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Front photo of a jar filled to the brim with garam masala
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5 from 10 votes

Garam Masala Recipe

Garam masala is a powdered blend of healthful, warming spices used in north Indian recipes. This homemade blend, ready in under 15 minutes, is better than any mix you can buy. Use it to add mouthwatering flavor to many Indian recipes, including restaurant-style dishes.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
Total Time15 minutes
Course: Spice Mix
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Meatless, Vegan, Vegetarian
Servings: 12 servings (approx)
Calories: 18kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat a wide skillet over medium low heat. Add the cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, red chili peppers, green and black cardamom.
  • Roast until the ingredients are just a couple of shades darker and smell fragrant. Remove to a plate or bowl to cool.
  • Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and toast them, again until a couple of shades darker and fragrant. Also remove to the plate or bowl.
  • Once the spice ingredients have cooled, place them in a blender (preferably one fitted with a jar for dry blending), or to a spice grinder. Blend into a coarse powder.
  • Store in an airtight jar.

Notes

  • Use a wide skillet, with a large surface area and short sides, to roast the spices.
  • Always dry-roast the spices, meaning don't add any oils to the pan. Oil would go rancid and reduce the shelf life of your garam masala. It is also quite unnecessary.
  • You can roast all the spices together, but I like to separate out the big spices and the small ones so they roast evenly. First go in with chili peppers, bay leaves, black and green cardamom and cinnamon. Put them in a plate or bowl to cool and then roast the remaining, smaller ingredients.
  • The oils in spices will make them brown fast if you leave them unattended, so watch them closely and stir them constantly as they roast, over medium-low heat, to ensure they cook evenly. Turn off the heat when the spices are just a couple of shades darker and smell really fragrant.
  • A spice grinder (or coffee grinder) works best to blend spice mixes, but a powerful blender would work too. The powdered garam masala should be a bit coarse, but it shouldn't have any whole seeds or pieces of spices remaining in it.
  • It is safest to use powdered spices within a year. Store your homemade garam masala and any powdered spice in an airtight jar, in a cool, dark, dry place, to maximize its shelf life. If you have room in the refrigerator, your spices are safest in there.

Nutrition

Calories: 18kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 3mg | Potassium: 69mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 42IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg