Garam Masala Recipe

Garam masala is made by grinding a few choice whole spices to make a warm and aromatic spice blend, essential for adding flavour and taste to Indian food. This is an authentic family recipe that is both quick and easy. All you need are 3 ingredients and 5 minutes to get this magic blend going!

About Garam Masala

Ever wonder why, sometimes, your recipes turn out fine but lack that wow factor? That oomph that takes a dish from good to freaking brilliant? There is a not-so-secret ingredient of Indian cooking that most people overlook, and it is this magic powder called garam masala.

Garam masala has the power to elevate your dishes and make them shine...when used in moderation. Use too much, and it will overpower the whole dish, ruining it basically. Use it sensibly, and you will enhance the taste and aroma of your painstakingly prepared food.

Recipes with garam masala: palak paneer, keema naan, and chicken patiala. Less is indeed more, in all these cases.

How less, you might ask? Good question. As a general rule, if I'm cooking for 4 people (which I do most of the time), I don't add more than ¼ of a teaspoon, sometimes even less. Especially if I have at hand this homemade garam masala. It is 3X more vibrant and robust than the tired old powder that's been languishing on a supermarket shelf for months, so you don't need a lot.

An exception is this boti kabab recipe. It needs one whole teaspoon of garam masala!

Finally, this is a basic recipe with just 3 ingredients. You DON'T need to be all fancy and use 50 different spices for making it, like so many online recipes suggest. Three spices in the right proportions work beautifully, every time. That being said, there is no rule book that says you can't add more variety to the mix. Go ahead and add a little cumin, some green cardamon, or a few pieces cinnamon or bay leaves if you so wish. Or any other whole spices you may have. You can experiment a bit here.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Measure out the whole spices. There is no need to toast them.

2. Peel the black cardamom. You don't want the whole pods, just the seeds. The reason being, the outer shells of black cardamom are very tough and stringy and do not grind very easily. Also, they make the powder too strong-tasting and intense.

3. Put all the spices in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. I use this spice grinder (affiliate link) as it is efficient and the lid locks into place and comes off very easily. You don't have to struggle eternally with it.

4. Transfer the garam masala into a spice bottle with a tight fitting lid to maintain freshness, and store it in your spice cabinet. Use as required.

Note: I don't make a very large batch all at once because most spice powders lose their freshness after a while. But I don't make too less either.. it should last you a couple of months at least, so you don't have to make fresh garam masala every time you set out to cook something. It's not practical to do so!

Substitutions

While there is no real substitute for powdered garam masala, there is one thing you can do if you don't have it. You can use individual whole spices in most recipes if you run out of the powder. They work almost the same and add a lot of vibrancy to a dish.

In fact, they are preferable if all you have is ages old store-bought garam masala. If I am out of my homemade garam masala, I do use individual whole spices like cardamom (both black and green), cloves, peppercorns, star anise etc.

Tried this recipe? Do consider giving it a star rating and comment below. If you’re on Instagram, feel free to tag me so I can see your creation! I’d love to hear from you! Thank you:)

📖 Recipe