Cardamom is a spice native to the Middle East, North Africa, and Scandinavia. There are three types of cardamom; green cardamom, black cardamom and Madagascar cardamom.
 
To obtain the best results buy cardamom still in the pods, which are removed and discarded. Seeds tend to have less flavour and ground cardamom even less. Most recipes usually call for green cardamom which has a strong, unique spicy-sweet taste, which is slightly aromatic