Hi Mamta,

Do you have a recipe for Garam Masala that you recommend we use in your recipes? If not, is it OK to use Garam Masala that we buy in packets from shops - I am a bit reluctant to use these sometimes as they can be packed out with things like fennel seeds, excessive amounts of coriander seeds (and other bulkifiers) to increase their bulk. Most people prepare their own garam masala and store it at home in a jar. But recipes for garam masala can vary widely.

I always end up getting confused with indian recipes/ food in general - although very tasty - there is no one correct way and everyones recipes vary slightly from household to household (as well as regionally in India) and with everyone believing their way is the correct way. In the end you loose your ability to differentiate between the different possibilities. This is what makes indian cooking for me very difficult.

Farzana

Hi Farzana

'Garam masala' is a mix of spices that are considered hot, hence the name Garam=hot, Masala=spice mix. See recipe at: http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=1

Some people add cumin and corinader to it, but in our North Indian families we do not. Garma masala spices are more expensive than dhania and jeera (cumin). These are added by some people, specially in ready made versions, to make the garam masala go further. These take away from the flavour of garam masala. Anyway, dhania and cumin are already in your recipe and you don't have to have it in your garam masala too. Personally, I prefer to use less of fresh/strong garam masala, rather than the diluted version. It is easy to make, as long as you have a grinder. Make only a small jar at a time as old ones have less flavour.

Mamta

Apologies if I sent off an unfnished message by mistake.

It's not easy to answer the question 'What is the right way to make garam masala?'

(By the way, the North Indian word 'garam' is related to the English word 'warm', both sets of languages being of Indo-European descent).

I agree with Mamta that you should make your own, fresh, and that's generally true of ground spices.

I find some kinds of packet garam masala too heavy in what tastes like star anise, but is probaly something else (cloves, probably).

I also think that it's a shame to prepare an Indian dish with specific spices, and then just drown it in a mix of other spices, though I confess that I do sometimes do this, depending on the dish and how it has worked out.

For example, what's the point in preparing a dish which has JUST coriander, cumin and chilli, only to bung in a mixed batch of other spices? You risk everytning tasting like everything else.

I suggest you try out different ranges and quantities of spices, to see what sort of garam masal you prefer. But, generally speaking, I'm very cagey about the whole garam (or gharam) masala business.

Others may disagree, of course. Comments welcome.

Cheers

Phil

Hi Phil

1. Generally speaking, if you have used whole garam masala ingredients at the beginning of the recipe, i.e. during tempering or with frying onions, you don't have to add powdered version at the end. But this is never a strict rule.

2. One should not use a huge amounts, just a sprinkle. It is only meant to give a special 'aroma/flavour' to the finished dish. Used in correct amounts, it does not mask other spices. I agree with you, some dishes will not need the intense flavours of garam masala in them.

3. Nothing is written in tablets of stone. Use of any spice in a dish is an individual taste. For example, my mother never put any chilli in anything, because my father loved mild food, although he loved munching green chillies. She would make a separate small bowl of heated ghee, with cumin and chillies added to it and leave it on the table. Anyone who wanted to add it to their dals, vegetables, was free to do so. This reminds me that I have not written this in my dal recipes! Most North Indians do this routinely with their dals and kadhi etc.

4. Home made garam masala is best. Some people fry or dry roast the ingredients to release the flavour. Personally, I prefer the .raw. flavour of these spices. This is an individual choice, there is no right and wrong way.

5. Interesting to read about garam being same to the word warm! There are so many words in European languages that are derived from the ancient Sanskrit language; mother from matra, father from pitra, mother from matra, brother from bhratra, man from manas, new from nav, eight from ashta, cow from gow or gau, .path. (pronounced as pa-th), serpent from serpa (pronounced as serp), cummerbund from kamarband and so on. Many of them predate the British empire period. Then there are words adopted from Hindi and Urdu during the raj period, like jungle, karma, veranda, raj, raja, maharaja, shah, nawab, sirdar, pukka/pakka, chutney/chatni, durrie/dari. The list is endless. It is fascinating to see how languages of the world use very similar words, specially the ones that come from ancient languages.

Mamta :-)

Hi mmta,

I agree with the points you raise on the use of garam masala.

Just a small point on language: it's not so much that the European words derive from Sanskrit: it's more that the European languages in question have in common with Sanskrit that they all derive from the same source: Indo-European.

It's not easy to see that Punjabi and English have the same historical source, but it's true, to the best of our current knowledge!

Cheers

Phil

Hi there.

I have read the foregoing and flicked through countless books because I am being taken shopping tomorrow and would like to make a curry tomorrow evening.

I recently bought a small pot of Garam Masala (Fiddes Payne) thinking it was a spice I used years ago whose scent was absolutely wonderful. I haven't opened it yet!

My questions are:

1. Should I buy any other spices tomorrow (bearing in mind that GM is a blend of spices)?

2. Should I then fry this Garam Marsala with onions as I used to do, adding the stock and meat or will that spoil everything.

I would like to make a medium hot curry but I don't want to spoil it and I am a beginner.

Thank you, Sylvia

I would buy green cardamom, cassia bark, cloves and powdered mace, if you haven't already. Make the garam masala out of these, it will be very pungent, but you only need a little. Don't roast these, there is no point, they don't change flavour (unlike coriander, cumin and fenugreek), you only lose flavour!

Add the garam masala (homemade) at the beginning, even with the onions, as the oil/ghee will extract the flavours. I would not add any at the end, but you might adjust the ratio of the individual spices in your original mix, as on prolonged cooking (say above 1 hour) some of the more volatile flavours will be lost to your kitchen atmosphere.

Think of it like a perfume. They have three layers of fragrance (in classical perfumery anyway), top notes, middle notes and base notes. The green cardamom would be in the top notes, and lost most readily, then the cloves would be in the middle notes, and cassia in the base notes, and persist the longest. Its not scientific, but it seems to have merit. Not sure about the mace though?

Other garam masalas can have other ingredients, I like brown cardamom, black cumin, cassia, cloves, mace and long pepper for N Indian dishes.

Thanks for your tip. BUT, I was hoping to use the Garam Marsala I bought last week and wondering if there was anything else I ought to buy (read my question). Would appreciate specific help as truly only a beginner. Also, there will not be time tomorrow to make the GM. I must buy everything and put it together (quickly!)

Hello Sylvia

Garam masala is always better and fresher when made yourself, as Lapis says. However, ready made one will be fine, you just may have to use a little more of it, if the aroma is lost. It is basically to give a curry a ?warm? aroma. There are many combinations of it, mine is like this; Garam Masala

GM is only one of the things you need for making a curry.

I tend to use garam masala at the end of cooking, just add on top, cover and let the flavours infuse. I use whole G M ingredients in the beginning, adding them to fried onions usually. Other main spices for curry that you will need are coriander powder and turmeric. Chilli powder is to individual taste, my curries are not usually very hot.

Take a look at this recipe for a Basic Curry Sauce and variations, it will give you general idea about how to get started.

Good luck and do come back and tell us how it turns out! What curry are you planning to make?

Mamta

Thank you so much for your reply. I have made a note of what to buy tomorrow and am printing your recipe and instructions now. I am so chuffed that you answered so quickly.

I have some turkey in the freezer (nice and fat free)already in bite size , pieces - so it should, hopefully, be a good curry!! I will let you know and, thanks again.

Sylvia

yes, read your question (again), same answer. If you use your garam masala as Mamta suggests, it should be fine. However, if you use it at the beginning, your garam masala may burn, because of the extra fillers in it (coriander, cumin, etc.). The oil needs to extract the spices for a full flavour. If you just add it at the end, you may get a raw taste (depending on fillers) and there is a chance that your curries end up tasting the same, even though you may not have designed it that way.

However, I don't want to confuse you, or put you off in any way, and you will learn pretty quickly what is and what is not for you.

Good luck

Lapis - thank you.

I have made "The Curry"!!! using the advice you have all given and thank you. I thought "this really doesn't smell curry(ish) at all! Then I popped into the garden to collect some washing and, wow, when I came back in it smelled as it used to do when my auntie, who lived in India for many years, made curries. Let's hope it tastes as good as it smells.

Can you please assist with a further question? Raita. I have made one using yoghurt (plain), garam marsala, chilli powder (following a recipe) but it is sour and not tasting as it does in the restaurant when it is served with chicken tikka for a starter.

Please what can I add to give it that something. Is it sugar?

Thank you, Sylvia

Hi Sylvia

Hope the curry tastes as good as it smells!

Raita should be made from fresh yoghurt. Sometimes, shop bought yoghurts can be a little bit too ?mature?/sour/sharp. You can try adding a little caster sugar or sweetener.

To make a riata, you can add just about anything to yoghurt. For a simple one, add chopped coriander/mint leaves, salt, pepper and a little chilli powder.

See here for some riata ideas; Raita Selection

mamta

Thank you Mamta.

It is probably beyond redemption.

I will follow your advice and recipes next time for this!!

Sylvia

hope that you have sorted it all out.

The smell (or lack of it) is something cooks often remark on, though that is usually balanced by saying the curry tasted much better the next day. I have often wondered why, and I believe the answer has something to do with the way we perceive smells and flavours, and partly to do with oil extraction of the spice flavours, (and the rest).

When we are cooking, we often stand over the pots and pans, to effect our techniques (and to stop little accidents happening!). This exposes us to the (hopefully) wonderful smells and flavours eminating from our cooking dishes. The nose, which does all the flavour detecting (the tasting is done by the tongue, as you know) can get saturated with smells, so effectively reducing its ability to detect more flavours. This is very apparent when drinking a glassful of a flavoured drink, the first few mouthfuls are full of flavour, then it diminishes.

Your experience of reduced smells in your kitchen is a perfect example. When you went into the garden, your nose was able to recover, when you went back into the kitchen, you got the full glory of what you were cooking.

Interesting you thought the dish did not have the usual curry smell. If by usual is meant 'curry powder' or 'restaurant' flavour, I can understand. As Mamta will testify, there are hundreds, if not thousands of different dishes in Indian cooking, each one smells and tastes different to each other, or they should! Curries made with curry powder can only taste of curry powder, and restaurant dishes taste of whatever they put in their 'stock pot'.

I believe your observation that your curry smelt different is testament to you making a decent attempt at, what is for most of us, not a simple task.

The other reson I think meals taste better the next day (after sitting in the fridge) is that the flavours have had time to be extracted into the oil/ghee, therefore potentially exposing more of them to our receptors (nose and tongue). If the flavours weren't extracted too well during the cooking period (a failing on behalf of the cook, perhaps) more flavour is extracted over time, giving better flavour, better colour and with more chilli pungency. These three things are all related to oil extraction.

This has been a long explanation, but one, I hope, wthat has explained a few things.