Spicy Garam Masala Powder - Cook a pot of Curry Day 21 August 2011

Garam Masala Powder for Vegetarian Dishes
This spicemix requires slightly more ingredients than my previous post, and is recommended for Vegetarian Dishes. Oh yes, and if you happened to be preparing for the coming Cook a pot of Curry Day on the 21st of August, and you are trying to make a point, this is the process of curry cooking that gives out the smells :D Enjoy Roasting!

*Sidenote: If you are puzzled by all these curry posts, do check out "Singaporean Story about Curry" on what I think about the whole Curry Feud.

1-2 star anise

6 black cardamoms

2 1/2 tsp black peppercorn

10 inch worth of cinnamon sticks

1tbsp cloves

8 green cardamom

1gram mace powder (aka javitri)

4 tbsp coriander seeds

3 tbsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp nutmeg (grated)

1/2 tsp salt

Heat the saucepan on high heat. Do not add any oil or water. When the saucepan gets hot, put in all the ingredients above. Stir constantly for about 5-8 minutes or until you can smell the fragance. Remove  from heat and wait for it to cool. Grind it up into powder form and use it immediately. Or simply store the powder in airtight containers and put it in the fridge for later use. 

Uses:
- as a marinate for meats and vegetables
- in a gravy/curry
- as a seasoning salt

Best of all, it smells sooo good and I don't have to use too much salt to make anything taste good.

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Star Anise

Black and Green Cardamom

Left: Black Peppercorn

Cinnamon Sticks

Cook a pot of Curry Day 21 August 2011 - Simple Garam Masala Powder

As part of a protest which stems from Singapore, (which you can read about from here ) I have decided to post my favourite recipes featuring Curry spices. Over the next few days,  I'll try to put up different recipes on how to make your own Curry Spice mixes.


So here it goes:

Simple Garam Masala Powder
This spicemix is good for almost all types of meat and vegetable curry dishes.


First get hold of equal portions of the following ingredients:
-green cardamom
-black cardamom
-peppercorns  (whole black pepper or whole black/green/pink/white pepper)
-caraway seeds (which is quite similar to fennel and cumin seeds)

 Simply dry roast all ingredients together and then grind them into powder. After they are cooled, simply store them in air-tight containers till you need the Garam Masala powder.

The way I see this spicemix is that it's one of those multi-purpose ingredient. I use it for almost everything, from marinating meats, to making gravy out of it, to throwing it over my stir-frys. Every family has their own versions, every region has their own versions, and even different brands can taste completely different. 


And to top it all, there's even different spice mixes for different dishes (check out the right sidebar) and sometimes they go by different names as well. Sounds complicated? Nah, its not that complicated actually because there's never any hard and fast rules when it comes to cooking. What is the most important is that you or your love ones get to enjoy your cooking :) 


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I've included some pictures, since these ingredients might be named differently in different countries.

Green and Black Cardamom

Black and White Peppercorn

Black, Green, Pink, White Peppercorn

Caraway seeds (aka Meridian Fennel or Persian Cumin)

Follow me on Twitter! @bentokato