Today I will teach you how to make a secret ingredient that will make your curries mouth wateringly good with a 60 second video.
First of all, my apologies for the long delay since my last update, life as a "Pensiopreneur" comes with its challenges but I am now back in the kitchen but as promised, I wanted to share some more Indian cooking tips with you.
If you've been to an Indian restaurant and ever had a really great curry, chances are it contained a spice blend called Garam Masala. If you've downloaded your free starter pack, I included the recipe there but as I have now learned how to use my iPhone a little better, I've put together a video for you (below) to show you in less than 60 seconds how to make your own Garam Masala mix.
The word "GARM" means hot in Hindi and in Bengali (Garam). It is a misnomer as the spice mixture is not hot but aromatic. Lot of Chefs would tell you that their mixture is a family secret and passed down generations. It is a mixture of aromatic spices and there are lots of spices which may be used to suit one's own palette.
The base of the mixture is
- Cardamom
- Cloves and
- Cinnamon
To this one may add
- Black peppercorn
- Black cardamom
- Nutmeg
- Cumin seeds
- Coriander seeds
I usually do a batch with 20 grams each of Cloves, Green Cardamom and Cinnamon sticks.
To this I add
- One or two black Cardamom pods
- 1 medium sized Nutmeg seed and
- 20 grams of whole black peppercorns
I break down the cinnamon sticks into smaller pieces for ease of grinding later. I also crush the Nutmeg into small pieces.
The mixture is gently roasted until the aroma starts to come out (gentle smoke) . The mixture is allowed to cool and ground in a spice grinder in batches. The whole blend is then sieved to remove any unground husks. It is then stored in a air tight container and it can be kept like this easily for months.
It is mostly used to add final touch to a curry and also in marinades for Kebabs.
Anyway, enjoy the video and always please do tag me on Facebook and/or Instagram using the hashtag #OllysKitchen with your latest Indian dishes, I am always happy to see how you are getting on with the recipes from the book.
Lastly, for our Spanish speaking friends, stay tuned for a very special announcement about our partnership with Amazon's Kindle in the month of October :)
All the best and enjoy the video!
Olly