I used the last of my home-made garam masala in my recent recipe, lamb curry, so have just finished a new batch. I don’t normally measure the quantities but I did this time so I could share the recipe. I have no idea if this is remotely authentic but I do know that it tastes good.

Garam Masala

Ingredients

• 30g coriander seeds
• 30g cumin seeds
• 10g yellow mustard seeds
• 10g black mustard seeds
• 10g onion seeds
• 15 whole cloves
• 10g fenugreek seeds
• 10g black peppercorns
• 5g caraway seeds
• 5g fennel seeds
• 5cm piece of cinnamon stick
• 5 bay leaves
• 5 curry leaves
• 6 brown cardamom pods (just the seeds)
• 2 dried chillies
• 30g ground turmeric
• 15g ground paprika
• 5g ground ginger

Directions

1. Place everything except the ground spices in a wide dry pot frying pan.
2. Cook over a low heat, stirring and shaking regularly, until the seeds start to pop. Use a lid to stop the seeds escaping.
3. Put the cooked spices into a spice grinder, coffee grinder or a small food processor and grind until a fine powder.
4. Put the powder into an airtight jar and add the ground spices. Shake to mix.

(Image by Badagnani – Own work, CC BY 3.0, Link)