On 2009-09-21, Gloria P > wrote:

> Black and green are used in Indian meat and vegetarian dishes.

Green is also used in Persian pastries. Baklava w/ cardamom is to
die for.

nb

"notbob" > wrote in message
...
> On 2009-09-21, Gloria P > wrote:
>
>> Black and green are used in Indian meat and vegetarian dishes.
>
> Green is also used in Persian pastries. Baklava w/ cardamom is to
> die for.
>
> nb

My ex-sister in law used to bring us back baklava from Kuwait that was
incredible and unlike any other I had ever had. I wonder if it was the
cardamom.

They were of Persian descent.

Jon

On 2009-09-21, Zeppo > wrote:

> My ex-sister in law used to bring us back baklava from Kuwait that was
> incredible and unlike any other I had ever had. I wonder if it was the
> cardamom.

Could very well have been. I'd never tasted cardamom in baklava,
usually buying pistachio. I recall the first time I tried it.
Knowing ME foods use a lots of flower/plant extracts like rose water,
etc, I was baffled as to what flower it might be. I finally gave some
to a well traveled foodie friend and she told me it was cardamom.
Sure enough, the next time I bought some, I got the whole tray and
cardamom was listed on the ingredients. It's now one of my fave spices.

I found this recipe online using both cardamom and rose water:

http://www.accidentalhedonist.com/in.../02/27/baklava

Looks like an interesting blog, too.

nb

Zeppo wrote:
>
>
> "notbob" > wrote in message
> ...
>> On 2009-09-21, Gloria P > wrote:
>>
>>> Black and green are used in Indian meat and vegetarian dishes.
>>
>> Green is also used in Persian pastries. Baklava w/ cardamom is to
>> die for.
>>
>> nb
>
> My ex-sister in law used to bring us back baklava from Kuwait that was
> incredible and unlike any other I had ever had. I wonder if it was the
> cardamom.
>
> They were of Persian descent.
>
> Jon

Baklava is endemic to the Middle East, mostly with honey and chopped
pistachio nuts in my experience. The most widely used spice I found
there was cinnamon, some of them even put it in hamburger meat.

Several of our Arab friends used to grind the coffee beans then put
whole, crushed cardamom seeds in the container to flavor the coffee. I
got used to it and missed it after we came home. Tried it with store
bought already ground coffee and it wasn't bad but not the same taste. I
cook lots of dishes with either crushed cardamom or ground in them.