How Kerala Cooks Use Cloves

Kerala cooks use cloves (grampoo) in small numbers, usually two to four whole buds at a time, in meat curries, stew, biryani, ghee rice and homemade masalas. They almost always go with cinnamon and cardamom, either fried whole in oil at the start or ground into a masala. A little makes a dish smell rich. Too much makes it bitter.

Which Kerala dishes use cloves?

Mostly the festive, meaty, rice-heavy side of the kitchen. Everyday vegetable curries rarely need them.

Sambar, avial, thoran and most fish curries aren't on that list. They lean on mustard, curry leaves, chilli, turmeric and kudampuli instead.

Whole cloves or ground?

Both, doing different jobs.

Whole, in hot oil or ghee

This is how stew, ghee rice and biryani start. Cloves go in with cinnamon and cardamom for a few seconds, until they puff a little and smell strong, and then the onions follow. The oil carries the flavour through the pot. The cloves stay in, and people eat around them.

Ground, in a masala

For roasts and dry dishes, cloves are ground with pepper, fennel, cinnamon and cardamom, sometimes after a quick dry roast. Ground clove is much stronger, so a masala for a family pot may hold only a few buds. For your own blends, see the spices in garam masala.

How many cloves should you use?

Cloves are among the strongest spices in the kitchen. For a dish that serves four:

• Stew or kurma: 3 to 4 whole
• Chicken or mutton curry: 3 to 5 whole, or 2 to 3 ground into the masala
• Ghee rice (2 cups rice): 3 to 4 whole
• Biryani (1 kg meat): 5 to 6 whole in the ghee, plus a few in the masala
• Beef roast masala: 3 to 4 ground

Fresh, oily cloves are stronger than old ones, so with a new pack start at the low end. Too much clove tastes medicinal and a bit bitter, and it's hard to undo.

What do cloves actually do in the pot?

They don't add heat like chilli or pepper. They add a deep, warm sweetness that rounds out meat and coconut. In stew, where the base is mild coconut milk, a few cloves give it its smell. In a roast they sit behind the pepper and fennel and make the masala taste fuller.

They also cut through fat, which is partly why they go into ghee rice, biryani and rich meat curries and rarely into lighter dishes.

Small kitchen habits that help

• Fry whole cloves on medium heat. If they turn black they'll taste burnt.
• Crush them lightly with the back of a spoon before adding to stew, so the flavour comes out faster.
• Grind cloves fresh for masala. Pre-ground clove fades fast.
• Put whole cloves in a small muslin bag if you don't want anyone biting into one.

Can you use ground clove in stew?

You can, with a small pinch, but expect a darker sauce and a stronger taste. Whole cloves keep stew pale and gentle, and most Kerala cooks prefer them for that.

Where ours come from

Our cloves come from farms around Adimali in Idukki, packed whole with nothing added. Adimali cloves are sold on their own, and the Kerala spice combo adds pepper and cardamom. To see how the buds grow, read about the clove tree in Kerala's hills, and for judging any pack, the Kerala cloves buyer's guide.

Start with three cloves in your next stew and adjust from there.