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Friday, March 02, 2012

Home Made Garam Masala Powder & How to Keep Green Chillies &Curry Leaves fresh?

Mom's recipes & tips never fail,I agree ..Do you??I started cooking only after marriage but always stood beside by my mom helping her chopping vegetables,helping in snack making,making dosas /chapathis at times when mom is not at home(happens once in a year:-)) But when I actually stepped into the same shoes and was in kitchen for the first time(mom was not near) that I could realise cooking was not that easy when you start from scratch;exceptions now a days is that you get all frozen and ready made masala powders.And am a person I could never smell the aroma of the masala powders in the ready made packets somehow was not satisfied.That's the time I started preparing my own reserve of garam masala powder especially as per mom's instructions.And in a way,am happy too..Recently did I got to know that one of the leading brands of spice powders 'Eastern' is adulterated with some toxic chemicals.So,friends this is for all those who miss their moms aromatic garam masala powder !!


Ingredients
cinnamon 1 whole strand(10 pieces 1"long)
cloves 15
fennel seeds 3tbsp
cardamom 20 pods
poppy seeds 2 tsp
star anise 2
whole pepper corns 1 tbsp


Method
-Heat a non stick pan in low flame and add all the spice powders,just warm it up.(takes 5-7 minutes,don't burn)
-Put these in the blender and grind it to a fine powder.
-Store in air tight jars for future use.
(SEE NOTES BELOW)


How To keep Green Chillies  & Curry leaves Fresh at home?
The green chillies that you buy from the market or grocery store stays good in a refrigerator for 2weeks at the maximum.Sometimes when I visit the Indian grocery stores here,the green chillies & curry leaves may be out of stock and that's how I started storing these in my refrigerator well in advance. By this method,you can preserve them longer for a 40 days .
-The best way to keep them is remove the stalk of green chillies with your hands without damaging the chilli.And preserve them in a moisture free air tight containers.
-To preserve curry leaves,remove stalk and separate the leaves alone.Put this in an moisture free air tight container. 


NOTES
* This amount makes a small jar of 100 gms.You can increase the ratio accordingly for larger amounts.
* Don't prepare garam masala in large quantities as it loses its aroma with frequent opening of jar.I usually prepare it every 1 1/2 months.
* Always the keep the lids tightly closed.Otherwise it may not work good.
* Adding pepper corns is my mother's tip,you can omit them if u wish.
* If you wish to wash & preserve them ,You can do that but the only concern is wipe them dry without any little moisture left.Then preserve as listed.


46 comments:

Priya Sreeram said... Best Blogger Tips

i preserve it in the same way too and home made spice powder has its own charm- right >?

www.mahaslovelyhome.com said... Best Blogger Tips

thanx 4 posting dis

Hema said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks for sharing the masala recipe Julie, as for the curry leaves, I even wash and dry them and then store them..

Sensible Vegetarian said... Best Blogger Tips

Julie very flavorful masala and great tips too.
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hotpotcooking said... Best Blogger Tips

Home made one are always aromatic

jasna varcakovic said... Best Blogger Tips

Great tips...Love Garam Masala - Thanks

Anonymous said... Best Blogger Tips

Very informative post n thanks for sharing.

MyKitchen Flavors-BonAppetit!. said... Best Blogger Tips

Truly yumm and noted it - never tried it with Poppy seeds added. A must-try recipe for all. Thanks for sharing

Shabitha Karthikeyan said... Best Blogger Tips

Homemade powders are always the best !! That too from Amma no secind thoughts !!

cindyrina said... Best Blogger Tips

Julie, thanks for the recipe and tips!

Rasi said... Best Blogger Tips

These are handy tips..esp the curry leaves one.. Always had an issue with that :).. Home made garam masala..am sure house must be smelling soo good..Mom s always know everything :)

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Vimitha Durai said... Best Blogger Tips

Nice tips and a flavorful masala powder

Gauri Trivedi said... Best Blogger Tips

Wonderful tips and thanks for the garam masala recipe.

Nandita SS said... Best Blogger Tips

Home made garam masala always tastes so much better than store brought ones. Great recipe Julie :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanks for the tips!

Rosh said... Best Blogger Tips

Very handy Julie.

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Binys Recipes said... Best Blogger Tips

wow nice recipe wud be useful and thx on the tip to preserve curry leaves and chillies

Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

Smell of garam masala awesome. Very informatice post. Thanks for sharing...

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simran said... Best Blogger Tips

always!mom knows best......only it takes a little time to sink in..either when we move away..or when we have kids ourselves!....lovely garam masala..and nice tips...i did not know about the stem removal of green chillies.:)

La @ FoodSlice said... Best Blogger Tips

Knew the tip about green chilies from mom too but am too lazy to implement it :)
Love the spice mix.

Shoutforfood said... Best Blogger Tips

love to try the spice.

Kaveri Venkatesh said... Best Blogger Tips

Homemade spice powders are always so much more flavorful and aromatic...liked your version

sojo said... Best Blogger Tips

I totally agree with u. I now hate store bought Garam Masala tho I used to use them initially. Even I make a fresh batch every month. Hey thanks for the Green chilly storage tip- didnt know that... and as for curry leaves, I dont get it in this corner of the world,,,,

Sushma Mallya said... Best Blogger Tips

Lovely and a very handy recipe Julie...lovely tip as well even I do preserve my chillies the same way :)

Mélange said... Best Blogger Tips

A very helpful post dear..The garam masla of yours is a different version for me..Nice!

PrathibhaSreejith said... Best Blogger Tips

thats a nice post Julie. even I don't use store bought one's and was really shocked when the Eastern news came out(I preferred them when I ran out of home made garam masala). I do same with chilies but never tried ur way for curry leaves. I'll keep this in mind from next time when I get CL's :)

Sowmya said... Best Blogger Tips

Awesome receipe and very handy tips!

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Unknown said... Best Blogger Tips

Good tips Julie - This is what I do too - The garam masala looks awesome - can smell the flavors here :)
Also put me down for later this year for your herbs and spices event dear - Oct would be less busy for me

cheers,
priya

Achu's Amma's Kitchen said... Best Blogger Tips

wow the smells awesome...i can feel the powdered garam masala's flavor..Nice tips for keep greenchilli and currry leaves

ramya said... Best Blogger Tips

Making garam masala at home.....something i've always wanted to do,but never quite did it!

San said... Best Blogger Tips

The aroma of garam masala is completely glorious. Love the home made version of yours.

Asiya Omar said... Best Blogger Tips

Good post.

Sangeetha M said... Best Blogger Tips

great recipe for fresh homemade garam masala...thanks for sharing!!
i too do the same way to preserve chilli n curry leaves but use Zip locks :)
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cookingvarieties said... Best Blogger Tips

hi julie, this is very interesting.. i always want to know how to make garam masala. thanks, bookmarked amd have a nice day

Faseela said... Best Blogger Tips

very informative post julie.......
TAhanks 4 sharing dear

Reshmi Mahesh said... Best Blogger Tips

Nice informative post...

Treat and Trick said... Best Blogger Tips

Great recipe for garam masala and thanks for the useful tip dear!

radha said... Best Blogger Tips

Can you wash the curry leaves, dry and store them. Makes for instant use. I do that with coriander sometimes.

Archana said... Best Blogger Tips

I love home made spices. Thanks this is an informative post.

Julie said... Best Blogger Tips

Thanx all :-))
@ Radha : I usually don't wash the curry leaves & store as sometimes it retains moisture and it goes bad.. I just wash them before I use for curries each time ..

Vicki Bensinger said... Best Blogger Tips

Thank you for sharing the masala recipe and your helpful tips. THis is my first time visiting your site. I look forward to coming back again.

Katerina said... Best Blogger Tips

Such an informative post! Thanks for showing us the procedure!

KitchenKarma said... Best Blogger Tips

You are right chillies stay for about two weeks...will try this storing method...thanks for sharing :-)

Deeps @ Naughty Curry said... Best Blogger Tips

very informative post, dont know that bout curry leaves, thanks for the info

DV said... Best Blogger Tips

Really useful tips, Julie! Home made garam masala is just so flavorful!

Soni said... Best Blogger Tips

Good tip for storing green chillies for longer!!