
- 1 cup hot water
- Half tsp freshly ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
- Chilli oil, to serve
Method
Crush the black cardamoms in a pestle and mortar, discard the skin and ground the seeds finely. Bring the oil to medium high heat in a saucepan large enough to hold all the ingredients comfortably. When it’s warm, mix in the ginger and bay leaf and sauté for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for five minutes until they are pulpy,
Now mix in the cardamom powder, paprika and potatoes stirring through to mix well. Cook for a couple of minutes until the edges of the potatoes turn translucent, then mix in the pumpkin and chickpeas.
Pour in the hot water and cook on medium for about 15-20 minutes covered until the vegetables are cooked. Stir through pepper and salt, drizzling the oil over just before serving with fluffy, steamed rice.
You can find more of Mallika Basu’s ‘Simply Spiced’ recipes here and follow her on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
