Picking up ready to use masala mixes is now far more prevalent than when our mums used to pack our lunchboxes with all kinds of simple but delicious home cooked food. These days, mums have to head out to office early and do not have much time to cook everything from scratch. Which is why store bought masalas sell like hot cakes.
Thank goodness there are still several more who continue to traditionally grind their own masalas. It is a far healthier way of cooking because you never know what goes into a packet. Some brands are known to mix red brick powder with red chilli powder.
Instead of relying on adulterated mixes, spare 15 minutes and you can easily make your own masala with these quick and easy steps. This spice mix is known as garam masala and is often used in many North Indian vegetable and meat dishes.
Difficulty Level
Easy
Instructions
To get the right flavor, you will need 3 inch stick of cinnamon broken into 1 inch pieces, 4 bay leaves, 2 large black cardamom pods, 4 green cardamom pods, 2 teaspoons of black peppercorns, 1 grated nutmegs, 2 teaspoons of whole cloves, 2 teaspoons of cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon of black cumin or shah jeera, 3 teaspoons of coriander seeds and ½ teaspoon of dry ginger (optional).
Use a skillet with a thick bottom so that the spices do not burn while roasting. Wash the skillet well so that there are no conflicting flavors that may have remained from the previous dish you cooked.
Place the clean skillet on the stove and heat it at medium heat and maintain the same heat while roasting. Do not try turning up the heat at any point because the spices will not be roasted uniformly.
Other than the dry ginger, slowly roast all the other spices. Stir frequently so that the spices gradually turn a pale brown. By now, they should be quite aromatic.
Watch out for the coriander turning too brown. Once it is ground, it can taste unpleasantly bitter so make sure you roast the ingredients till it is just right. Quickly turn off the heat and allow the roasted spices to cool.
Take the seeds out of the cardamom pods (you can discard the pods after the seeds are removed) and tip them into a blender with all the other spices. Add the dry ginger, if you are using any. Grind the spices to a powder. The masala once done should not be coarse or clumped together so run your blender a few times till it is evenly powdered.
This finely ground powder gives off an appetizing spell when added to a dish it is normally sprinkled over the vegetable or meat accompaniment just before it is completely done.
You can also use the masala to make gravies and curries instead of adding each spice separately. This way you save a lot of time while cooking elaborate meals.
Store the masala in a clean, air tight container. Keep the container ready ahead of preparing the masala.
Photo Credit: Divya-dilse.blogspot.com
How To Make Garam Masala
Picking up ready to use masala mixes is now far more prevalent than when our mums used to pack our lunchboxes with all kinds of simple but delicious home cooke
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