Apparently Garam Masala just means “hot and spicy”. Like “curry”, it’s just a blend of different spices, roasted and then ground. The base of it is usually cinnamon, coriander and cloves but other spices drift in and out of recipes. So every Indian cook has their own blend, or more likely, their mom’s blend (If you don’t know how to pronounce the name, just remember that it rhymes: “Mom’s GarAM”. So many recipes call for garam masala that I don’t think I could ever stick with just one recipe. Funny how I have no problem using the same spice over and over when it’s called for but if you give me an opportunity I’ll tinker and always try something just a little different. If you give an inch I’ll take a mile?
Ingredients:
1 tbsp cardamom seeds (I used the whole pod because I couldn’t be troubled to open the pods. Actually, I think I just misread)
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 piece star anise
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp dried coriander seeds
1 bay leaf
1 2″ long cinnamon stick (I couldn’t remember where my cinnamon sticks were so I sadly used about a tbsp of ground cinnamon)
1/4 ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
Put all the whole spices (if you can find whole nutmeg and allspice, go for it) in a small frying pan over medium heat. Don’t use any oil! Put all the ground spices into the blender or coffee grinder. You can also use a mortar and pestle, but in that case you don’t need to add the pre-ground spices to it.
Use the handle of the frying pan to gently move the spices around from time to time until they start to brown slightly and give off an aroma. When you can smell the spices (approximately 2 minutes) they’re done and ready to be ground. Throw them into the coffee grinder or blender with the pre-ground spices and blend or grind. Or grind them by hand in the mortar and pestle, then mix in the pre-ground spices. Store the spices in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.
They’ll keep up to 3 months, but after that it’s not like it goes bad, it’s just not as pungent. About the same as a grocery store variety, but it’s still home-made, so psychologically you’ll still feel better about it.
About the blender versus spice grinder versus mortar and pestle:
Some Indians think that a coffee grinder grinds too fine, and the same could be said for a blender. They don’t want to end up with a powder. A textured spice blend would have bigger pieces of spice and retain a fresher flavour. So a mortar and pestle is by default the best solution, but then are different types of mortar and pestles and some are easier than others to use. There is also mortar and pestle technique, and different sizes of the t0ol. Basically granite is probably the best, not marble, and it’s not so much jabbing or stirring, more of a crushing motion with some turning of the wrist outward. Anyway, however it gets crushed is fine, including a plastic bag, well-0sealed, beaten with a mallet or something heavy.
One more thing, normally you cook with bay leaves and don’t eat them, but here the bay leaves get ground into the powder. I don’t know how I feel about this since they’re not very digestible. I’ve also seen a lot of garam masala recipes that don’t use bay leaves at all, so feel free to leave them out.
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