Instructions: THE CARDAMOM HILLS, Kerala, India - If you drive east from the lowlands of Indias southwestern coast, the road begins to weave and rise into terraced hillsides of bushy tea plants, rubber trees and the climbing pepper vines for which this region is famous. Yet none of these crops is distinguished enough to lend its name to the gentle mountains here.

To find the plant that claims this honor, you would have to pull to the side of the sunburned road and head toward a shadier spot. Protected by a green umbrella of banana or jackfruit trees are the fronds of the cardamom plant, which in turn hides its prize. Under leaves fluffed out distractingly, lie the pink and white cardamom flower, the pod and its flavorful seeds. Practically buried treasure.

Unlike so many other spices, cardamom rarely calls attention to itself. For most Americans, at least those without a Scandinavian heritage, cardamom does not rate an appearance in the pantry. But diners who enjoy a variety of ethnic foods are consuming cardamom more often than they realize.

In addition to being an essential aromatic in Swedish cream cakes and Norwegian sweet buns, the spice is a player in a variety of seasoning compositions: Indian garam masala, Moroccan ras-el-hanout, Ethiopian berbere and the savory paste used in Thai Mussaman (Muslim) curry.

What cardamom brings to the table is an intriguing mix of citrus, camphor and bergamot flavors - think of Earl Grey tea with a splash of lemon - that suits sweet dishes and savory ones.

I always say cardamom is the vanilla of India, Delhi-born cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey said from her New York home. We use it in a lot of desserts, but there are two other ways to use cardamom. In rice and meat dishes it is a savory, but there, the aroma it gives is really more important. The third way is as a mouth freshener. Instead of a mint you would have a little box with the pods, which you would put in your mouth and crack, not chew really, and suck on.

The flavor can be quite strong, which is why cardamom tends to be mixed with other spices, such as cinnamon or ginger.

When you work with cardamom, you have to be careful or it can take over the whole dish, said Marcus Samuelsson, chef of Aquavit restaurant in New York and Minneapolis, who was raised in Sweden. It numbs the diner as well.

On the throne

In India, where the cardamom plant originated, it rivals pepper in prestige; pepper is known here as the king of spices, while cardamom is the queen.

Just over 15 years ago, India was virtually the only country in the world to produce cardamom, harvesting and distributing about 95 percent of what was consumed internationally, according to the Spices Board of India. This country dominated the world market partly through cultivation efforts in the cardamom preserves established after independence from the British in 1947.

Then Guatemala began developing its cardamom industry, and in recent years has surged ahead as a leading competitor. In response, India began focusing on its domestic market, increasing consumption from around 300 tons annually to about 7,000 tons.

Indians use cardamom in everything, said M. Murugan, head of the Cardamom Research Station in eastern Kerala. It goes into curry mixes, tea, biscuits, toffee. Many Indians also use cardamom in essential oil blends. But we export the oils, too, because lots of international factories use them for perfume base.

For all its uses, other countries with similar growing environments may not have wanted to bother with cardamom. As suits a queen, the succulent plant - a member of the ginger family - makes specific demands.

An elevation of at least 2,000 feet above sea level is required. A tropical rain forest climate with moist air and peat soil is essential to keep the shallow root system healthy. And lots of shade is needed to keep plants cool and leaves from burning.

Unlike pepper, turmeric and ginger, cardamom pods arent easily dried outdoors with the full force of the sun. To protect the color, green cardamom is cured in dark warming rooms built on the small farms here. The pods are spread on stacked mesh pallets, then baked with heat pumped in from wood ovens.

The hand labor involved, from cultivating the plants and picking the pods to curing them and sorting them into grades, is the one element the growers can control.

The fragile nature of the crop may explain the look of quiet horror on the faces of buyers at a local cardamom auction when a visitor, offered a handful of premium green pods to inspect, casually drops them in the dirt.

This is very expensive compost, said one man quietly, as he bent down to retrieve and clean each pod.

Judging the crop

The auction house in Vandanmedu is a central cardamom trading area where buyers come to bid on cardamom lots. Inside a large room open to the blinding light outdoors, two dozen men inspect a board that holds packets from different sellers. A bell chimes, and everyone stands, heads bowed, for a silent prayer.

Then the action begins.

Another bell. In the middle of a U formed by long tables, auctioneers toss measures of cardamom into bowls set in front of each customer, everyone calling out numbers. The pods fly everywhere, landing in the bowls, on the tables and eventually the floor.

But this area is carpeted with tarp, and at the end of the auction, everything swept onto the tarp becomes the property of the auction house: its commission, sold privately.

Bidders have just a few minutes to evaluate the cardamom, checking for the brightest color - the most prized being a parrot green - and tossing the pods hot-potato-style between their hands to assess weight.

Later, women hand-sort the spice into grades, sitting on the floor of a concrete lean-to. To an outsider, their bright saris give splendor to the small room. Kohl-rimmed eyes watch for impurities and the womens gold bangles and rings move over the cardamom, giving the work an oddly glamorous aspect.

It seems fitting that the women look so regal. After all, they are handling the queen of spices.

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