One of the things that I really like about Indian food is the immense variety of flavors. When making some dishes, a key ingredient is garam masala, or hot spice, where hot refers to high temperature. Of course most garam masala recipes I’ve tried tend to have a nice spicy-hot flavor, which is why whe I cook with it I don’t use as much a recipe indicates.
This garam masala recipe is one that I find easy to make and very flavorful. And while it might seem a lot of work to make what appears to be a small amount, a little goes a long way. So here is the recipe from my recipe archives. While I find recipes online and in books, I tend to play around with them and try to add my own touch to them.
Garam masala is a mix of spices whose prime ingredient is cinnamon and is used to flavor a lot of vegetable curries.
- 3� cinnamon stick
- ¼ cup coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- teaspoon black pepper corns
- 4 to 6 cloves
- 1 to 2 bay leaves
- 3 to 4 star anise pods (optional)
Toast all ingredients in a small skillet over medium-low heat for several minutes until mix becomes fragrant and seeds turn several shades darker, but not burnt (try doing this at first on a small amount so you get the hang of it).
Grind in spice mill or coffee grinder (note that once you mix spices in a coffee grinder once, never again use it for coffee—I have several coffee grinders, one for coffee the other for spice mixes). Store the spice mix in an air-tight container in the fridge for a month or place in freezer for up to a year.
