A question about a recipe: Shrimp Biryani (Indian Shrimp and Rice)

I have a question about step 5 on the recipe "Shrimp Biryani (Indian Shrimp and Rice)" from amreen. It says:

"Heat the oil on medium in an oven safe dish. Add the peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and 1 bay leaf. Saute until fragrant, approximately 2-3 minutes."

Do the cardamom pods stay in tact? Are we to open them? ONe of them burst during the saute...which I assume is fine, i got rid of the husk...

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4 Comments

innoabrd February 28, 2011
I often use whole cardamom in dishes. It imparts the fragrance without overwhelming. The seeds are fine too, so no worries. Whole spices are often used in Indian cooking and you just sort of pick them out as you eat, generally, though a bit of cardamom seed won't hurt anyone. A bit of whole cardamom or even the seeds are sometimes part of the little breath-freshening sweets offered after an Indian meal.
 
pauljoseph February 27, 2011
don't worry about the heavenly spices enjoy the biryani
 
Amanda H. February 27, 2011
Yes, leave them whole. If they burst that's ok -- and if they don't that's fine, too. By the way, I've made this dish many times, and it's terrific every time. Hope you enjoy it!
 
hardlikearmour February 27, 2011
Just let them do what they will. I generally pick them out before serving at the end when I use them in similar applications. If the pods burst the seeds will soften up enough so that if someone bites into them, they'll get a pop of cardamom flavor, but it shouldn't be overwhelming.
 
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