The Armada

Kerry improvised this new smooth aromatic libation while looking for something to go with our Wild Game Lentils with Fried Spices.  Giving credit where credit is due, Kerry adapted it from a delicious recipe for the Indian Winter recipe he found on "The Charming Detroiter" website.

Our recipe combines spices from the East with Pisco from South America.  We renamed it the Indian Armada for the Spanish and Portugal Armadas.  Both countries ruled the trade routes for East and West in ancient days, we thought it a fitting name.  (We're just ignoring the colonialism, raping, pillaging and slave trade.)

All simple syrups recipes are just about the same.  Equal parts water and sugar, add flavoring and bring to a boil.  Here is our recipe for cardamom simple syrup.

Green or black cardamom... which should you use?  My answer is... whichever you have on hand or can find easily.  The difference is the age of the cardamom pod and it's preservation method.  Black is more mature and dried with heat; often an open flame that lends some smokiness. Green is picked before it is mature and air dried.  

Kerry used black in our recipe because it is older than our green and needs to be used.

Break open the cardamom pods by crushing them and remove the seeds.  Break, but do not powder the cardamom seeds.  I put them into a mortar, but laying them out on a cutting board and rolling something over them would work too.

Put the 1/2 cup water in a small pot and add the broken seeds.  Bring the water to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.

Add the sugar and cook until all the sugar is dissolved.  Strain the simple syrup into a container with a mine mesh strainer.  A 1 Tbsp of vodka or other strong neutral liquor and you are good to go.  You probably want to let it cool before using in a cool cocktail.

We find  that the addition of vodka to our simple syrup makes the mixture shelf stable for months.  It saves us tons of space in our fridge.