Mom’s Garam Masala – I cannot believe that I am finally writing an actual post about this amazingly aromatic, out-of-the-world garam masala recipe!! This is a family recipe that is being used for generations and this is my attempt to preserve some of the family traditions as a legacy.
As mentioned in my simple garam masala recipe, every family has their own version of garam masala and I couldn’t be happier to finally share the one from my family! In many maharashtrian families this kind of masala is also referred to as ‘Goda masala’. My mom uses this garam masala to make the authentic and delicious recipes like chicken curry, stuffed eggplant or black eyed peas curry!
This summer when my Mom visited, I had asked her to bring all of the whole-spices that she uses to make her garam masala. She was thrilled to bring them, together we had a great time exploring and comprehending each spice. These also were some of the most treasured moments for the mother-daughter duo, recollecting family anecdotes from generations past.
With my mom’s help I was able to map the marathi spice names to the english ones; with the hope of passing this down as one of the legacies for my children and my extended family.
My mom slow-roasted each individual spice in a small pan, with a little bit of oil. Roasting helps get rid of any moisture in the spices making it easier to grind. As she continued to roast, a nostalgic warm-earthy-sweet-peppery aroma filled my kitchen! It emotionally transported me not only to my childhood memories of my mom’s cooking but also to my grandma’s kitchen who I was lucky to have spent a great deal of time cooking with.
We allowed these roasted spices to completely cool before grinding them to a fine powder in the spice grinder. After grinding, we sifted the spice blend and ran the larger grainy spices through the grinder again. This ensured that the spices were evenly ground.
Here is the list of the spices used in making mom’s garam masala:
- asafetida {hing} – used as a digestive aid, asafoetida has a strong odor that mellows out into a garlic-onion flavor
- bay leaves {tamal patra} – aromatic leaves with impressive health benefits which includes detoxifying the body
- black pepper {miri} – hot pungent spice, that helps improve stomach’s ability to digest foods and promotes intestinal health
- black cardamom {badi velchi} – often referred to as queen of spices, gives a smoky flavor to curries
- cardamom {velchi} – sweet and invigorating spice that adds a fresh flavor to many recipes
- cumin seeds {jeera} – with it’s earthy, musky flavor; cumin seeds is one of the most popular spice
- black cumin seeds {shah jeera} – slightly bitter than cumin seeds; these seeds are a rich source of dietary fibre
- cinnamon {daalchili} – sweet-spicy flavored sticks enhance the flavors in many dishes
- cloves {lavang} – with a distinct and undeniable warmth, cloves are one of the most powerful spices with intense flavors
- coriander seeds {dhana} – lemony-citrus flavored seeds that add warm and nutty flavors
- dried red chilies {lal mirchi} – with a rich earthy flavor, chilies add perfect heat and color to foods
- fennel seeds {badishep} – lightly sweet and licorice flavored, these seeds are a good digestion aid
- fenugreek seeds {methi} – these bitter tasting seeds help control diabetes and have diverse benefits for skin, hair, and health
- mace {jaipatri} – outer covering of nutmeg; that adds subtle and delicate flavors
- nutmeg {jaiphal} – sweet and pungent, adds a warm note to savory dishes
- poppy seeds {khuskhus} – adds nutty flavors and are a good source of minerals
- star anise {badyaan} -adds a sweet-licorice flavor to curries
- stone flower {dagadphool} – with a strong earthy aroma this anti-inflammatory spice is also dominant in South Indian Chettinad cuisine
- turmeric {halkund} – with a mild woody flavor, turmeric is a super food with its natural anti-inflammatory properties
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A family recipe of a a complex spice blend that used in traditional Indian home cooking using nineteen aromatic and warm spices.
- 2-3 tablespoon oil
- 5 pieces -whole turmeric - halkund
- 1/2 nutmeg - jaiphal
- 1 tablespoon asafetida - hing
- 5 cinnamon sticks - daalchini
- 3 tablespoon cloves - lavang
- 1.5 tablespoon black cumin seeds - shah jeera
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds - jeera
- 10 - black cardamom - bad velchi
- 1 tablespoon cardamom - velchi
- 3 tablespoon kalpasi - dagadphool stone flower
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds - badishep
- 2 tablespoon Mace - jaipatri
- 3 tablespoon black pepper - mire
- 10 star anise - badyan
- 8 bay leaves - tamal patra
- 2 tablespoon coriander seeds - dhane
- 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds - methya
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds - khuskhus
- 25 - dried red chillies - mirchi
- Add 1/2 tsp of oil at a time and slow roast each spice until it releases the aroma and is hot to touch. Allow all the roasted spiced to cool on a large tray.
- Grind the roasted spices in batches to make a fine powder.
- Sift the ground spice blend and grind any coarse spices.
- Store in an airtight glass jar.
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Author: Archana
Hey there! I am a techie turned recipe developer, cooking instructor, and food blogger. I love food and enjoy developing easy and healthy recipes for busy lifestyles. I live New Jersey with my husband and two sons.
Thank you so much, I have been looking for a garam masala recipe made from scratch 🙂
You are most welcome! You will enjoy the aromas and flavors from this garam masala!
I have a couple of questions – you say to slow roast – is that in the oven or on the stovetop? What temperature in the oven or on the stove top? What kind of oil did she use?
Your post is so interesting! I really enjoy the extra information you gave about each of the spices.
Hi Juile! Thank you for your kind words. So slow roasting is done on the stove top at medium low heat. She used corn oil but any mild cooking oil will work. Let me know if you have any other questions!
Thank you for this! Quick question- are all the spices dried(ie.not fresh Turmeric) and what type of red chili, there are so many!
Hi Teresa! Yes all the spices are dried. You can use either kashmiri chili or byadgi chili, both available in Indian stores. Basically look for dried red chilies with medium heat. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions. I can’t wait to hear how you like this!
Fantastic recipe and thanks for the tip on sifting and then re grinding the chunky bits – I’ll be doing this from here in Archana!
Hi Laura, Thank you for your kind words. Do let me know how you like the flavors of this garam masala!
Hi Archana! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe. I made it today & the aroma was mind blowing,my house smells divine right now. Totally worth the efforts,thank you again
Hi Kiran! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. I am impressed that you tried this recipe with many spices and I hope you will enjoy them in your curries. I wish I could quickly figure out a way to see photos on comments too.
I have three questions:
Do you roast one spice, put it to the side, then roast the next, put it to the side, etc., or do you roast them all together?
Can you roast the spices in ghee or will that add too much of another flavor than most neutral tasting oils like vegetable or canola?
Do you use common cinnamon (cassia from Vietnam is what most cinnamon is in the US), or do you use true cinnamon from Sri Lanka (Ceylon cinnamon)?
I’m looking forward to trying this. Thank you.
Hi Rod, So for the quantities mentioned in the recipe you can roast them all at once. For larger quantities you can roast them one at a time. Adding ghee or oil will add more flavor but the shelf life will be a bit less. Also since most Indian recipes already have oil or ghee in them the spice blend does not need it. I have tried both cassia and cinnamon for this recipe and it works great.
Let me know how you like it!
Hi, is the whole tumeric fresh? Doesn’t it take some time for roasting to make sure it is completely dry?
It is dried whole turmeric. Typically my mom would keep it in sun for a day to get rid of any moisture that might be remaining. But it’s pretty dry.
The powder is bitter may be because of fenugreek seeds,hos to reduce it
Hi Rekha, I have never directly tasted the Garam Masala. Did you try using it in a curry? The recipe calls for very less fenugreek seeds so I wonder if it’s not really that?
You never mentioned how much of that stone flower shell we put in.
Hi Ivan, recipes calls for 3 tablespoons for stone flower. I have updated my oversight where I forgot to mention the word stone flower next to the Indian name – dagadphool
Quick question. Your recipe calls for 25 chili peppers! Isn’t that kind of too much? I am not only worried it will be way too hot but it will be main ingredient too. I mean half a bland would be just chillin peppers.
I have used Kashmiri chilies in This recipe which are mild variety. You can also reduce them to half if you are using a different/spicier variety.
I figured that Kashmiri would cut the heat. But isn’t that going to be a lot of peppers to kill all other flavors?
The chilies are dry and when ground reduced the volume. I have tried this recipe with my mom and it does come out perfect every time. Although you always have an option to reducing the chilies. You can always add more later or as needed
Archana this is utterly fantastic! Smells like Bombay! Thanks so much!
You are most welcome