Start small. For rice, curry, beans, chili, stew, or braised meat, try one lightly cracked whole Black Cardamom pod. If you are using the seeds ground, start around 1/16 to 1/8 teaspoon for a four-serving dish.
At the right level, black cardamom adds a background note of woodsmoke, resin, and warm spice. Too much can push its camphorous side into medicinal territory, so restraint is part of the trick.
Buck's current cardamom shelf includes El Salvadorian Green Cardamom Pods, Black Cardamom, White Cardamom / Bai Dou Kou, and Ethiopian Cardamom (Korarima). Green is the classic sweet/floral pod for chai, rice, baking, and sweets. Black is smoky, resinous, and savory. White cardamom is gentler and camphor-cooling, useful in Chinese, Southeast Asian, brothy, and lighter savory cooking. Ethiopian cardamom, also called korarima, is warm, rounded, and Ethiopian/Eritrean in character, especially good in berbere-style blends, spiced butter, stews, coffee, and long-cooked savory dishes.