Garam Masala

Prepping for last post's Korma, John and I made garam masala ourselves. You can purchase garam masala in the store pre-ground, but it usually has nowhere near the pungency you can create by making your own. In fact, when we smelled our finished masala, the difference was so great that we just dumped our store-bought spice.

I think garam masala is very fun to make - it is visually appealing, with all of your spices laid out to roast, and the aromas of the roasting spices are delicious. John ground the roasted spices in the mortar and pestle and then we mixed in a pinch of saffron.

There are different versions of garam masala, but most include the following basic spices. Sometimes recipes call for saffron or rose petals. Our recipe called for saffron.

Here are the ingredients you need:

2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cardamom seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 (3-inch) stick cinnamon, broken up
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon saffron (optional)

Now, toast all of the spices except for the nutmeg and saffron. Do this by putting them into a dry, heavy skillet (we used cast iron) set on medium-high heat. Be careful and watch the spices. They should give off a slight smoke as they roast and the aroma will be sweet and spicy. If you burn them at all, you will need to start completely over. The flavors will be full-bodied after about 10 minutes of toasting, with some variance depending on the type of stove you are using.















After the spices are toasted, grind them to a powder along with the nutmeg and saffron in either a spice grinder, or, as we used, a mortar and pestle.















It should keep from 3 - 4 months in a tightly-sealed container away from heat and light.
















The spice on the right is the garam masala; the spice on the left is turmeric.

Posted by Sara.