How To Make Your Own Garam Masala

Garam Masala, an Indian spice mix, shows up in a lot of recipes and it’s very handy to keep a supply in the spice cupboard. The recipe for this will differ from household to household in India with everyone having their own twist on it. After trying a few different combinations this is how we have learned to make it for our tastes.

Making this is a very aromatic process. We sweat the spices in a dry pan until very fragrant and then grind them in a spice grinder. When we first started making Indian Curries long ago Garam Masala was difficult to find so we learned to make it ourselves.

Watch a Video

Here is a video of the process of making Garam Masala:

The Ingredients For Garam Masala

• 4 Tbls Coriander Seeds
• 1 Tbls Cumin Seeds
• 1 Tbls Black Peppercorns
• 1 1/2 tsp Black Cumin Seeds
• 5 Cardamom Pods
• 4 Black Cardamom Pods
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 2 Bay Leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp Dry Ginger

We begin by measuring out all the spices, keeping the dry ginger separate. These spices are all fairly available except the Black Cardamom. We looked for it but ended up having to order that online.

Sweat the Spices

All the spices depicted above go into a dry pan on medium heat to sweat until fragrant, about 10 minutes. You’ll want to stir this frequently so you don’t burn them and when they are done, remove them from the heat and let them sit until cool enough to handle.

Remove Seeds From Pods

Next we need to take the Cardamom and Black Cardamom seeds out of their pods. Discard the pods and then add the seeds back in to our spice mix. Afterwards, add the Ginger.

Grind Everything

Pour everything into a spice grinder and grind it up. Alternatively, you can do this in a mortar and pestle if you prefer. We used a coffee grinder that was dedicated for spices only for a long time before we finally purchased an excellent spice grinder. It is a great grinder.

Store In A Spice Container

The Garam Masala is all done. Store it in an airtight container with your other spices and then use it with pride.

We use Garam Masala as one of the flavors in our Granola recipe.

Garam Masala is a featured spice in our Butter Chicken recipe.

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