Cardamom
Cardamom is a spice that is mostly grown in the Middle East, North Africa
and Scandinavia. There are three sorts of cardamom; green cardamom, dark
cardamom and Madagascar cardamom. Because there is a great demand for cardamom the price of cardamom is always high. Sometimes it becomes the most expensive spice in Sri Lanka. It is best to purchase cardamom with the skin. when the skin is removed they lose their flavor and smell. Dried cardamom has less flavor than the fresh ones. Therefore the demand for green or fresh cardamom is higher. Cardamom has a sweet taste and a smell similar to mint. There is no season for cardamom. They are accessible year-round.
There is a belief among some Sri Lankans. And this is just a belief, that if you swallow one cardamom bud, you will have to drink at least 6 cups of water to cool your body. They say so because some think that this spice is very hot and spicy. So you need water to cool your body. But there is no scientific basis to this belief.