• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer
Devour.Asia

Devour.Asia

Connie Veneracion explores Asian food, history and culture

  • Tea
  • Kitchen Tales
    • Pantry Staples
    • Kitchen Tools
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Food Trivia
  • Food Tales
  • Travel Tales
  • Search
  • All Recipes
    • Chinese
    • Japanese
    • Korean
    • Taiwanese
    • Thai
    • Vietnamese
    • Asian Fusion
    • Instant Noodles (Ramen)
  • Tea
  • Kitchen Tales
    • Pantry Staples
    • Kitchen Tools
    • Cooking Techniques
    • Food Trivia
  • Food Tales
  • Travel Tales
  • Pop Tales
  • About
  • Privacy
  • All Recipes
  • Chinese
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Taiwanese
  • Thai
  • Vietnamese
  • Fusion
You are here: Home / Kitchen Tales / Garam Masala is a Spice Blend

Garam Masala is a Spice Blend

Garam masala which translates to “warm spice mix” is an ingredient often used in South Asian cooking. It isn’t one spice but a blend of several spices.

Garam masala powder and dried spices for making it

Cumin, coriander, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, chili, turmeric and nutmeg are some of the common ingredients although not all of these are always used together at the same time. On the other hand, additional spices, or even herbs, are sometimes added. It always depends on what dish you want to add garam masala in.

What does garam masala taste and smell like?

Oh, it’s complex. Given the number of spices in it, there is no singular adjective to describe how it tastes much less how it smells.

What is important to note is that just because it is a South Asian ingredient doesn’t necessarily mean it will add tons of heat to the cooked dish in which it is added. Spicy, after all, is not the equivalent of hot. Confused? Let me explain.

The use of the word spicy to mean hot is something that originated in American English usage. In North America, the most prevalent spices are pepper and chili, and both are hot. So, spicy and hot become synonymous. In fact, the association had led to chilies being referred to as chili pepper even though chili and pepper come from different plants.

Just so it’s clear: garam masala is spicy but not hot although it might have traces of heat IF chili is among the ingredients.

Store-bought versus homemade garam masala

You can buy ready to use garam masala in powder form. We used to do that. The problem with powdered spice and spice blends is that the shelf life is short. Once ground, spices lose their potency fast. Since garam masala is used rather sparingly, if you buy a packet, you had better use the contents within a week or two. After that, you won’t get optimum results.

So, at home, we make our own garam masala. Well, my daughter does. She keeps a supply of dried whole spices, takes what she needs for a dish and grinds the spices as needed. For instance, when her father cooked Indian-style fried spicy eggplants, she ground the spices for the garam masala just a mere few minutes before her father mixed the spice paste.

Indian-style crispy fried eggplant with garam masala
Indian-style crispy fried eggplant with garam masala

Homemade garam masala

Making garam masala from dried spices is not a complicated process. You just need the correct spices, a frying pan to toast them in, and a mortar and pestle. The Japanese mortar and pestle (the mortar is suribachi; the wooden pestle is surikogi) makes the job even easier. Of course, you can always resort to a mini-food processor.

If you decide to make your own garam masala, know that there is no universal formula for the spice blend. Some mixtures contain more spices than others and the ratio of the ingredients can vary. Yes, it can be confusing and even daunting. On the flipside, you can customize your garam masala. Less heat? More earthiness? You have total control.

Garam Masala

Connie Veneracion
Tweak according to your preference. And that means you have to familiarize yourself with the flavor and aroma of each and every ingredient. When you've done that, you'll understand that "spicy" and "hot" shouldn't be used interchangeably when describing spices.
Garam masala and the various spices that make up the blend
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 5 mins
Course Spice Blend
Cuisine South Asian
Servings 4 tablespoons

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
  • 1 tablespoon peppercorns black or white, or a combination
  • 1 half-inch stick cinnamon broken into small pieces
  • 1 dried chili optional
  • ½ teaspoon whole cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Instructions
 

  • Place all the ingredients, except the bay leaf and nutmeg, in a thick-bottomed skillet.
  • Over medium-low heat, toast the spices, tossing often, until they turn twice (or even thrice) as dark as their original colors (see notes after the recipe).
  • Cool the toasted spices.
  • Grind the toasted spices and bay leaf using a mortar and pestle, or a mini-food processor. How fine or coarse the grind should be depends entirely on how you intend to use the garam masala.
  • Stir in the grated nutmeg.
  • The garam masala is ready to use.

Notes

When toasting spices, keep the heat low. You’re toasting them to heighten the flavor and make them give off a smoky aroma. There is, however, a thin line between darkly toasted and burnt. The best way to avoid burning the spices is to keep the heat low. 
Store excess garam masala in an air-tight jar at room temperature away from the sun. Use within a week or two.
Keyword Spicy
Looking for Filipino food?Visit CASA Veneracion for modern twists on favorite classics!

If you cooked this dish (or made this drink) and you want to share your masterpiece, please use your own photos and write the cooking steps in your own words.

Inside my Asian kitchen

fresh Asian noodles

Asian Noodles Shopping Guide

Berries with whipped cream

The difference between whipped cream and whipping cream, and how to whip whipping cream

Spinach in a pan

Spinach, Swamp (Water) Spinach and Malabar (Vine) Spinach: What’s the Difference?

Asian food tales

Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia

Discovering Siew Pau and Coconut Tarts in Penang

Bistro Amarillo, Hotel Salcedo de Vigan

Eating Our Way From Vigan To Laoag

Vietnamese lotus tea (tra sen)

A Vietnamese Lotus Tea Guide. And Story.

Explore Asia

At Shifen Old Street. Sky lantern night lights.

At Shifen Old Street, We Bypassed the Sky Lanterns and Went Straight for the Street Food and Shopping

Bistro Amarillo, Hotel Salcedo de Vigan

Eating Our Way From Vigan To Laoag

100-yen stores rock

Osaka: 5 Lessons in 10 Photos

September 17, 2020 : Kitchen Tales Pantry Staples, Herbs & Spices
Previous Post: « Okra growing in the garden Cooking Okra Pods, Leaves and Flowers
Next Post: Clams Miso Soup Clams miso soup with oyster mushrooms and scallions »

Sidebar

Asian Pop Tales

Scene from "Vagabond" | Image credit: Netflix

“Vagabond” is not a Heavyweight Spy Story But It Pushes All the Right Buttons

Scene from "Kingdom" | Image credit: Netflix

Sorry, Brother, but “Kingdom” Doesn’t Have a Better Storyline Than “Game of Thrones”

Scene from “The Lunchbox” Image credit: Sony Pictures Classics

“The Lunchbox”: When a 100-year-old Lunch Delivery System Goes Wrong

  • About
  • Privacy & Usage
  • Full Archive

Everything © Connie Veneracion. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.