Garam Masala: Make the Spice Blend Yourself and How to Use It

Meaning and flavor

The name comes from Hindi: “garam” means warm or hot, “masala” means spice blend. “Hot” does not mean heat in the chili sense. Ayurvedic teaching counts cinnamon, clove and pepper among the warming spices, hence the name.

Garam masala tastes spicy, slightly sweet and a little resinous, with a peppery aftertaste. The classic blend contains little or no chili. In Indian dishes, fresh chilies or chili powder, which you dose separately, provide the heat.

What is in the blend

There is no fixed recipe. Every region and many families mix their own garam masala. Often included are:

• Coriander seed and cumin: the base by quantity, nutty and lemony.
• Green and black cardamom: green smells fresh, black brings a smoky note.
• Cinnamon or cassia, cloves and black pepper: provide warmth and depth.
• Nutmeg or mace and Indian bay leaves (tej patta): in small amounts for the background.

Some blends also contain fennel, dried ginger or star anise. You can read more about the star-shaped spice under Star anise. Turmeric does not belong in garam masala; that is how you tell it apart from curry powder.

Garam masala and curry powder: the difference

Curry powder came about in Britain as a ready-made blend for European taste. It contains turmeric, which gives it the yellow color, and often fenugreek, mustard seed and chili. Garam masala looks brown, contains no turmeric and smells more of cinnamon, clove and cardamom.

In Indian cooking the two have different jobs. You fry turmeric, cumin and other base spices in oil or ghee at the start. Garam masala puts the fragrance on top at the end.

Making garam masala yourself

Freshly toasted and ground, the blend smells much stronger than powder from a jar. For about 6 tbsp you need:

• 3 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp green cardamom pods, 2 black cardamom pods if you like
• 1 cinnamon stick of about 5 cm (2 in) or a piece of cassia bark
• 1 tsp cloves and 2 bay leaves
• ¼ nutmeg, freshly grated

1. Put all the whole spices except the nutmeg in a dry pan and toast over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir constantly until they smell fragrant and the cumin turns a few shades darker.
2. Tip the spices onto a plate and let them cool completely. Warm, they clump in the grinder.
3. For a fine blend, crack open the cardamom pods and use only the seeds. With the husks the powder is coarser but tastes similar.
4. Grind everything fine in a spice grinder or mortar, then mix in the nutmeg.
5. Fill into a tight-fitting jar and store in the dark.

The amounts are a starting point. If you like it sweeter, use more cinnamon. For more warmth, raise the pepper and clove.

The right moment to season

Cooked for a long time, garam masala loses its volatile aromas and can turn bitter. So stir it into the sauce in the last two to five minutes or sprinkle it over the finished dish. For a dish for four people, ½ to 1 tsp is enough. In marinades of yogurt and spices it can go in from the start, because the heat of grilling acts only briefly.

Typical dishes with garam masala:

• Curries with meat: Chicken tikka masala and Butter chicken use it in the marinade and the sauce.
• Legumes: Chana masala and Dal tadka get a pinch at the end.
• Rice and vegetables: In Chicken biryani it seasons the meat and the rice layers; in Palak paneer it rounds off the spinach.
• Fillings: The potato and pea filling of Samosas takes a heaped teaspoon.

Substitutes for garam masala

Without a ready-made blend, you can build a quick substitute from ground spices: 2 parts cumin, 1 part coriander, ½ part each of cinnamon and cardamom, plus a pinch of clove and black pepper. Curry powder tastes different but can rescue a curry in a pinch if you fry it in early. Chinese five-spice powder shares cinnamon and clove but brings a lot of anise, so it fits only in small amounts.

Buying and storing

You find ground garam masala on the spice shelf of most supermarkets. Larger packs and whole spices such as black cardamom are available at an Indian or Asian grocery store and online. With ready-made blends, read the ingredient list: some contain salt, chili or fillers, and allergens such as mustard are listed there too.

Ground, garam masala loses much of its aroma after a few months. Better to mix small amounts and keep them airtight, cool and dark. Whole spices keep this way for a year and longer. If the blend hardly smells when you rub a pinch between your fingers, it is time for a new one. Which other spices are worth keeping in stock is in the Asian pantry list.