Garam Masala
Pat Chapman's The New Curry Bible
Garam means 'hot' and masala means 'mixture of spices'. Whole spices are cooked by dry-frying (with no oil or liquid) or 'roasting'. They are then cooled and ground. There are many recipes for the actual spice mixture as there are cooks in the indian subcontinent. Garam masala is used in various ways. It can be sprinkled on finished cooking, added to yoghurt dips, or added to certain curries towards the end of cooking (to retain aromatics), particularly those curries from north India.
Makes about 250 g (9 oz), when ground
Ingredients
60 g coriander seeds
50 g cummin seeds
40 g fennel seeds
25 g black peppercorns
15 g cloves
15 g brown cardamoms
3 piece mace
25 g cassia bark pieces
4 bay leaves
5 g ground ginger
Method
1. Omitting the ground ginger, mix the remaining nine whole spices together in your pan. Keeping it dry, stir the mixture continously as it heats up.
2. Very soon the mixture will give off steam, rather than smoke. The process is called 'roasting'. The volatile oils, or aromas, are now being released into the air. Stir for a few seconds more, then transfer the spices to a cold pan or bowl, to stop them cooking. They must not burn. If they do, your cooking will have a bitter, carbonised taste.
3. Allow the garam masala to go completely cold for two reasons. Firstly, it will become brittle, so will grind more easily. Secondly, if the mixture is hot when you grind it in an electric grinder, the blades could overheat the spices, and burn off the very volatile oil you are striving to capture.
4. Whether you use a mortar and pestle or an electric grinder, do so in small batches. This avoids overloading the machine.
5. Grind until all the clattering noises change to a softer similar sound, then grind on until the mix is as fine as you want it, or as fine as the grinder will achieve.
Find this recipe in Pat Chapman's The New Curry Bible
