Indian cooking contains various combinations of all kinds of spices called masala, thanks to which everyday food becomes piquant and varied. With the help of masalas, Indian cuisine is always new, interesting, endowed with unique taste properties and attractive aroma.

The composition of masala varies: it can consist of dry, fried and ground seasonings, and sometimes it can be in the form of a paste or sauce. To prepare it, it is not recommended to use ready-made seasonings purchased in stores. This leads to the taste monotony of dishes. Moreover, all seasoning mixtures can easily be made with your own hands.

Almost every recipe for Indian dishes uses so-called “hot mixtures” - garam masala. According to the theory, these spices help warm up the body and activate various processes in the human body.

Ground garam masala is used to season dishes, usually at the end of cooking. This allows you to preserve the specific aroma of prepared food. In some recipes, herbs and spices are used not ground, but in their whole form.

Let's look at the most common and frequently used recipes for composing garam masala.

Garam Masala Recipe:

1. The first composition of garam masala: take one teaspoon each of cardamom seeds, cumin, cloves, black peppercorns, as well as about 5 cm of cinnamon, half of nutmeg. Grind the ingredients in a coffee grinder.
2. Second gram masala recipe. You need to prepare: about 5 cm of cinnamon sticks, a tablespoon of cumin seeds, one teaspoon of black peppercorns, one teaspoon of clove seeds and two tablespoons of coriander seeds. Grind all ingredients using a coffee grinder.

Biryani masala

Method for preparing biryani masala: mix 8 cardamom seeds, cinnamon (5 cm from the stick), one teaspoon each of clove and fennel seeds. Grind all ingredients using a mortar or coffee grinder.

Rai Masala Recipe

Prepare one tablespoon each of cumin seeds, black pepper, brown mustard, two tablespoons each of cariander and shamballa seeds, as well as a couple of dry hot red peppers and half a teaspoon of cloves. Fry the prepared spices in a frying pan until dark, let cool and grind in a coffee grinder.

Punch-poran

1. Take equal amounts (1 teaspoon each) of the following seeds: fennel, shamballa, ajwan, mustard, kalinja. Mix and store in a closed container.
2. Prepare the seeds: 1 teaspoon each of cumin, anise, shamballa and half a teaspoon each of black cumin seeds and mustard. Mix the ingredients together and store away from moisture.

They also make delicious food with masala.

Immediately pour the required amount of seasonings in handfuls onto the dish. If you have some of the ingredients already ground, pour them out separately. I have everything intact.

Take a frying pan. It should be completely dry. Place all unground ingredients into it. You can, of course, fry everything separately, it’s more correct. But I will roast the spices together. Then they will mix anyway, and I will save time. Fry all the spices in a frying pan, including bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Don't be lazy about stirring. Fry over medium heat for 5-7 minutes to allow the spices to open up.

Remove the pan from the heat. Take out the bay leaf, saffron and cinnamon sticks. We take a mortar. Place the bulk spices into it in portions and grind thoroughly. You can use a coffee grinder for these purposes. Set the cinnamon and saffron aside for now.

Grind the cinnamon sticks and saffron separately (you can use a coffee grinder). We don't need a bay leaf; it has already played its role. Take the frying pan again and fry the ground spices, stirring with a spatula, for a couple of minutes.

Garam Masala is a vibrant and aromatic blend of Indian spices that is used in most Indian and South Asian dishes.

The name "Garam Masala" can be translated as a spicy hot (Garam) mixture of spices (masala). However, the name should not be taken literally. Garam masala does not have to be very hot, but always aromatic, spicy, bright, made from a variety of fragrant, invigorating and warming spices.

There is no single recipe for cooking. In each region, in each individual kitchen, each cook, the composition and proportions of spices may differ, but only a general, very simple and accessible cooking concept is preserved. Spices are mixed, fried and ground.

Of course, you can buy a ready-made mixture, but once you prepare the mixture yourself once, you will never want to go back to the store-bought version. Freshly roasted and ground spices have a stunning aroma and a bright, complex, multifaceted taste that gradually weakens and is lost during storage.

That is why cooks and connoisseurs of Indian cuisine try to prepare Garam Masala seasoning in small portions immediately before adding it to a dish, and if stored, then for a short time in an airtight container.

The preparation process is very easy and takes a few minutes, but the aroma of spices that will fill your home, the amazing taste of dishes prepared with the addition of Garam Masala seasoning, will more than pay for every second spent on its preparation. Let's get started?!

The seasoning most often includes up to 12 spices. Seasonings such as caraway (cumin), coriander, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, black, white or red pepper are almost always used.

Depending on the dish in which the mixture is planned to be used and the tastes of the cook, anise or star anise, fennel, mustard seeds, bay leaf, ground nutmeg, and turmeric are also added. We use all these seasonings today. You can go beyond that and add curry, ground ginger, rose petals, black salt, asafoetida, mango powder, etc. In India you can find Garam Masala, which contains all the spices available in the region.

The proportions can also be changed. If you don't like certain spices, replace them or reduce the amount. Garam masala is believed to have medicinal properties. It is recommended to be used to treat colds, as well as to cleanse the body of toxins and remove toxins. And if your body does not perceive certain spices, there is no need to force it - the benefits of the seasoning will be less.

Mix the spices and place in a clean, dry frying pan. It is advisable to use a frying pan with a thick and even bottom so that the heating process is gradual and uniform.

Stirring, fry the spices over medium or low heat for several minutes until a bright, rich aroma appears and color changes. If using ground spices, always add them at the very end of roasting. In this recipe I add a little turmeric for color.

Pour the spices into an empty container to stop the cooking process. Cool slightly.

Grind the spices. I like to use a mortar for this. Inhaling the amazing aroma and watching the texture of roasted spices gradually change is a fascinating, relaxing and enjoyable process. But for some spices, such as bay leaves and cinnamon, a mill or even a coffee grinder is useful. However, the seasoning will delight you with an amazing bright taste, regardless of the grinding method.

Place the prepared seasoning in a hermetically sealed container.

Store away from sunlight for up to 1 month. Garam masala seasoning can be used and stored for a longer period of time, but the taste and aroma will gradually decrease.

About the history of the spice mixture garam masala

The history of the unusual mixture began in Ancient India. In Hindi, the name garam masala refers to two-part words, where “garam” is nothing more than “hot”, and “masala” is simply a universal “spice mixture”.

Excellent seasoning garam masala is an ideal blend of selected spices that improves the quality of bean soups, sauces, casseroles, fried appetizers, and vegetable salads. It is also suitable for sweet dishes - baked goods with apples, plums, pears, peaches and pumpkin. Experiment with this mixture in oatmeal, corn, or multigrain cookies. Experts prepare healing hot herbal tea, natural coffee and even barley orzo with garam masala.

KhozOboz recommends using this seasoning for a party on the winter veranda, preparing hot fruit drinks with an additional interesting note of a memorable unusual taste. This will allow each guest to imagine themselves as a historical character from India, who may have eaten dishes with such a spice several thousand years ago.

This mixture is necessary for organizing meals for the purpose of healing using Ayurvedic cuisine. KhozOboz strongly recommends getting acquainted with the preparation of khichri (kichari, kitri), one of the most popular Indian recipes, which includes suitable rice and yellow mung bean (mung dal), a variety of vegetables, seasoned with garam masala. This distinctive Indian spice is prepared in many different recipes. KhozOboz demonstrates a composition characterized by the obligatory presence of blue fenugreek and dried rose petals.

Ingredients for garam masala

• Mustard seeds – 24 g
• Cloves – 10 g
• Dry coriander – 14 g
• Dry ginger – 5 g
• Cinnamon sticks – 1 stick
• Turmeric – 11 g
• Bay leaf – 1 pc.
• Tea rose petals – 20 g
• Allspice – 5 g
• Dry red hot pepper – 2 pcs.
• Black peppercorns – 9 g
• Black bengal pepper (pippali) – 2.5 g
• Fenugurek (blue fenugreek) – 2.5 g

Step-by-step preparation of Indian spice mixture with photos

1. KhozOboz dried tea rose petals with pods of hot red pepper on warm summer days, and used mustard seeds and fragrant coriander from the autumn harvest. The rest of the spices were purchased in an oriental store. We weigh them on precise scales and begin preparing the spicy spicy mixture.
2. Place all the spices in a cast-iron frying pan (or thick-bottomed wok) set over high heat. Mix everything with a wooden spoon or spatula.

   

3. Add the hot red pepper pods, continuing to stir the mixture vigorously.

   

4. By the characteristic smell and how everything has become evenly ocher, you can understand that our homemade garam masala with rose is ready.

   

5. Remove the red peppers from the mixture and remove the seeds using kitchen scissors. Cut the cleaned dry leaves into pieces.

   

6. Crush the cinnamon stick with a hammer.

   

7. Pour the cooled mixture into the electric mill.

   

8. Grind it into a homogeneous powder, avoiding overheating. Our great smelling fresh garam masala is ready! We pour it into an airtight jar for storage in order to gradually use it in a kitchen that is not quite familiar to Europeans. Let's experiment!

   

About the benefits of homemade garam masala spice

In garam masala, the composition of spices is selected in such a way as to have a warming effect. Thanks to this, the garam masala spice is perfect for use on particularly cold and dank days. This garam masala recipe is simply irreplaceable for those people who are prone to frequent colds due to hypothermia.

The homemade mixture excludes salt in its composition, which cannot be said about the industrial version of such a popular Indian seasoning. This immediately makes it a much more dietary product (calorie content is reduced by almost half!), and prevents excessive fluid retention in the body, having a beneficial effect on the functioning of the heart and circulatory system.

Alternative garam masala options

There are always a lot of variations in Indian mixtures, and KhozOboz is sure that you may want to experiment with some other spices, replacing some of the ingredients of this classic recipe. So, for example, you can add nutmeg and mountain celery seeds to the composition, abandoning pippali and fenugurek. Or focus on cumin and asafoetida (or dry garlic if you can't stand the smell of asafoetida).

KhozOboz was glad to teach his readers new techniques in preparing oriental spices and hopes to receive feedback both about the spice itself and about dishes prepared with this aromatic mixture. Have a pleasant gastronomic experience!

Not only in India they know what “Garam Masala” is. The combination of these two words is well understood by residents of many South Asian countries.

Unique Blend

Asian dishes are always distinguished by their excellent taste and excellent aroma. In most cases, this result can be achieved through the use of various seasonings. Among them, Garam Masala occupies a special place. Most North Indian dishes are prepared with it. The peculiarity of this unique aromatic additive lies in its very name. In Hindi, "garam" means "spiciness" and "masala" means "mixture." Spicy here refers to richness of flavor, so Garam Masala is most likely a “rich mixture.”

Indeed, the famous Indian seasoning can decorate almost any dish. It is used to prepare appetizers, soups, salads, various sauces and stews. The uniqueness of “Harem Masala” is that it can equally well be an excellent addition to literally any product: meat, vegetables, rice or fruit. It is often used in baking pies and muffins, as well as to flavor various herbal teas, fruit drinks or juices.

Unity of taste and aroma

There is no standardized recipe for Garam Masala. The composition of the mixture can vary and, as a rule, depends on the region in which a particular culinary specialist creates. However, some components must be present. Among them: nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and black pepper. Sometimes they add star anise, cumin, white pepper, anise, bay leaf, turmeric, coriander or fennel, and sometimes even onions and garlic. It all also depends on what dish the mixture is selected for.

There are times when the seasoning must have a liquid consistency. Then add plain water, coconut milk or vinegar to the mixture. There are hundreds of options for preparing Garam Masala. The composition of some of them in families is passed down from generation to generation from mother to daughter. Each housewife prepares this seasoning in her own way. This is probably why in India it is impossible to find the same dish with the same taste. Every woman sacredly keeps the recipe and is very proud of her secret.

With your own hands

Any housewife can prepare Garam Masala herself. The seasoning recipe calls for the following products:

one tablespoon of black peppercorns, as well as cumin and cardamom seeds, a couple of tablespoons of coriander seeds and ground turmeric, one teaspoon of mustard seeds and fennel seeds, half a teaspoon of cloves, two laurel leaves, the same number of cloves and a couple chili pepper pods without seeds.

This mixture is very easy to prepare:

1. Place a clean, dry frying pan on the fire.
2. Pour all the ingredients onto it except the powders.
3. Heat over low heat until a characteristic aroma is felt. This will usually take 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour the mixture into a coffee grinder and turn it into a homogeneous powder.
5. Add turmeric and mix everything again.

It turns out to be a real Indian “Garam Masala”. Its composition is easy to change if we are talking about a specific dish or product. The seasoning can be used directly after preparation or put it in a glass jar and left for storage, but for no more than a month.

Application area

Few people know that Garam Masala spices are used not only in cooking. If you look closely, you will notice that the unique seasoning contains components that have medicinal properties. For example, by adding a pinch of such aromatic powder to tea, you can get an excellent remedy for treating colds and various types of respiratory diseases. In this case, not only the warming effect is triggered, but also the ability to destroy pathogens.

In addition, the Indian mixture can cleanse the human body of toxins and waste accumulated in it. Particular attention to the magic seasoning should be given to those who suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. By periodically adding just a little of these spices to your food, you can defeat the disease at its first stage or conduct good preventative sessions. In more serious cases, medical intervention will naturally be required.