Garam Masala Recipe | Easy Homemade Garam Masala Recipe | How to make garam masala (spice blend) powder at home

Anything that is homemade from scratch is awesome right? For me it is.. It gives a sense of satisfaction when I make something at home from scratch rather than resort to store bought ones. Be it idly batter (store bought is possible only if you are in India though ;)) or garam masala or sambar powder or rasam powder, mine is almost always homemade.. So coming to this recipe of garam masala, I have been using this recipe for the past 4 years now. Deeps is a fan of this garam masala and he always feels that this one makes his Ambur Biryani extra special ;) I have tried many different recipes for garam masala but the ratio of the spices used in this one is perfect as it uses more of spices and less of seeds like cumin and coriander and that is what makes it authentic.. Do try out if you are looking for an authentic flavourful garam masala.. 

Recipe Source: Adapted from here

Makes: ¾ cup

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

I Used:

Cinnamon	-	3 sticks (around 3 inches each)
Bayleaf	-	2
Cloves	-	2 tsp
Cardamom	-	2 tsp
Pepper	-	2 tsp
Coriander seeds	-	4 tbsp
Cumin seeds	-	3 tbsp
Poppy seeds	-	1 tsp
Star Anise (optional)	-	3
Mace (optional)	-	1 tbsp
Salt (optional)	-	To Taste

The Way:

1. Gather all the required ingredients in a pan or kadai and dry roast them over low/medium flame

2. Keep roasting for about 4-5 minutes till a nice aroma of the spices come. Take care not to burn the spices else the garam masala will not give you the required flavour

3. Remove the pods of the cardomom and use only the seeds. This step is purely optional. I have read and heard from many that the use of pesticides is heavy in spices like cardamom and the pods will have their residue and hence it is not recommended to have the pods. Hence I remove them before using in any dish

4. Allow the roast spices to cool and then grind them in a mixie/blender. Make sure that the mixie is dry. And store the masala in a clean, dry and air tight container

Notes:

• The spices can be ground to a fine powder or a coarse one depending on your preference. I always make them coarse

• Once the spices are ground and powdered, you can sieve them if required. I generally do not sieve

• Salt is optional. And other spices like mace, star anise, nutmeg are also optional. I generally do not stock them. So if available at hand, I add them

Cheers,

Chitz