Goda Masala (Garam Masala)

Its been a while since I have blogged.. and what else to blame but luxury of delicious home cooked food!! My parents are visiting me in London.. they took some time to settle down and the moment my mother found her way around.. she has been busy cooking and keeping piping hot food ready before I get from office... Especially on the evening when its raining and cold what else that hot food can cheer you up :) this is the story on weekedays.. but weekends are special.. I have been learning some nice traditional Indian dishes and how spices work together.. last weekend on a quiet sunday afternoon we thought of making garam masala, famously known as Goda Masala in Maharashtra.. at home! I was very skeptical how it was going to turn out, since i wasn't sure if spices I get outside India would have they same bite! Even so we thought of giving it a go and I must say it turned out to be a successful event... my mum's spice measurement didn't fail.. our whole house was filled with the crispy spice aroma and its be safely jarred and preserved like a little treasure.. here is what went in.. am sorry to say nothing in this recipe can be altered, anything more or less can spoil the taste of the masala.. so here goes..

Your GodaMasala Shopping list, am warnign you its a very long list, but worth every bit of effort, all these ingredients a avery easy to find in any partof the world:

1. Coriander Seeds (Dhane)- 1 kg
2. Cumin Whole (Jeera)-  250 gms
3. Sesame Seeds (Til)- 250gms
4. Decicated Coconut (Khobra)- 250 gms
5. Poppy Seeds (Khaskhas)- 100 gms
6. Whole Black Pepper (Kali Miri)- 10 gms
7. Cinnamon Stick (Dalchini)- 10gms
8. Dried Bay leaf (Tamalpatra) - 10 gms
9. Black Cardomom (Masala / Kala Veldoda) - 10 gms
10. Cloves (Lavang) - 10 gms
11. Black Stone Flower (Dagd Phool) - 10 gms
12. Caraway seeds (Sha Jeera) - 10 gms
13. Star Anise (Keshri Phool) - 10 gms
14. Asafoetida (Hing) - 10 gms
15. Nagkeshar - havent been able to find an english name for this spice.. if anyone knows please let me know - 10 gms
16. Ginger Powder (Suntha) - 10 gms
17. Nutmeg Powder (Jayfal) - 10 gms (Grate a whole nutmeg, avoid getting ready made powder)

Once you have your ingredients ready, don't waste anytime because you are about to enter a world of mysterious aroma. So here we go, all these ingredients need to be tossed on a dry hot pan, some need to be shallow fried and some deep fried, hence they all need to go in the hob individually, I know sounds tiresome, but trust me this will turn out to be a real labour of love.

Following ingredients get tossed on a dry hot pan, please make sure you toss them individually and not together:

Cumin, Sesame Seeds, Decicated Coconut, Poppy Seeds

Shallow fry the Coriander Seeds, when they fuff a little that's when you know they are ready.

Deep fry rest of the ingredients individually.

Once all the frying is completed they spices need to go in the mixie, again there is a sequence they need to go in.. by now you must think I am showing signs of madness, but trust me there is a method to this madness, the sequence they go in the mixer is because quite a few of these spices release natural oil, which gets the mixer sticky and hard for other ingredients to mix. Also the masala needs to retain its dryness to store for a long time. Grinding them in the sequence I am about to metion will give you a very crisp masala, so here is how they go in for grinding, you can grind them as coarse or as fine as you like, I like mine a little coarse like a crushed pepper consistency:

Except for Sesame Seeds, Decicated Coconut, Poppy Seeds, tip everything into the mixer and grind to the consistency you are after.

Follow it with Sesame Seeds, Decicated Coconut, Poppy Seeds, grinding them independently in a fine powder.

When everything is ground mix everything togehter in a big bowl, make sure everything is mixed in well. You will get a waft of spices once you start mixing the ground spices in a bowl and that's when you know you are in for a very tasty curry!!  Store the masala in an air tight container, this will keep for more than an year :-)

The one I made turned out excellent and is happily been tucked in my cupboard, if you follow the mesurements and the instructions carefully nothing can go wrong.. I have been enjoying cooking curries ever since.. hope you do too :-)

Happy cooking!!