Ready-made, packed masala powders are freely available in the market today. From garam masala to chaat masala to sambar powder… you can easily find everything and anything! But do you really know what goes into them?
Yet, as modern, active, career-driven and in some cases, also working moms, do we really have the time to make it from scratch at home? So we simply buy the best-known or organic brands in the market and trust fate to take care of the rest. I don’t blame you as I do this all the time too with many things ;)
But once in a while I do find the time to make this special masala for myself. It works wonders as a spice mix for marinating meats… and even adds mounds of flavour to a simple chicken curry and a few of my vegetable dishes. All in all, it’s pretty handy to have in my fridge. To tell you the truth, I’ve used it a couple of times to make a biriyani as well when I’ve run out of biriyani masala at home!
Hope you give it a try… And the aroma when it’s all roasted and freshly ground… truly heavenly!
Notes:
If using this recipe to marinate any type of meat like mutton, chicken or beef… you need 4 tbsp per kilo of meat.
To store it for longer and retain its freshness, keep it in the fridge in an airtight container.
Find the link to the demo video for this recipe here: @MyEzeeSpicyMasalaPowder
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Ingredients:
Part 1
2 tbsp coriander seeds
10 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
30 dried red round chillies
1 fresh whole nutmeg
Part 2
1 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
1 tsp fennel powder
2 black cardamom
15 green cardamom
2 pieces of mace
20 cloves
½ tbsp black pepper corns
1 large cinnamon stick
Part 3
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp red chilli powder
1 black cardamom
8 green cardamom
6-8 cloves
Method:
Place a pan on a low-medium flame and then add the coriander seeds, dried red chillies, bay leaves, nutmeg and cumin seeds.
Gently stir-fry until they release their natural oils and let out a beautiful aroma.
This will take some time, but don’t increase the flame as it could burn the spices.
Once done, transfer the contents to a bowl and leave it to cool.
Return the pan to the stove and again on a low flame let it heat up.
Break the cinnamon stick and add it to the pan. Follow this with the rest of the ingredients listed under ‘Part 2’.
Sauté gently until the flavours all infuse.
It can get a bit smoky but don’t worry, simply lift the pan off the flame for a bit a couple of times. This could be because of the kind of pan you use too, but it's nothing to be concerned about. Just make sure to keep stirring and not allow the spices to burn.
Once done, remove and allow it to cool down completely.
Transfer all the cooled, roasted ingredients to a food processor or mixer and grind. It can be finely ground or coarsely ground, it doesn’t matter. Just make sure there aren’t too many big pieces in there remaining.
Now transfer the ground spices to a clean dish. Remember, even if a drop of water gets in, it will spoil the whole spice mix.
Add in the ingredients listed under Part 4 and mix well.
Store this masala in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Use this spicy masala to marinate meats or to add flavour to any curries!
XOXO, Jovanka
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