Make Garam Masala Yourself: Ingredients and Mixing Explained

Make Garam Masala yourself – the popular spice mixture with the spicy, full-bodied taste is a classic of Indian cuisine. The aromas are often used with fish, meat, vegetables, rice, curries, and dips.

Making Garam Masala yourself – simply explained

Masala means “spices” and thus garam masala is a mixture of different spices that differ a little from one region to another. However, the basic ingredients are always the same. With these tips, you can make the spice mixture yourself in no time at all:

• The basic ingredients are cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg, and roasted cumin. According to Ayurvedic medicine, the spices should heat the body. The spice mixture is often supplemented with ginger, garlic, chili, or turmeric.
• If you want to make garam masala yourself, it is best to roast all the ingredients in a pan or wok so that the essential oils can develop better and the aroma becomes more intense.
• Then set your mixture aside to cool. Then you can e.g. crush the ingredients in a mortar and thus process them into powder.

Sample recipes

Basically, it is recommended to use spices as a whole and to roast them so that you get the typical aroma. You can store your spice mixture airtight in a cool, dry place for several months and always have it to hand. Alternatively, you can buy the spices already ground and mix them, or if you want to go really quickly, you can use the ready-mix.

• Whole spice recipe: 4 cinnamon sticks, 8 cardamom pods, 4 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp cloves, ½ tbsp black peppercorns, ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• Recipe with “ground spices”: 1 tbsp ground cumin, 1½ tsp ground coriander, 1½ tsp ground cardamom, 1½ tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1½ tsp ground cloves, 1½ tsp ground nutmeg