Garam Masala: The famous Indian mix of spices

Garam Masala in India means ‘spice hot’ where masala means "spices," and Garam means "hot". Garam Masala is thought to have originated from Northern India. Garam Masala is a blend of spices that are used in every Indian house. For North Indian cuisine, Garam Masala is typically in powder form, while in the southern part of the country, Garam Masala is often formed into a paste with coconut milk, vinegar, or water. It is made year-round. Most Indian foods often include Garam Masala for seasoning.

Garam Masala spices

It is well known that with Garam Masala any dish would be delicious. But do you know what Garam Masala blends are? Garam Masala has grounded spices that are blended together, rather than one spice and it is used extensively in Indian dishes. However, The spice blend of Garam Masala is slightly different in every region of India and each region has its own version which accompanies the cuisine and spices grown in that climate. The spices for Garam Masala are toasted to get more aroma and flavour and then grounded. The most well-known variants of Garam Masala contain cloves, black and white pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, mace, bay leaves and cumin. However, Cumin is the main ingredient in every version. The powdered form is usually gluten-free, vegan, and vegetarian, while you will need to read the label for the paste version to see what it contains. It is easy to make Garam Masala at home because it is not a spice produced from a specific ingredient but a blend of spices.

 

The origin of Garam Masala

Garam Masala ingredients differ according to the chef's preferences and regions. So there is no fixed recipe for making Garam Masala. The most known Variety of Garam Masala originated from Northern India. The Northern version of Garam Masala is a very warming spice that can be comforting and it often has only black pepper for a hot element and mostly focuses on aromatic and sweet spices which make it mild in taste. But in South India, Garam Masala is hot as it is often made with red chiles and some other spices that are common locally. Garam Masala was invented as a way to keep the body warm which means that they help increase the metabolism. Having a fast metabolism can help to raise your body temperature. Furthermore, Garam masala is believed to have been invented in North India, As it is colder in Northern India than in other parts of India, this spice blend would have been useful to help them stay warm during winters.

 

The popularity of Garam Masala

Today Garam Masala has become famous internationally and it is almost sold in every supermarket. It's quite easy to understand how Garam Masala got so popular and how it spread to other cultures. It’s a blend which is packed full of flavour, so making delicious food would be easier. Almost every curry included Garam Masala in the recipe to give warmth, sweetness, floral notes, and a touch of heat to the curry. Garam Masala is known to be a warming spice blend rather than fiery hot. Is added to season the dish at the start of cooking, and it is also used at the end to give aroma to the curry. From each of these options, the Garam Masala is most often added near the end of the cooking process to give aroma and flavour to the dish. Traditionally, Garam Masala is made fresh before cooking. 

There are a variety of foods that are made with Garam Masala in Indian cuisine. This mix spices can be used in: curries, vegetables and soups. Want to try dishes with Garam masala? Check out our Indian cuisine restaurant The Yarra Indian Restaurant