Rozmeen's Kitchen

If one spice could stand for Rozmeen's kitchen, it would be cardamom. Native to the Western Ghats of southern India and long known as the queen of spices, green cardamom has been traded for centuries and remains, after saffron and vanilla, among the most precious spices in the world.

Its fragrance is unmistakable: floral, cool and faintly citrus, with a warmth that lingers. A few lightly crushed pods perfume the rice of a biryani, deepen a korma, lift a cup of masala chai and finish a bowl of kheer. Its smoky cousin, black cardamom, lends depth to slow-cooked meats and to garam masala.

Her guidance is simple: buy whole pods, crack them just before use, and add them early, so their perfume can unfold through the whole dish.