Masalas

 Garam Masala

This wonderful home made garam masala recipe has passed through centuries in our family! It's much better than the garam masala available in the market.

It goes well with curries and vegetable dishes. Add it to curries and leave to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Or use it as a garnish on vegetable dishes just before you serve.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon jeera (cumin seeds)
1 teaspoon shah jeera ( black cumin - a thinner, darker variety, more fragrant variety of cumin)
1 heaped teaspoon kali mirch (black pepper corns)
5 sticks of 2 inch long darchini (cinnamon)
5 big elaichi (black cardamom)
5 small elaichi (green cardamom)
2 jaiphal (nutmeg)
3 chakra phool (star anise)
4 javitri flowers (mace)
13 laung (cloves)
2 tejpatta (Indian bay leaves)


Method

Inspect the ingredients to see that they are good quality and dry. Grind them together to a fine powder. Use a dry bottle to store the powder. This is a strong garam masala and quarter teaspoon is enough in a dish cooked for four people.

Chat Masala

Try this chat masala with fruit chat or traditional dahi bhalla chat

Ingredients
4 table spoons jeera (cumin seeds)
1 level teaspoon black pepper (kali mirch) powder
1 level teaspoon black rock salt
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon green chillies dried and ground OR red chilly powder

Optional
Dried mint powder to taste

Method
Roast half the cumin seeds in a pan till dark brown. Mix with remaining cumin seeds and grind.
Mix all other ingredients with this mixture.

(Chilly powder is optional and to your taste)

It will give its aroma  to mixed fruit chat when some lemon juice. Can also be used to flavour potato chat, i.e. boiled potatoes mixed with bananas and boiled sweet potatoes. This is also the mixture for jal jeera and is added to golgappa water.

Sambhar Masala

Here's the recipe for a great sambhar masala mix. It can be added to yellow daal (split and skinned red gram) for great flavour:

Batch 1
2 cup dry sabut dhaniya (coriander seeds)
2 tablespoon methi dana (fenugreek seeds)
1 tablespoon rai (black mustard seeds)
1/2 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
1 teaspoon kali mirch (black pepper corns)
1/2 cup urad dal (split black gram, skinned)
1/2 cup chana dal (split bengal gram, skinned)

Batch 2
2 heaped tablespoons khas khas (white poppy seeds)
5 red dry chillies
2 pieces of inch long darchini (cinnamon)
2-3 long (cloves)
1 javitri flower (mace)
5-6 small pipal (long pepper)
1/2 jaiphal (nutmeg)
2-3 pieces of one inch haldi (turmeric)

Dry Roast each ingredient of batch 1 seperately till light brown.
Roast ingredients of batch 2 seperately in two tablespoons of refined oil till light brown.

Mix both batches and grind.
Store in air tight container. It can be stored for upto one year.

Add a teaspoon to daal for 2-3 persons. Alternatively add the powder to daal tadka.

Chai Masala 

We all love masala tea in winter. Here's a chai masala recipe:

Ingredients

10 large illaichi (black cardamoms)
5 small illaichi (green cardamoms)
5 pieces of 1 inch long darchini (cinnamon)
1/2 jaiphal (nutmeg)
10 cloves
2 flowers javitri (mace)
5 small pippali (long pepper)

Mix the ingredients and grind them together. Store in a dry bottle and add a pinch to a cup of tea for great masala chai.