Garam Masala

An aromatic spice blend used in many Indian dishes, it's said that there are as many recipes for Garam Masala as there are dishes that it goes in.

It's pot luck week at I Heart Cooking Clubs and I'm taking an easy path by preparing a small batch of this popular spice blend.

This simple recipe is by Madhur Jaffrey.  Her recipe makes about 3 Tablespoons, which is a nice small amount to keep on hand.  Its name translates literally as "warm spice mix."

I didn't have cardamom seeds on hand so I had to crack the pods I had in the spice drawer.  If you can't buy the seeds then buy cardamom pods and shell them yourself.  A bit tedious but by fingers smelled great afterwards.

I keep a small coffee grinder dedicated for spices alone.


Garam Masala
A recipe by Madhur Jaffrey
Yields approximately 3 Tbsp.

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp cardamom seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp black cumin seeds (you can use regular cumin seeds if black aren't available)
1 tsp whole cloves
1/3 of a whole nutmeg (you can break a whole nutmeg by placing it on a cloth and bashing it with a meat mallet or rolling pin)
a medium sick of cinnamon, about 2 - 3 inches, broken up into 3/4 pieces.

Method:
Put all the ingredients in a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder and grind as finely as possible.

Store in a tightly lidded jar, away from heat and sunlight and use as needed.


I'm sharing this recipe at IHCC