before i post the lengthy vegetable pizza post, here is a short post on punjabi garam masala.
garam masala – an important indian spice blend that is a must in every indian kitchen. the humble dal or sabzi are taken to another level when you add a little of garam masala in these. garam masla is a very important part of most punjabi recipes like chole, rajma, mah ki dal, kadhi pakora, pindi chana and so on.
in english garam means warm and masala means a blend of spices…. so the words garam masala translates to a warm spice blend . the coining of these two words is true as the spices that are used in making the garam masala make the body warm. they also have medicinal properties.
a few weeks back i received a request from a reader for punjabi garam masala. even before the request came i was thinking of making the garam masala and post about it too. the garam masala which my mother had made and given to me is on the verge of getting over. so i had no option but to make a fresh batch of garam masala.
this punjabi garam masala is my mom in law’s recipe. every punjabi home have their own garam masala recipe. when we make the garam masala, we don’t roast the spices. we just sun dry them and then powder the spices.
roasting the spices, will make your garam masala more aromatic than this one. if you want you can lightly dry roast the spices instead of sun drying them. but don’t roast the dry ginger and big cardamoms.
i added a dash of garam masala to the palak pakoras and the masala rice i had made a few days ago and wow… what pakoras and masala rice were they. thats the power of a homemade garam masala or for that matter any homemade masala or spice blend mix.
don’t ever ever buy readymade garam masala. they are horrible and adulterated too. more about adulteration on my coriander powder post here.
whatever masala or powder you use in your food, make them at home. be it sambar powder, rasam powder or even chai masala powder.
i usually add 1/4 teaspoon garam masala in the dals, sabzis or curries i make for a servings of 2-3. the homemade garam masala powder is so strong that you should not add too much of garam masala in your dishes. it will spoil the taste of the whole food. just a little does the job and balances the aroma, taste and flavors in the food very well.
a pic below of the spices used for making the punjabi garam masala.
step by step method of making the punjabi garam masala at home:
1: pick the cumin and coriander for are any stones. spread the spices in a thali/parat or a plate.
2: keep the plate with the whole spices in sunlight for 2-3 days. turn over the spices sometimes when they are getting the sun light.
3: in a very good dry grinder or coffee grinder, first grind the dry ginger with indian bay leaves. dry ginger is the toughest to grind. so i always grind it first. you can also use ginger powder instead of dry whole ginger. you can still see a small bit of dry ginger still left after grinding.
4: the next difficult one to grind is the nutmeg. now in the same jar add the cinnamon sticks and whole nutmeg. the cinnamon sticks should be broken and added to the dry grinder. you can grate the nutmeg and also add. your choose what suits you the best.
5: grind these spices to a fine powder. remove in a bowl.
6: now add the rest of the spices to the dry grinder.
7: grind these too to a fine powder.
8: add it to the bowl where the previously powdered dry ginger, nutmeg, indian bay leaves and cinnamon were kept. mix very well.
9: store in an air-tight container. keeps well for a year.
garam masala recipe details given below:
ingredients
- whole coriander seeds/sabut dhania - 1/2 cup
- whole cumin seeds/sabut jeera - 1/4 cup
- cinnamon sticks/dalchini - 3 inch 9-10 pieces
- cloves/laung - 2 tbsp
- indian bay leaves/tejpatta - 10
- big cardamoms/badi elaichi - 10/12
- small cardamoms/choti elaichi - 2 tbsp
- whole black pepper/sabut kalimirch - 1.5 tbsp
- whole dry ginger/sonth - 1 inch peice
- nutmeg/jaiphal - 1
method:
- pick the coriander and cumin seeds of stones.
- spread the whole spices on a plate or thali.
- keep in the sun for 2-3 days.
- grind the dry ginger with the bay leaves first.
- then add the broken cinnamon sticks and nutmeg.
- grind to a fine powder and keep aside.
- now add the rest of the spices and grind to fine powder.
- mix both the spice powder batches well.
- store in an air-tight container.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, and I love the photos! They are so beautiful and earthy
Love using garam masala. I usually buy mine in stores, but have been wanting to make my own blend. Thank you so much for this excellent post on making it at home. I cannot wait to try this!
I think you can add Mace( Javitri) and star anise and white pepper and Shah Jeera as well.
That is what Chef Kharag Singh did in Ashoka Hotel Delhi along with what you have already added.
I hope you dont mind my suggestion.
i don’t mind your suggestion aloka. in fact once i had improvised this garam masala by adding some of the above ingredients you have mentioned along with with fennel seeds/saunf. since this was my mom-in-law’s recipe i did not make any changes or improvised or personalised it further. i wanted this punjabi garam masala to be authentically her recipe as it was a reader request, plus i am sharing the recipe with so many readers.
grind these into a fine powder too:)) nothing better than some fresh garam masala! gorgeous clicks and congratulations on the 1400!
I am very new to this website. I received many post by yours. The best part of your post is its pictures, as well as step by step method. I always read your post very carefully. You are doing an appreciatively job. Sometimes it happens that our little job can make a way for so many people at a time. Just like your post helps so many people how to make different type of vegetarian dishes. I like to read your post, & it will not wrong to say that I wait for your post. The method of your writing is like a garnishing of a dish. I want to share something about food & health. So, please send me your e-mail id. Thank you Dassana.
thanks dr asiya. felt nice after reading your comments.
you can write to me and share your recipes at vegrecipesofindia(at)gmail(dot).com
i am working on a system where recipes and photos can be uploaded directly by readers. till i finish doing this, you can email me the recipes.
beautiful pictures =)
xoxo