Topic: Garam Masala

[976bar]

I've been talking with an Indian porter from our kitchen quite a lot lately. He is from Kerala (South India) and did quite a bit of cooking back home albeit traditional Indian food. He taught me how to make a Kerala'n Chicken Biriyani the other week which was fabulous and nowhere near a BIR.

It was when we were making this that he produced a packet (made from newspaper) which contained Garam masala. I inquired about this and he said that this is the one he makes himself (not shop bought). I was really impressed with this as it was nothing like the Garam Masala we normally buy in shops, like the TRS and Natco brands, which for me I don't really like or use as they contain too much cloves and cinnamon, which I personally find too overpowering for curries.

Yesterday, he came in with some packets of spices and we set about to make the one he uses at home.

Here are the results.

One packet contained just Mace, the other packet contained:

Whole Coriander
Whole Cumin
Dalchini (Cloves)
Whole Black Pepper
Elcho (Black Cardamom)
Bay Leaves
Cloves

We emptied both packets into a frying pan and also added 5 more Bay Leaves and 2 tsp ground Nutmeg. He said that they normally use whole nutmeg, but we didn't have any in the kitchen only ground Nutmeg.

We roasted the spices until the Coriander seeds turned slightly brown, then withdrew from the heat and then ground to a fine powder.

The aroma is stunning. A bit like spices freshly toasted and ground with a hint of what I can only describe as freshly ground coffee. This stuff is wonderful and I then went on to make a single Madras which several staff tried and then I added a sprinkle of this new Garam masala and cooked in for 2-3 minutes. The depth of flavour increased the Madras and I now want to try it with other dishes that specifically use Garam Masala. Unfortunately due to lack of time, will not be till next week, but will post the results.

Mace Packet


Whole Spice Packet


Whole Spice Packet Ingredients


Whole Spices In Pan


Whole Spices Roasted


Finished Garam Masala. Note the Commercial one on the right (Lighter Brown) compared to the one we made.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Mmmm, Keralan garam masala -- this looks to be a very interesting development.  I await further news with bated breath ...
** Phil.

[curryhell]

Interesting Bob.  A good home made garam which can be produced consistantly with the same aroma and flavour is far superior to commercial stuff.  When i see recipes, paritcularly "restaurant" ones that add a tsp or more of gm to a dish when cooking, i cringe.  Change the garam and you'll change the result, which in  a restaurant is not desirable.
As for mace, i've only ever bought it once and that was when i first started on this lark.  Although, I have read several times that its a spice to be treated carefully and used in moderation as it has the distinct ability to overpower and therefore impart a dominating and unwanted taint to a dish.
Love the colour of the home made stuff.  It's only  a shade darker than that we made at Zaal's which is now the only garam I use.  Will be interesting to here about your results when using this Bob.
One thing that does concern me about the packet mix, from a company I can't say i've seen a lot of in the asian shops i've visited, is the use of European bay leaves  In my opinion these are far more likely to be replaced by the Asian variety in BIR and authentin Indian cooking I would have thought 

[loveitspicy]

Did you work out any weights or spoonfuls of the spices mate


I wonder what the man from Kerala thinks of this,
Kerala garam 5 spice

1 nutmeg, grated or broken into small pieces (jaathikka)
2 large mace blades (jathipathri)
10 cloves (karayambu)
10 x 5 cm cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces (karuvappatta)
100g fennel seeds (perum jeerakam)

Dry roast and grind
Use

[Peripatetic Phil]

One thing that does concern me about the packet mix, from a company I can't say i've seen a lot of in the asian shops i've visited, is the use of European bay leaves  In my opinion these are far more likely to be replaced by the Asian variety in BIR and authentin Indian cooking I would have thought 

Well spotted, CH :  I failed to notice that.
** Phil.

[Aussie Mick]

The aroma is stunning. A bit like spices freshly toasted and ground with a hint of what I can only describe as freshly ground coffee.

Very much like freshly ground spicy coffee eh Rob?

We roast our GM spices either overnight on top of the tandoor, or better still, they go into the gas oven on Sunday night with just the pilot light on, When we re-open on Wednesday, the whole shop smells like a very expensive spiced coffee shop.

We then blitz it all up and sieve several times in the Thermochef jug until very fine. It's amazing how hot the mixture gets while blitzing up. Plenty of friction going on in there.

Haven't tried it in a Madras yet. I add pinch to Rogan Josh, and to veg curries and dhals. Also to tikka marinades and when pre-cooking lamb/beef

[976bar]

It's 06:29 and am just about to go to the UNI,so will come back to everyone later on today...

Happy Friday All!!

[Les]

Is not "Dalchini" Cinnamon ?,
Sounds interesting though.

Les

[DalPuri]

Its Very dark for a GM, reminds me of Sri Lankan roasted curry powder.

[Garp]

All this talk of home-made garam masala is making my taste buds tickle and my nose twitch.

I have used the same recipe for about 15 years (tried a few others and came back to it) until I

a) got lazy,
b) embarked on my BIR quest (didn't think BIRs would make their own)

The sight of all those whole spices gently roasting away in 976's pic, and the aroma which is produced, has made me want to get back to making my own. It was always superior, for me, to any commercially produced garam masala, and the joy of making it added to the experience. My only problem was that I never had a grinder and resorted to the old mortar and pestle. It took a while to grind - especially the more fibrous parts (cassia and coriander husks were a bitch).

The end result was worth it - freshly roasted ground spices combining to make a lovely aromatic garam masala. Call me sad, but I would open the jar and stick my nose in just for a good sniff at the aroma.

Anyway, here is the simple, but lovely recipe - not a million miles from others, but I like it:

Makes about 200g

4 tbsp coriander seeds
2 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
5 x 2 inch pieces cassia bark
1 1/2 tbsp. green cardamom seeds
1 tbsp cloves
1 tsp dried mint leaves
4 bay leaves

Place all of the spices in a wide pan on a very low heat and gently roast, stirring very frequently, at least once a minute. The cumin should change colour by a couple of shades and give off a lovely aroma.

Cool and grind.

Try it, it's lovely.

I'm thinking that I will maybe ask Santa for a grinder and start making this again