Contributions to Cuisine: Finnish Pulla

For many people of Finnish descent, Christmas is announced by the heady aroma of a cardamom-flavored coffee bread known as pulla (pull-la) or nisu (niss-you). Cardamom, which provides most of the festive scent, is the seed that grows on pod-bearing plants of the ginger family in India, where its sweet pungency is favored in curries. (Finns, however, are fond of cardamom in their pastries.) The pods contain black-brown seeds that lose flavor quickly once ground, so seeds need to be ground just before using.