Recipe for Garam Masala - Classic Indian Spice Mix

This one's going to be a quick post. You know how I've been harping on about how I will give you my not-so-secret recipe for garam masala some day? Well, here it is.

Garam masala is the first blend of spices any Indian home cook makes. It is a spice blend that is used in practically most Indian dishes. The actual spices used to make it vary from household to household, and no two are alike. And yes, this does make pinning down the quantities and spices notoriously difficult. I use my nose to make this dish. I smell as I toast, and I know how much more of one spice and what other spices to add. Then I smell again, and add different spices. It's not the most scientific of methods, but it works for me. My usual way of making this involves the very easy 'throw a bit of this and that in' but I was finally pinned down to a recipe because I was teaching my first class on Indian food, and I actually had to hand over a recipe. So one day, armed with my nose, a few teaspoon measures and a notebook, I started 'Operation Write-Down-Garam-Masala-Recipe' And the result is here for you to enjoy.



As you know, there is nothing like the fragrance of fresh ground spices to make your food really outstanding. And that store bought mixes, while good, are not quite good enough if you fancy making Indian food on a regular basis, and fairly authentically. I almost always grind my own spices and make my own spice blends (there are exceptions, chaat masala, for example) but the majority of the time, the spice grinder is working overtime.

I tested my homemade versus store bought spice mix on my first batch of Indian cooking students. I snipped open a bag of store bought garam masala, and popped it into a bowl. I then quickly toasted and ground up my recipe for garam masala, and popped it into a bowl too. Passed round the two bowls, and I am not kidding when I say that the students were really shocked at the difference in the fragrances from those two bowls. The homemade garam masala won pretty unanimously.

So, I would love it if you tried out this recipe and tell me if you noticed a difference too. I can guarantee that once you've made your own spice mix, you will never go back to store bought ever again. The recipe below makes roughly ¾ cup of garam masala, but do feel free to increase the quantities if you want to make a bigger batch. The garam masala keeps well in a dark place away from direct sunlight, but as with most fresh ground spices, I would urge you to use it up within a few months to get the maximum flavour out of it.

Now if only those boffins who make our internet knew how to add a way to share fragrances on my blog with you, I'd be happy forever...!

Recipe:

(Printable Recipe)

2 star anise

1 tablespoon cassia bark 

1 teaspoon green cardamoms

½ tablespoon whole black peppercorns

2 pods black cardamom, seeds only

½ tablespoon whole cloves

1 teaspoon mace

1 ½ tablespoons whole coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3 - 4 dried bay leaves

Method:

Heat a heavy based pan until it is very hot. 

Dry roast the whole spices (except for the nutmeg), in the order listed (essentially, the heavier spices first, then moving on to the more delicate ones) and remove to a bowl.

Let the spices cool completely, then blend to a fine powder in a spice grinder or an old coffee grinder. If the spices don't blend down completely, sieve them, and then blend the coarse leftovers again. 

Store in an airtight tin, away from direct sunlight.