Garam masala

Whole spices roasted and then ground, and no composition is more correct than another.

Vegan.

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 20 green cardamom pods
• 4 black cardamom pods
• 2 sticks cinnamon, about 10 cm
• 2 teaspoons cloves
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 star anise
• 1 teaspoon ground mace

Method

1. WHOLE SPICES ARE ROASTED AND THEN GROUND, AND NO COMPOSITION IS MORE CORRECT THAN ANOTHER. Both halves of that are its article's, and the second is the more useful: it says the composition differs from place to place, that there are many recipes across the subcontinent according to local and personal taste, and that NONE of them is held to be more correct than the rest. So the list below is one blend and not the blend, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something.
2. THE HANDLING, THOUGH, IS FIXED. THE COMPONENTS OF THE MIX ARE ROASTED, THEN GROUND TOGETHER OR ADDED TO THE DISH FOR FLAVOUR JUST BEFORE FINISHING THE COOKING. Roasted whole, ground after. Ground spices roasted afterwards burn before they toast.
3. AND THE SPICES ITS ARTICLE NAMES ARE THESE. It REGULARLY INCORPORATES A BLEND OF FLAVOURS LIKE CARDAMOM, CINNAMON, CUMIN, CLOVES, BAY LEAVES, STAR ANISE, AND PEPPERCORNS. All seven are below, with coriander and mace added because they are in most household blends.
4. ROAST THEM IN THREE GROUPS, NOT ALL AT ONCE. The seeds first -- cumin, coriander, pepper -- for three or four minutes. Then the bark and pods: cinnamon, both cardamoms, cloves, star anise, two minutes. Bay leaves last, thirty seconds. A single pan of everything gives you burnt cumin and raw cinnamon.
5. LOW HEAT, AND STOP AT THE SMELL RATHER THAN THE COLOUR. They should smell sharp and sweet, and the cumin should be a shade darker. Dark cumin is bitter cumin and there is no recovering a batch.
6. COOL THEM COMPLETELY BEFORE GRINDING. Warm spices sweat in the grinder and the powder clumps and goes stale within days.
7. GRIND THEM FINE, THEN SIEVE, THEN REGRIND THE COARSE BITS. Cinnamon bark and cardamom husk never give in at the same rate as seed. Two passes gets an even powder.
8. KEEP IT AIRTIGHT, DARK, AND IN SMALL QUANTITIES. Six weeks is the useful life of a ground blend, which is why this makes a jar rather than a year's supply. Its article notes the masala is used alone or with other seasonings, in marinades, pickles, stews and curries.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

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