Black cardamom is a popular Indian spice, called badi elaichi or kali elaichi, that is used in many of the cuisine's signature dishes. It is in the form of seed pods, which are dark brown to black in color and take on a smokey flavor due to the way they are dried. Cardamom is used for its bold and assertive taste and is the world's third-most expensive spice, surpassed in price per weight only by vanilla and saffron. Both the pods and the seeds are used in cooking and available year-round.

Black cardamom is dried over an open fire creating a distinct smoky aroma and flavor. This spice also has notes of resin and camphor, as well as menthol, a slightly minty aroma that provides balance to an otherwise funky flavor. These intense, heady notes put black cardamom in the "warming" spice category, along with black pepper, cloves, and chiles.

Green cardamom pods come from the Elettaria cardamomum plant and are harvested before they mature, while black pods are picked much later and then dried over a fire. In recipes, black cardamom should not be used if a recipe calls for green cardamom as the two pods have extremely different taste profiles.

When using green cardamom, it is recommended that the seeds be removed from the pods and ground before adding to recipes. The black cardamom pods are best when added whole to a recipe and removed before serving.