Recipe No 428 spice blend Adapted 2014

Garam masala

Garam masala means ‘warming spice mix’—an aromatic rather than hot blend of spices which often appears in Indian recipes. There are countless versions. This one can be considered elemental, which makes it useful in many situations where other spices are intended to characterise the dish.

We love making our own spice blends because the results are just so much better than any store-bought option. The fragrance is certainly far more pronounced than pre-mixed blends and the flavour is richer.

Spice blends are one of the areas where the Modernist.Recipes format really shines. Many recipes require you to make a large quantity because the smallest volumetric measurement is ⅛ teaspoon. With the modernist recipe format you can scale down the recipe to produce just what you require for a single dish. With inexpensive pocket scales with 0.01 g / 0 oz accuracy, you can make the quantity as small as you like. Spice mixes are best when fresh, so being able to make a fresh mix with negligible waste is a bonus for the quality of your final dish.

Recipe: Garam masala.
Time

Prep:

Total:

Difficulty
easy
Yield
10 tsp • 17 g
Special equipment
spice grinder
Metric Imperial

Processes

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 170°C / 340°F.

  • Cardamom pods (8 pods)
    1.6 g
  1. 01
    Place in a mortar and extract the seeds from the pods by carefully breaking them open with a pestle. Discard the pods.
  2. 02
    Transfer to a medium-sized non-stick pan.

  • Cassia leaves (Indian bay leaves), broken into small pieces (2 medium leaves)
    1.2 g
  • Peppercorns, black, whole (1 tsp)
    2.9 g
  • Cumin, seeds, whole (2 tsp)
    4.5 g
  • Coriander, seeds, whole (2 tsp)
    3.4 g
  • Cinnamon, whole, broken into small pieces (5 cm / 2" stick)
    4.2 g
  • Cloves, whole (1 tsp)
    1.6 g
  1. 03
    Add to pan. Bake for , agitating the pan after .
  2. 04
    Transfer to spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.

Safety

This might seem a little obvious, but it is worth mentioning: be careful when when you grab the handle of the pan in the oven to agitate the spices. It will be very hot. Use protection.

Notes

You can also process the toasted spices in a mortar and pestle.

The whole spices can also be toasted in a dry non-stick pan over a low–medium heat, stirring constantly. This will take less time than the oven but care must be taken not to burn the smaller spices. This is the reason why spices are often dry toasted separately.

A teaspoon of this blend is 1.7 g / 0.06 oz.

Making ahead

Make the whole recipe ahead of time and store in an air-tight container out of direct sunlight.

Storing

Keeps for 3 months in an air-tight container stored out of direct sunlight.

Finished recipe

Steps

01 Place in a mortar and extract the seeds from the pods by carefully breaking them open with a pestle. Discard the pods.

  • Recipe: Garam masala. Step a. a
    All the spices together after being weighed out.
  • Recipe: Garam masala. Step b. b
    The cardamom pods with one of them cracked open to show the little black jewels inside. This is what we want.
  • Recipe: Garam masala. Step c. c
    The cardomom seeds from one of the pods.

02 Transfer to a medium-sized non-stick pan.

  • Recipe: Garam masala
    The spices in the pan before being toasted in the oven.

03 Add to pan. Bake for , agitating the pan after .

  • Recipe: Garam masala
    The spices just out of the oven. The smell is alluring. Notice the change in colour?

Categorisation

Category
spice blend
Meal
component
Cuisine
indian
Diet
omnivorous vegan vegetarian
Tags
curry spice blend spice mix