LinsFood | by Azlin Bloor

In-Depth Recipes, Food Culture & Food Stories

MENUMENU
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Categories
      • Amuse-Bouches, Canapés and Starters
      • Cookies
      • Desserts
      • Dips, Sauces and Gravy Recipes
      • Eggless Recipes (Desserts & Baking)
      • Birthday and Occasion Cakes and Cupcakes
      • Cheese (Types and Recipes)
      • Gluten Free
      • Healthy Recipes
      • Meat Recipes
      • Noodle Recipes from around the World
      • Rice Recipes from around the World
      • Salad Recipes
      • Soups and Stews from around the World
      • Seafood
      • Vegan
      • Vegetarian
    • Seasonal Recipes
      • Winter Recipes
      • Spring Recipes
      • Summer Recipes
      • What's in Season Now?
      • Autumn (Fall) Recipes
    • Festive Recipes
      • Chinese New Year Recipes
      • Valentine's Day Recipes
      • Nowruz Recipes (Persian New Year)
      • Easter Recipes
      • Ramadan Recipes from around the World
      • Eid Recipes from around the World
      • Thanksgiving Recipes
      • Christmas Recipes from around the World
    • Collections
      • Alcoholic Drinks
      • Alcohol Free Drinks
      • Breakfast & Brunch Recipes
      • Cake Decorating 101
      • Fine Dining
      • Gin Recipes
      • Pantry Recipes
      • The Chilli Pepper Page
      • Top 12 Chicken Recipes
  • World Cuisines
    • American
    • British Recipes
    • Burmese Recipes
    • Chinese Recipes
    • East and West African Recipes
    • Eastern and Central European Recipes
    • French Recipes
    • South Asian Recipes (India, Pakistan & Sri Lanka)
      • Kashmiri Recipes
    • Indonesian Recipes
    • Italian Recipes
      • Risotto Masterclass
    • Japanese Recipes
    • Korean Recipes
    • Latin American Recipes
    • Middle Eastern and North African Recipes
      • Persian Recipes
      • Tagine Masterclass
    • What is Singapore and Malaysian Food?
    • Spanish Recipes
    • Thai Recipes
    • Turkish Recipes
    • Vietnamese Recipes
  • Reference
    • Ingredients

      Ingredients
    • The Edible Garden

      The Edible Garden
    • What’s In Season?

      What's In Season?
    • Oven/Cooking Conversions

      Oven/Cooking Conversions
  • Travel
  • Media
  • About
    • About Me

      About Me
    • Online Cooking Courses

      How to cook noodles
    • My Cookbooks

      Singapore Recipes

Korarima, Ethiopian Cardamom (False Cardamom)

Published 29/07/2017, updated 06/07/2020 8 Comments

Korarima, or Ethiopian Cardamom (Afromomum Corrorima) is a member of the ginger family, as are the more common green and black cardamoms. It is an essential ingredient in Ethiopian cooking as well as the kitchens of the immediate region.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
Korarima Ethiopian Cardamom
Korarima, Ethiopian Cardamom
Korarima Seeds, Ethiopian Cardamom

Korarima, or Ethiopian Cardamom (Afromomum Corrorima) is a member of the ginger family, as are the more common green and black cardamoms. It is an essential ingredient in Ethiopian cooking as well as the kitchens of the immediate region.

Whenever an Ethiopian recipe calls for cardamom, it is korarima that the recipe is referring to, not cardamom, as many assume.

Korarima pods are much larger than green cardamom pods, and look a little like the Indian black cardamom. It is the seeds of the Ethiopian cardamom that are used, whether whole of ground to a powder.

In the image above, you see the korarima seeds in focus. I’ve placed some black peppercorns on the bottom left and some green cardamom seeds and pods on the right, to give you an idea of size. You can see that the Ethiopian cardamom seeds are a little more brown in colour and bigger than the green cardamom seeds.

What does korarima taste like?

It is not dissimilar to the green cardamom, hence the name “false cardamom”. To me, everything that the green cardamom is, the korarima is more so! It has a stronger and sharper floral aroma, with a strong camphor presence, with hints of cloves, pepper, nutmeg and even, to my nose, eucalyptus.

How is the Ethiopian cardamom used?

It is one of the most important spices in many, many recipes and is used in Ethiopian spice mixes like the famous berbere and is also used to flavour coffee, just like the regular green cardamom is used to flavour coffee in the Middle East, like the Arabic Qahwa.

Berbere, Ethiopian Spice Mix
Berbere, Ethiopian Spice Mix

Ethiopian Cardamom Substitute

Naturally, if you can’t get korarima, the common green cardamom will have to suffice. However, my suggestion would be to add a touch nutmeg, cloves and black pepper. But just a tiny, tiny touch, for the merest whisper of these spices. If the recipe already calls for them, then increase the amount use ever so slightly.

Where can I buy Ethiopian False Cardamom?

If you don’t happen to have an African shop nearby that stocks these, like me, try and see if you can get them online. Here in the UK, I get them from the good folks at Spice Mountain.co.uk.

In the US, if you don’t have an African shop nearby, do an online search, and I bet you will find a store or two that stocks them.

Ethiopian Recipes

  • Berbere Ethiopian Spice Mix
    Berbere, Ethiopian Spice
  • Ethiopian Clarified Butter
    Ethiopian Clarified Butter, Niter Kibbe
  • Top shot of Doro Wot, Ethiopian Chicken Stew, with Berbere
    Doro Wot (Ethiopian Chicken Stew)
  • Injera Ethiopian Flatbread rolled up
    Injera Ethiopian Flatbread
Korarima Ethiopian Cardamom

Korarima, the Ethiopian Cardamom

Korarima, or Ethiopian Cardamom (Afromomum Corrorima) is a member of the ginger family, as are the more common green and black cardamoms. It is an essential ingredient in Ethiopian cooking as well as the kitchens of the immediate region.
4.86 from 21 votes
Print Pin Add to Collection Go to Collections
Course: Ingredients
Cuisine: Ethiopian
Keyword: ingredients
Author: Azlin Bloor

Ingredients

  • Korarima seeds, amount as your recipe calls for

Instructions

  • Grind in a spice mill before using. Or pound using a pestle and mortar.
Discover more Ingredients!Check out The Ingredients Page

Comments

  1. Maria says

    31/01/2019 at 9:31 am

    I could actually make a spice encyclopedia with your posts combined to keep handy in the kitchen for reference, Lin. Thank you for mentioning the substitutes because when I made berbere, I had to do a lot of research to get the flavour right without Korarima.

    Reply
  2. Kenta says

    31/01/2019 at 12:04 am

    Ethiopian spice! Your post is like enabling me to enjoy culinary traveling without physically traveling! I don’t think I had coffee from Ethiopia or from Africa, come to think of it!

    Reply
  3. Aaichi Savali says

    25/09/2017 at 7:05 pm

    Wow! Such a interesting and aromatic spice. I never heard about this spice, but you described it very nicely. It seems superb.

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      26/09/2017 at 9:19 am

      Thank you, Aaichi! I’m a big fan of it!

      Reply
  4. Jemmy Obagadeh says

    03/08/2017 at 11:43 am

    Just came from your Berbere post. I am going to hunt this spice down, like you said, should get it online. I remember my mum using this you know, so thank you for reminding me, I’d forgot about it!

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      03/08/2017 at 6:34 pm

      Aww, that’s really so cool. I love it when one of my posts reminds people of childhood recipes and ingredients!

      Reply
  5. Manisha says

    01/08/2017 at 8:27 pm

    I can’t wait to try these, I love finding new aromatic herbs to stock up on and your description does is justice!

    Reply
    • Azlin Bloor says

      03/08/2017 at 6:35 pm

      Thank you.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




LinsFood | by Azlin Bloor

Hey folks, I’m Azlin Bloor; former chef, culinary instructor and mum of 4.
Click here to read more about me!

Language

ArabicMalayFrenchSpanishHindiChinese (Simplified)ItalianRussianEnglishGerman

My Latest Posts!

  • oysters on a plate with chill marinadeThai Style Grilled Oysters (plus How to Shuck Oysters Video)
  • Marmalade Duck with Sichuan PeppercornsMarmalade Roast Duck with Sichuan Peppercorns (perfect Chinese New Year Recipe)
  • Vegan Mapo Tofu on white rice, in a bowlVegan Mapo Tofu (perfect Vegan Chinese New Year Recipe)
  • Kashmiri chilli powderWhat is Kashmiri Chilli? (Essential Ingredient in the South Asian Kitchen)
my foodgawker gallery
Tasty Query - recipes search engine
Foodies100 Index of UK Food Blogs
Foodies100

Cook with me on Udemy!

Cook With Me

LinsFood contains affiliate links. This means that we earn a commission off any purchases that you might make by clicking on some of the product links.

Contact Me     Privacy Policy     Cookie Policy
Copyright Azlin Bloor | LinsFood.com 2011-2021
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.