I’m sure most of us have at some point or another used Garam Masala in our cooking. It tends to be used in dishes to add rich flavour and aroma, often Biryanis, Pilau or special dishes like Tandoori Chicken call for it. As the name implies, Garam Masala tends to be made up of ‘garam’ spices – ‘garam’, or as pronounced in Sylheti Bengali ‘gorom’, means hot/heat, so spices that add warmth ie. black peppercorns, cloves etc rather than tongue burning chilli ingredients are used for this.

Whenever I have bought ready made Garam Masala I’ve rarely enjoyed the blend of spices used in them. Most of them tend to be so strong they overpower the dish I end up cooking, so that’s why I decided to come up with my own recipe. Most people who make their Garam Masala have their own ‘secret’ blend but many of the ingredients are similar, it just depends on how much heat you want and what spices you like or don’t like. You can always add/omit ingredients to suit your preference.

This can be used in a number of dishes; it goes particularly well with meat/chicken curries and marinades, not to mention the wonderful aromas it adds to a variety of rice dishes. It keeps well for weeks in an airtight container so there’s really no need to go and buy store bought Garam Masala when you can make your own. So here’s how…..

You will need: for Garam Masala

1/4 cup cumin seeds
1/4 cup fennel seeds
1/4 cup coriander seeds
8 large pieces of cinnamon sticks
12 bay leaves
1 tbsp cardamom pods
1 tbsp cloves
1 tbsp black peppercorns
4 black cardamom pods
4 – 5 star anise

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a large frying pan or skillet and toast over a low flame till you can smell the aromas being released. Make sure you move the ingredients around in the pan to ensure even toasting and to prevent the spices from burning.

Once you have toasted the ingredients, place them on a flat tray to cool down before processing.

This is the grinder I use for grinding my spices. You can also use a coffee grinder for this too.

Grind the ingredients in small batches – avoid overloading the grinder as it won’t blend the ingredients properly and you run the risk of ruining the machine.

Place the ground masala back on the large tray as you grind the remaining ingredients.

Mix all of the ground masala using a wooden spoon to ensure the masala is even.

Store in an airtight container and use as required in your recipes.

This can be used to replace whole spices in your curries if you hate having to pick out the whole spices from the curry. Use one teaspoon in your lamb and chicken curries, add half to one teaspoon to your marinades (for lamb/chicken) or add to your rice dishes to give it a wonderful restaurant like aroma!

Garam Masala

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

5 mins

Total time

20 mins

 

Author: Afelia's Kitchen

Ingredients

• ¼ cup cumin seeds
• ¼ cup fennel seeds
• ¼ cup coriander seeds
• 8 large pieces of cinnamon sticks
• 12 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp cardamom pods
• 1 tbsp cloves
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 4 black cardamom pods
• 4 - 5 star anise

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a large frying pan or skillet and toast over a low flame till you can smell the aromas being released. Make sure you move the ingredients around in the pan to ensure even toasting and to prevent the spices from burning.
2. Once you have toasted the ingredients, place them on a flat tray to cool down before processing.
3. Grind the ingredients in small batches - avoid overloading the grinder as it won't blend the ingredients properly and you run the risk of ruining the machine.
4. Place the ground masala back on the large tray as you grind the remaining ingredients.
5. Mix all of the ground masala using a wooden spoon to ensure the masala is even.
6. Store in an airtight container and use as required in your recipes.
7. This can be used to replace whole spices in your curries too if you hate having to pick out whole spices from the curry. Use one teaspoon for a lamb/chicken curry.

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