How to make Garam masala powder at home?

Here is the easiest and simplest garam masala powder making tips at your own kitchen. In the market, we can get many types of masala powder like chicken masala, vegetable masala, mutton masala, meat masala, garam masala etc,. The ingredients for almost all the masala are more or less the same.  But the taste differs as per the use of spices in different quantity.  Among all these masala powder recipes, garam masala is the common one, which can use either in vegetarian dish or in non vegetarian dish.  So we can call this garam masala as a commonly used spices powder.   Freshly ground garam masala powder has a wonderful aroma and should be used in moderation.  The following are the ingredients required to prepare garam masala at home:

1. Cloves / grambu                       - 10 numbers

2. Cardamom / elakka                  - 4 numbers

3. Cinnamon stick/ karuvapatta   -2 pieces of 1" length each 

4. Star anise / thakkolam            - 1

5. Fennel seed / perumjeerakam- 1 tbsp

You can lightly dry roast all these ingredients and make it cool down and powder it.  Home made garam masala is ready to use.  If you wish to keep the garam masala powder for later use, increase the quantity of the ingredients according to the above proportion. Store the powder in an air tight container and try to use it within 2 months to get the full flavour. 

If we buy garam masala powder from shops, it may contain the following ingredients too:

1. Turmeric powder

2. Poppy seeds

3. Caraway seeds

4. Fenugreek

5. Cumin seeds

6. Ginger

7. Nutmeg

8. Aniseed

9. Black pepper seeds

10. Couscous etc., 

Cherupayar parippu curry / splitted green gram curry (kerala style)

Cherupayar parippu / pasiparuppu / splitted green gram is a very nutritious and healthy lentil. A curry with this lentil is very delicious side dish in Kerala.  This is a traditional Kerala side dish.  This curry can be used as side dish  for rice or chappathi.

Ingredients:

Splitted green gram /
Cherupayar parippu                 - 3/4 cup

Grated coconut                        - 1/2 of one coconut

Green chilli                             - 2 -3 numbers (as per spice requirements)

Cumin seeds(Jeerakam)         - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder                   - 1/4 tsp

Garlic gloves                          - 2 numbers

Shallots / small onion             - 5-6 numbers

Dried red chillies                   - 2 numbers

Mustard seeds                       - 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves                         - 2 springs

Oil                                        - 2 tbsp (prefer coconut oil)

Ghee                                    - 1 tbsp

Salt and water                      - as per requirement

Preparation: 

1. Heat a pan, and add the splitted green gram / cherupayar parippu and stir well for 2- 3 minutes (dont burn), and switch off the flame and keep the heated splitted green gram to cool down.

2. In a mixer grinder, grind coconut, one spring curry leaves, chopped green chilli, turmeric powder, chopped garlic gloves, cumin (jeerakam), salt and make a paste, add a little bit water and make a gravy paste and keep it aside.

3. After cool down the splitted green gram, wash it thoroughly and put it into a pressure cooker and add water to cook the same well (dont pour too much water) and allow it to cook for high flame till the first whistle and reduce the flame and cook for two more whistles or till it cook and switch off the flame.

4.  Heat a pan, pour coconut oil and splutter mustard seeds and add chopped shallots, curry leaves, and dried red chillies and fry it until done.

5. Add the ground paste into the pan and stir well till the bubbles starts come, or till the green smell goes, then add the cooked green gram and adjust the salt and consistency, and if the consistency is correct, add a tablespoon ghee and mix well and switch off the flame.

6. Serve hot with rice, chappathi, puttu etc.. with extra ghee for more taste :-)

I know you will love the simple splitted green gram gravy recipe.  Try this recipe now itself at your kitchen and write your feed back in the comment ... Thank you for your support..