Indian garam masalas vary from region to region, from cook to cook. Despite having the same ingredients for the most part, each masala powder is unique, bringing individual tastes and flavour profiles to the dishes it blends into due to a different set of spices.
Most masalas have the same base, green cardamom, black cardamom, dried fenugreek leaves or kasuri methi, fennel, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, caraway seeds, cloves, coriander seeds and bayleaf. But two ingredients are added generously to this list in the south of India and Kashmir: cinnamon and star anise.
We asked Chef Vikas Milhoutra, Executive Chef of Taj Dubai, for the top 5 garam masalas that are used in Indian cuisine, who stresses there's no right or wrong, no standard formula when it comes to masalas: at the end of the day it's the diner's preference on which spices they like more than the others. Here is a basic guide:
1. Garam masala
Common to a lot of Indian homes with usage primarily in the north of India, especially Punjabi cuisine, the garam masala makes use of coriander, cloves, cumin, fennel, kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), cardamom and cinnamon bark. Every household has their own combination of these spices in different proportions, according to the family’s preference. The spices are roasted to get oils out, and this is done individually for each spice as they take separate times to roast due to different sizes and shapes. Then all spices are ground together - traditionally a mortar and pestle is used for this, though in today’s convenience-driven world a grinder is often used. But hand grinding means oils are lost in a smaller quantity; the slower you grind, the less nutrient loss. Which is why spices ground in a mortar and pestle are always stronger in flavour.
Recipe
Ingredients
• 4 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp peppercorns
• 3 sticks cinnamon
• 4 nos mace
• 3 pods black cardamom
• 2 tsp green cardamom
• 1 tsp fennel
• 2 tsp cloves
• 3 nos bay leaves
Method
1. In a heavy-bottomed pan roast coriander seeds on low flame, add in cumin, and on a low flame roast until it turns aromatic. Set aside.
2. In the same pan add peppercorns, cinnamon, mace, black cardamom, green cardamom, clove and fennel and roast until all the spices turn aromatic, without burning. Set aside, let it cool and blend to a coarse powder.
3. Store in an airtight container.
2. Meat or biryani masala
Used a lot in the Muslim cuisine across India, from Hyderabad to Lucknow and parts of UP and even Kashmir, this masala works well for biryanis and meat curries. Cumin, coriander, green and black cardamom, peppercorns (black and white) help add spice to biryanis. The white peppercorns don’t discolour the dish but add pungency to it. Cloves and cinnamon add spice to the dish when roasted and powdered. Fennel seeds also add a pickled Indian achari taste.
Recipe
Ingredients
• 3 nos bay leaves
• 4 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 2 nos star anise
• 4 -6 dry red chillies
• 1 tbsp mace
• 4 black cardamom pods
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 12 green cardamom pods
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cloves
• 1 tsp nutmeg powder
Method
1. On low heat, roast all ingredients together, except the nutmeg powder.
2. Keep stirring continuously as you are roasting the spices.
3. Allow to cool and grind together to a fine powder.
4. Store in an airtight container.
3. Kashmiri garam masala
Adding dried red chillies to the above meat masala, increasing the proportion of peppercorns, and adding nutmeg and mace gets us to this Kashmiri masala, which has about 10 to 12 different spices in it, including cumin, cardamom, peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, fennel seed, cinnamon sticks. The Kashmiri masala adds pungency to the dish. But Kashmiri chillies are added not for the purpose of spicing up a dish but more for its colour. The chillies are pungent and spicy but only mildly so, and adds a brilliant red hue to dishes.
Recipe
Ingredients
• 4 sticks cinnamon
• 4 tbsp black cumin seeds
• 3 nos bay leaves
• 2 tbsp green cardamom
• 4 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 tbsp cloves
• Kashmiri red chilly (optional, as per spice level desired)
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp mace
• ½ tsp nutmeg
Method
1. Dry roast all ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan, on medium heat, until a nice, spicy aroma arises (6 to 8 minutes).
2. Allow to cool and grind together to a fine powder.
3. Store in an airtight container.
4. Goda masala
This spice from Maharashtra and the Konkan belt is used in dishes such as chicken sukha (a semi-dry chicken and coconut dish) and tamdaa rasa (a bold flavoured spicy curry often made with chicken or mutton). The spices should preferably be ground every other day to retain the freshness and fragrance of the dry spices, which are coriander, cloves, cumin, kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves), cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, white sesame seeds and desiccated or fresh coconut. All are roasted separately, and once crisp and slightly warm, ground to a powder.
Recipe
Ingredients
• 4 tbsp dessicated coconut
• 2 tbsp white sesame
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 6 dry red chillies
• 1 tbsp rock flower (dagad phool)
• ½ tbsp cardamom
• ½ tbsp peppercorns
• 4 nos bay leaves
• 1 tsp cloves
• 2 tbsp coriander
Method
1. Set the heat to low-medium, and roast each and every ingredient separately. Keep stirring continuously as you are roasting the spices.
2. Allow to cool, then grind together to a fine powder.
3. Store in an airtight container.
5. Panch phoran or 5 spices
A dry roasted spice combination that comes from Bengal and is used in the east of India, Panch Phoran imparts a taste of pickling spice. A combination of nigella seeds, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds are cooked in oil and allowed to crackle. The panch phoran has a very flavourful and pungent taste to it, and uses no chilli or peppercorns, just the spice of the mustard. To make it, spices are roasted separately and ground. The Panch Phoran is used in both vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian dishes. An example is the Panch Phoran fish, which has a double dose of mustard due to using a mustard-based masala and being cooked in mustard oil. To cook the fish, crackle spice and add some slit green chillies, along with a very popular ingredient in west Bengal called kasundi or fermented mustard paste. Allow the fish to slow cook in that for some strong flavours.
Recipe
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp nigella seeds
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 2 tbsp black mustard seeds
• 2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
Method
1. Toast the spices slightly over a low flame and before its aroma is out, take it off the flame and let it cool down.
2. Then powder the spices in a blender. A medium speed or pulsing option is recommended for pounding the spice mix, as the mix tends to lose the oil and the Panch Phoron may not give the best of its flavour when used for cooking.
3. Tip: Freshly ground masala brings out the best flavour.
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