Garam Masala
Garam masala is a basic blend of ground spices common in India and other South Asian cuisines. It is used alone or with other seasonings.The word garam refers to spice intensity, garam masala is pungent, but not meant to be hot.
The makeup of garam masala differs regionally, with wide variety across India. Some common ingredients are black & white peppercorns, clove, black cumin (known as shahi jeera), cumin seeds, cinnamon, black and green cardamom, nutmeg, star anise and coriander seeds. Varying combinations of these and other spices are used in regional variants of garam masala.
Some recipes call for spices to be blended with herbs, while others grind the spices with water or other liquids such as coconut milk to make a paste. The flavours may be carefully blended to achieve a balanced effect.
Usually a masala is roasted before use to release its flavours and aromas, this is key to releasing the amazing flavours. This is a basic masala that you can use for many dishes. If you have a coffee grinder to grind you spices it will make short work of the ingredients below. Otherwise you can use a pestle & mortar and grind the spices to a powder.
Method
1. Remove the outer shell of the green and black Cardamom pod. You do this by hitting each pod with the flat side of a knife and carefully remove the seeds and grind to a fine powder. Discard the husk or outer shell.
2. Grate the nutmeg coarsley ready to be ground again into a fine powder and reserve.
3. Break the cinnamon finely and again blend to a powder and reserve.
4. Finally grind each of the remaining spices to a powder.
5. Finally, combine all the ground spices together, ensure they are evenly blended.
6. Make in small batches, store in an air tight container or in a double bag in the the freezer.
7. Before using remember, a little goes a long way, make sure you roast the spices either in a dry pan or with oil or butter briskly but without burning to release those lovely flavours.
Garam masala spices
20g ground green cardamom seeds
25g ground black cardamom seeds
25g ground coriander seed
25g ground cumin or black cumin seeds
15g ground fennel seeds
10g ground black pepper
½ tsp ground clove - or 3/4 whole cloves
½ ground nutmeg -or 1/2 a whole nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon - or 1/4 of a stick if using whole dried
½ tsp ground bay