Spices · Agriculture · 18 min read

Cardamom, the Queen of Spices: From Idukki's Hills to the World

Idukki grows most of India's small cardamom, in the cool, shaded forests of the Cardamom Hills. The complete story of the spice: its history, how it is planted, harvested, cured, graded and auctioned, where it is exported, its nutrition, its place in Ayurveda and its many uses.

By GK Global, Adimali, Munnar · Trails & Tales by GK

Walk through the forests between Kumily, Vandanmedu, Puttady and Nedumkandam and you will see, under the tall shade trees, clumps of tall leafy stems, and at their feet, on long trailing stalks lying on the ground, small green capsules. This is cardamom, the "Queen of Spices", one of the most valuable spices in the world by weight, and the crop on which much of Idukki has lived for two hundred years.

A spice with a long history

Cardamom grows wild in the evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, and the spice has been gathered and traded from the Malabar Coast since ancient times. Greek and Roman writers knew a spice called kardamomon or amomum from India, though not every ancient reference can be tied to our plant with certainty. Arab traders carried it across the Indian Ocean, and it became, and remains, the essential flavour of Arabic coffee (gahwa). Through medieval trade it reached Europe, and in the Nordic countries it became the spice of breads and buns, a taste that lasts to this day.

For centuries, Kerala's cardamom was gathered from the wild. Systematic cultivation began in the hills of the old kingdom of Travancore. In 1822, a royal proclamation set up the administration of the Cardamom Hills to promote cardamom growing, and over the following decades the forests of what is now Idukki were leased out for cardamom under the Cardamom Hill Reserve, where the crop is still grown under the shade of the natural forest trees. Settlers from the plains of Kerala and Tamil Nadu came up to the hills to work and farm, and towns such as Kumily, Vandanmedu, Puttady, Kattappana, Nedumkandam and Udumbanchola grew up around the trade.

(Read more: The ecological hotspots of Idukki, which describes the Cardamom Hills and their forests, and Periyar Tiger Reserve.)

Why Idukki?

Cardamom is a demanding plant. It needs the cool climate of the hills, rich forest soil high in organic matter, plenty of rain spread through the year, high humidity, and filtered shade, because strong sun scorches its leaves. The southern and eastern parts of Idukki, around the Cardamom Hills, offer exactly this: altitudes of 600 to 1,500 m, the shelter of tall evergreen trees, deep loamy forest soil and the southwest and northeast monsoons. Idukki's cardamom is known for its large, bold, deep green capsules and strong aroma, and it sets the price for Indian cardamom at the auctions.

The plant

The cardamom plant is a perennial herb, 2 to 5 m tall, growing from an underground rhizome in clumps of leafy shoots. Its flowering stalks (panicles) grow from the base of the clump and, in most types, trail along the ground. The small white flowers, striped with violet, are pollinated mainly by honeybees, and each develops into a green, three-sided capsule holding 15 to 20 dark, fragrant seeds. Three main types are grown:

• Malabar: panicles lying along the ground; suited to lower altitudes.
• Mysore: upright panicles; robust, suited to higher altitudes and the main type in Idukki's older plantations.
• Vazhukka: semi-erect panicles, a natural cross between the two, now the most widely grown type in Kerala.

Research stations have released improved varieties, such as ICRI-1 and ICRI-2 from the Spices Board's Indian Cardamom Research Institute at Myladumpara, and PV-1 and PV-2 from Kerala Agricultural University's Cardamom Research Station at Pampadumpara, both in Idukki. Idukki's farmers have also bred their own varieties. The best known is Njallani Green Gold, selected by the farmer Sebastian Joseph of Idukki, which became popular across the cardamom tracts for its high yield and large green capsules.

From planting to harvest

• Propagation: new plants are raised from seed in nurseries, from suckers (pieces of rhizome with shoots), or from tissue-cultured plantlets. Seedlings are usually kept in nurseries for 10 to 18 months.
• Planting: planting is done with the onset of the monsoon, in pits filled with topsoil and compost, at spacings of about 2 to 3 m depending on the variety and slope.
• Shade: the right amount of shade is vital, and the shade trees are thinned or allowed to grow to keep about 40 to 60 percent shade.
• Care: mulching with leaves, weeding, manuring, trimming of old shoots (trashing), and in the dry months, sprinkler irrigation. Without summer irrigation, plants and yields suffer badly, as the drought of 2024 showed, when tens of thousands of hectares in Idukki were damaged.
• First crop: plants begin bearing in about the third year, and give good crops for 10 to 15 years with care.
• Pests and diseases: the main pests are thrips, which scar the capsules, and the shoot and capsule borer. The main diseases are katte (cardamom mosaic virus), azhukal (capsule rot) and rhizome rot, mostly in the wet season.
• Harvest: capsules are picked by hand, mostly by women workers, when just ripe, still green but with dark seeds. As they ripen gradually, each plantation is picked in six or more rounds at intervals of 15 to 30 days through the season, usually from August to February. Picking too early lowers weight and aroma; too late, and capsules split and lose colour.

Curing: from green capsule to spice

Freshly picked capsules contain about 80 percent water and must be dried carefully to keep their green colour and their oil. Roughly 4 to 5 kg of fresh capsules give 1 kg of cured cardamom.

• Washing: the capsules are washed to remove soil. Some growers dip them briefly in a weak solution of washing soda to help keep the green colour.
• Drying: they are spread in thin layers on racks in a drying house (cardamom store), traditionally heated with wood fires through flue pipes, and today increasingly by electric or gas driers. The heat is kept low at first, around 45 to 50 °C, and raised gradually; drying takes about 18 to 36 hours, until the moisture falls to about 8 to 10 percent. Too much heat or smoke spoils the colour and flavour.
• Polishing: while still warm, the dry capsules are rubbed, by hand on wire mesh or in polishing machines, to remove the dried flower ends and stalks and give a smooth finish.

Sorting and grading

Cured cardamom is sorted by size, colour, weight and quality. Sieves separate the capsules by diameter; immature, split and discoloured capsules are picked out by hand or by machine colour sorters. A key test of quality is litre weight, the weight of a litre of capsules: bold, well-filled capsules weigh more.

In the trade, cardamom is also sold by size: 8 mm and above ("super bold"), 7–8 mm, 6–7 mm and so on, with the largest, deepest green capsules fetching the highest prices. Other classes include "splits" (open capsules), "seeds" (husked seeds) and "bulk" (ungraded). Bleached, pale cardamom was once made for some markets but is now rare.

The auction

Most of India's small cardamom is sold through auctions regulated by the Spices Board of India, under the Cardamom (Licensing and Marketing) Rules of 1987. Farmers and planters bring their cured cardamom to licensed auctioneers, who pool it into lots and present samples. Since 2007, the old open-cry auctions have been replaced by e-auctions at the Spices Board's centres at Puttady in Idukki and Bodinayakanur in Tamil Nadu, and since 2021 both centres have run a combined, cloud-based live auction. Licensed dealers and exporters bid online from either centre; the screen shows each lot, its quantity and the highest bid.

Auctions are usually held twice a day, Monday to Saturday, and their prices are followed closely across the hills, published daily as the average price and maximum price per kilo. Cardamom prices are notoriously volatile, swinging with the weather, the size of the crop and the harvest in Guatemala; in recent years averages have ranged from under ₹1,000 to over ₹3,000 a kilo, and in late 2026 they stood at around ₹3,000. After the auction, traders and exporters clean, re-grade and pack the cardamom for markets in India and abroad.

Exports

India was once the world's largest producer of cardamom; today Guatemala, where the crop was introduced in the early 20th century, produces and exports more, mainly to the Middle East. India's cardamom is prized for its aroma and colour, and much of it is used within India itself, the world's largest consumer. Indian exports of small cardamom go mainly to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and other Gulf countries, where it flavours coffee, and to Europe, the United States, Japan and other markets. In 2024–25, exports of small cardamom were worth about US$185 million, up some 53 percent on the previous year.

Exporters must meet strict standards for cleanliness and pesticide residues, especially in the Gulf, Europe and Japan; the Spices Board tests and certifies export consignments.

Nutrition

Cardamom is eaten in small amounts, a pod or two or a pinch of ground seeds, so its contribution to the diet is modest, but it is a concentrated source of minerals and fibre. Typical values for 100 g of ground cardamom:

(Source: USDA FoodData Central, spices, cardamom.) The aroma comes from an essential oil, making up about 6 to 10 percent of the seeds, rich in 1,8-cineole and alpha-terpinyl acetate.

Cardamom in Ayurveda

In Ayurveda, small cardamom is Ela or Sukshmaila ("the small ela"). It is described as pungent and sweet in taste, light and cooling, and is traditionally used to aid digestion, relieve nausea, freshen the breath, ease cough and breathlessness, and support the urinary system. It is one of the three fragrant spices of Trijataka (with cinnamon bark and tejpatta leaf), and of Chaturjataka when nagakesara is added, used to flavour and balance many medicines. Classical preparations named after it include Eladi churna and Eladi gutika.

Modern research has studied cardamom's antioxidant, antimicrobial and digestive effects, but the evidence in people is still limited. Cardamom is safe in food amounts; anyone considering it as a medicine, especially in pregnancy or with gallstones, should ask a qualified doctor.

Practical uses in the kitchen and home

• Drinks: masala chai, Arabic coffee, sulaimani and spiced milk.
• Sweets: payasam, kheer, halwa, laddu, kesari, ice cream and Scandinavian cardamom buns.
• Savoury dishes: biryani, pulao, curries, garam masala and spice blends.
• Mouth freshener: a pod chewed after meals.
• Storage: keep whole pods in an airtight jar away from light; grind the seeds just before use, as the aroma fades quickly once ground. Good cardamom is plump and green with a strong fragrance; beware of pale, shrivelled or artificially coloured pods.

Uses in industry

• Food and beverages: bakery, confectionery, dairy products, tea and coffee blends, liqueurs and soft drinks.
• Essential oil and oleoresin: extracted from the seeds for flavouring foods and drinks.
• Perfumery and cosmetics: cardamom oil is used in perfumes, soaps and toiletries.
• Pharmaceuticals: as a flavouring and carminative in medicines, and in Ayurvedic and Unani preparations.
• Oral care: mouth fresheners, chewing products and toothpastes.

Challenges facing Idukki's cardamom farmers

• Climate: droughts, such as that of 2024, and erratic rain damage plants and yields.
• Prices: sharp swings in auction prices make farm incomes uncertain.
• Costs: labour, irrigation, fertilisers and pest control make cardamom expensive to grow.
• Pesticide residues: heavy use of pesticides has led to rejections in some export markets, and growers are encouraged to adopt safer practices and organic methods.
• Forests: the conversion of shade forest and the felling of shade trees in the Cardamom Hill Reserve are environmental concerns and the subject of court cases.

Seeing cardamom in Idukki

Cardamom plantations line the roads around Kumily, Vandanmedu, Puttady, Kattappana, Nedumkandam, Udumbanchola and Rajakkad, and many spice gardens near Thekkady show visitors how cardamom and other spices are grown. The Spices Park at Puttady and the auction centre there are at the heart of the trade.

(Read more: The vineyards of Cumbum, just across the hills, Munnar tea and Marayoor jaggery.)