North Indian Garam Masala Powder – Best Garam Masala Powder
Garam masala is a blend of ground spices used extensively in many Indian cuisines. It gives a wonderful smell and flavor to dishes. Coriander, Cumin, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Black Cardamom, Pepper, Clove, and Nutmeg are the most frequent spices used in North Indian Garam Masala.
Garam Masala recipe varies by region and family recipe, so feel free to experiment with it and make changes to suit your tastes. Many of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry.
This garam masala powder is perfect for making regular veg and non-veg curries in both South Indian and North Indian cuisines.
What Ingredients Needed To Make Garam Masala?
You can find many of these ingredients at our Sadhyafoodie amazon shop. If you like to find the name of these spices in different languages check our list, Indian Spice’s names in Malayalam, English, Hindi and Tamil with pictures.
- Coriander seeds
- Cumin seeds
- Black peppercorns
- Cloves
- Fennel seeds
- Black cardamom
- Green cardamom
- Cinnamon
- Bay leaf / tej patta
- Mace
- Star Anise
How To Make Home Made North Indian Garam Masala
North Indian Garam Masala | Homemade Garam Masala
Homemade Garam masala made from whole spices has a lot of flavour.The spices for garam masala are usually toasted first to bring out more flavour and aroma, then ground. Coriander seeds are not used in some garam masala recipes but it is mostly included in North Indian Garam Masala. Coriander is a cooling spice, so adding it to the masala helps to cool it down.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Coriander seeds
- 1/4 cup cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon Black peppercorns (10 gram)
- 1½ tablespoon Cloves (Aproximately 12 cloves)
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 11 Black cardamom (10 gram)
- 5 gram Green cardamom (Approximately 28-30 cardamom pods)
- 10 gram Cinnamon (5, 2 inch pieces of cinnamon)
- 8 Bay leaf / tej patta
- 5 gram Mace (6 blades mace, top covering of nutmeg)
- 2 Star Anise
Instructions
Preparation
- To make garam masala, gather all of the ingredients.
- Cut Bay leaves in to small.
- Break Cinnamon stick in to small pieces
Making Garam Masala
- Heat heavy pan over medium heat and dry roast coriander seeds for 4 minutes on low heat. Keep stirring to roast evenly. Transfer this to a plate and allow it to cool.
- Now in the same pan add cumin seeds and roast them lightly on low heat. Remove from the heat and keep it aside to cool down.
- Dry Roast all remaining spices (except coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and bay leaf) together in the pan on low heat for 5 minutes, stirring often to roast it evenly. If the spices are burnt, they will turn quite bitter.
- Add bay leaves, continue to dry roast for 1 more minute over low heat, just until the spices are aromatic. Remove from the pan to a plate and spread it out to cool down.
- Mix all spices together and grind the roasted ingredients into a fine powder using a grinder.
- Store in a clean, dry, and airtight jar and use it as required.
Notes
You can use this garam masala powder in a wide range of Indian dishes. Garam masala is also used in samosas, a typical Indian treat.
Keep the jar in a cabinet away from direct sunlight. In Ayurvedic medicine, each of these warming spices is thought to provide different health benefits.
What Spices Needed for Making Basic Garam Masala Powder
| Spices | Images | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Cinnamon |  | One of the main ingredient in garam masala. Real Cinnamon also known as "Ceylon". |
| Star Anise |  | Star anise is well-known for its therapeutic properties as well as its distinct flavour and culinary applications. Ground star anise is a common spice in Indian cuisine, where it's used in spice blends like garam masala and drinks like chai. It can also be used to add another depth of flavour to pumpkin pie and gingerbread. |
| Fennel Seeds |  | These sweet, anise-flavored spice can be used in cooking as well as as a digestive after supper. |
| Mace |  | The nutmeg tree produce both nutmeg and mace. Mace is the red coating on the nutmeg seed and when the seed matures it splits open , seperate in to mace and nutmeg. It comes in ground and dried "blades" and is frequently combined with other aromatic spices. Mace has a sweet, woody, warm flavour with a soft pungent kick, similar to nutmeg but softer and less sweet. |
| Nutmeg |  | Nutmeg lasts a long time once dried, it's better to buy it whole and grate it into your dishes as needed. Nutmeg is one of those spices that loses its flavour quickly once ground. Nutmeg should not be toasted before combining into spices since toasting ruins its delicate flavour. |
| Coves |  | Clove is a common spice in Indian cookery, and it's been used in a variety of dishes. The high concentration of essential oils in clove gives it a pungent, almost medicinal flavour. Cloves can be used whole or combined with other spices in spice blends. |
| Cardamom |  | Cardamom is a spice that may be used in both sweet and savoury foods. It's popular in Indian, Middle Eastern, Arabic, and Swedish cooking. It is available in two forms: whole pods, seeds, or ground. Cardamom is used to season meat and vegetable dishes with garam masala, as well as in hot beverages such masala chai. |
| Indian Bay Leaves (Tej Patta) |  | The bay leaf is native to the Middle East and Syria. The oval, pointed leaf has a matte olive colour and a pungent spicy flavour and aroma that grows stronger as the leaves dry. Bay leaves can be found in garam masala, basmati rice, a variety of soups, sauces, and stews. Keep these leaves in an airtight container away from direct sunlight. |
| Black Cardamom (Kali Elaichi) |  | Black Cardamom is a big brown pod with highly scented seeds that is native to the Eastern Himalayan regions. This cardamom, unlike green pods, is rarely used in desserts or sweet foods. It has a distinct smoky flavour and is commonly used in garam masala, Basmati rice and stews. Due to its powerful and rich flavour, black cardamom should be used sparingly. |
| Cumin Seeds |  | Cumin seeds are a whole spice that is commonly used in Indian cooking to impart a nutty, smokey flavour to meals. They're small brown seeds with a strong flavour, available whole, roasted, or ground. |
| Coriander Seeds |  | Coriander seeds are grown all over the world. It is also known as Cilantro. Coriander is mostly used in both savoury dishes because of its warm but subtle citrus flavour. It's a key ingredient in Curry Powder and Garam Masala. |
Where to Buy Whole Spices?
You can find them at local stores like Whole Foods, Sprouts, Indian Grocery stores, Trader Joe, etc or you can find them online.
Granite Hand Mortar and Pestle, Manual Grinder, Perfect Crushing Herbs, Spices
Black & Decker CBG110SC Easy Touch Electric Smartgrind, great for making spice powder.
Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender. Best Grinder overall for both dry and wet ingredients.
Indian Spices
Many Indian Spices are now available at our Amazon shop