Homemade Garam Masala

Homemade Garam Masala

Yea, I finally made it!!! All the spices being roasted emitted an aroma in my kitchen which was so worth the effort. I have never been content with store bought ground masala. I feel they are not genuinely made, they have added preservatives, artificial color and flavors. So it was just about time that I made it in my own kitchen.

Indeed this is one of the easiest dry spice powder I have made considering that I have made a couple of them being from South India - Sambhar powder/ Rasam Powder/ South Indian Curry Powder and Idli Chutney powder also known as Gunpowder. I have recently made Turmeric powder at home as well. The recipe will be here soon along with the others.

Just to give you some history about Garam Masala. It is a blend of different spices. The kind of spices used may differ from region to region, personal taste and sometimes also ingredient availability in the kitchen ;) It is commonly used seasoning in most of the Indian cooking and it surely does enhance the flavors when added to any dish. It is a very strong spice powder and usually needs to be used in small quantities in any recipe.

It is a 2 step process. You need to dry roast all the whole spices and then grind them together to a powder. This can be made in advance and stored in a airtight container for months. Ensure that it doesn't catch any moisture. Feel free to experiment with the whole spices, add or delete as you may wish. These spices elevate the body temperature hence need to be used in moderation.

This recipe makes 400 gms of Garam Masala approximately.

 Ingredients
100 gms of Cumin Seeds
50 gms of Cardamom Seeds
60 gms of Coriander Seeds
60 gms of Peppercorns
20 gms of Cinnamon
20 gms of Cloves
20 gms of Bay Leaves
4 Nutmeg, broken (optional)

Method
Preheat the skillet. It should be hot enough to roast the spices but be careful to not burn them. Dry roast all of the above ingredients individually. Keep stirring continuously.

 Allow them to cool.

 To remove the Cardomom husk, put the roasted cardomom in between a paper towel. Press it with a rolling pin lightly. Refer the pictorial below to get an idea on how it is done.

 Once all the spices have cooled down, using a Cuisinart DLC-2011CHB Prep 11 Plus 11-Cup Food Processor, Brushed Stainless, ground it all to a fine powder. Your Garam Masala is ready to be used. Enjoy its flavors in any dish knowing very well that it is authentic since it is homemade with Love!

Some recipes where you can add this are - Mutter Paneer, Baby Corn Mushroom Peas Masala, Oriental Egg Fried Rice, Cilantro Pot Rice, Mutter Dhingri and Egg Biryani. There are many more recipes in my blog. Do not forget to check them as well.