Garam masala

Garam masala means ‘warming spice mix’—an aromatic rather than hot blend of spices which often appears in Indian recipes. There are countless versions. This one can be considered elemental, which makes it useful in many situations where other spices are intended to characterise the dish.

We love making our own spice blends because the results are just so much better than any store-bought option. The fragrance is certainly far more pronounced than pre-mixed blends and the flavour is richer.

Spice blends are one of the areas where the Modernist Recipes DB format really shines. Many recipes require you to make a large quantity because the smallest volumetric measurement is ⅛ teaspoon. With the modernist recipe format you can scale down the recipe to produce just what you require for a single dish. With inexpensive pocket scales with 0.01 g accuracy, you can make the quantity as small as you like. Spice mixes are best when fresh, so being able to make a fresh mix with negligible waste is a bonus for the quality of your final dish.

Time

25 minutes total: 10 minutes attended, 15 minutes unattended

Storage notes

Keeps for 3 months in an air-tight container stored out of direct sunlight.

Difficulty

easy

Special requirements

spice grinder

Yield

17 g (servings 4 –8)

Ingredients

Weight

Volume

Procedure

—

Preheat the oven to 170°C / 338°F.

Cardamom pods

1.6 g

8 pods

Place in a mortar and extract the seeds from the pods by carefully breaking them open with a pestle. Discard the pods.

Transfer to a medium-sized non-stick pan.

Cassia leaves (Indian bay leaves), broken into small pieces

0.6 g

2 medium leaves

Peppercorns, black, whole

2.9 g

1 tsp

Cumin, seeds, whole

4.5 g

2 tsp

Coriander, seeds, whole

3.4 g

2 tsp

Cinnamon, whole, broken into small pieces

4.2 g

1.969" / 5 cm stick

Cloves, whole

1.6 g

1 tsp

Add to pan. Bake for 10 minutes, agitating the pan after 5 minutes.

Transfer to spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.

Notes

You can also process the toasted spices in a mortar and pestle.

This might seem a little obvious, but it is worth mentioning: be careful when when you grab the handle of the pan in the oven to agitate the spices. It will be very hot. Use protection.

The whole spices can also be toasted in a dry non-stick pan over a low–medium heat, stirring constantly. This will take less time than the oven but care must be taken not to burn the smaller spices. This is the reason why spices are often dry toasted separately.

A teaspoon of this blend is 1.7 g.

Making ahead

Make the whole recipe ahead of time and store in an air-tight container out of direct sunlight.

Nutrition

Serving size 4 g; calories 12.6 kcal, kilojoules 52.9 kJ, protein 0.5 g, carbohydrates 1.3 g, sugar 0.1 g, fat 0.5 g, saturated fat 0.1 g, unsaturated fat 0.6 g, trans fat 0 g, fiber 1.4 g, cholesterol 0 mg,