About that Garam Masala in recipies....

Gardener972

Do you put the cinnamon/clove, etc. garam masala in all recipies that calls for it? I'm pretty sensitive to the taste of cinnamon and don't recall it in any of the food I had in India. Is it a regional thing?

Amyth

Garam Masala is nothing but a blend of green cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves, cummin seeds etc etc... The "etc" can be anything from nutmeg, black-pepper, black cardamoms to coriander seeds....depending on the recipe or the region.

Though it is not necessary to put Garam Masala in all recipes that call for it, but in the Indian restaurants it's highly unlikely to find food without SPICE(garam-masala).The ingredients might differ regionally but some or the other form of the masala exists throughout. However,the home made Indian food is often made with minimum or no garam masala... no matter what the recipe demands It is a matter of choice, I myself can't eat food with a lot of garam masala...

machadinha

Amyth has it right. Garam masala means nothing but "hot mixture." While sold pre-packaged by any number of brands using their own formulas for daily convenience, any self-respecting cook (with enough time on their hands) will use a selection of herbs and spices as each occasion calls for, and jealously guarding their precise recipes.

... Or at least and with the usual caveat, that's my understanding of it. In other words you keep a bunch of spices at hand and mix according to taste and tradition and whim per whatever dish you happen to be preparing. Just experiment and adjust to your liking. Cinnamon I soon find overpowering, however I like a stick added to e.g. cooked rice or saag dishes. Cloves you can likewise cook with the rice then remove just before serving, they'll float on top and so are easily picked off. For other recipes grinding then adding in the cooking process is obviously preferred.

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iwanttogoback

gardener

in the end you have to like what you are cooking so if a particular spice is not to your liking, just leave it out. except for baking, recipes are, at least to my mind, more of a guide or suggestion.

happy eating!

machadinha

btw Note that even the ready-made garam masala comes in a variety of tastes, ranging from the sweet to the horribly spicy or bitter while they're at it. Funny enough and contrary to popular perception chillies seem to rarely add into the equation (although they well may in the commercial brands); traditionally more often than not the tang will be lent by spices like turmeric.

This also explains why Indian food can and often should be a feast to the tastebuds, but not a sensory overload; but you may have to try it in people's homes and not in the fastfood snack variety kind of places that serve to the masses to really appreciate this.

Should you want to do a search on it, don't overlook the not-unrelated Chinese five-spice powder, which follows a similar basic concept and is not uncommon in Indian cuisine I think, I suppose the two have inspired each other. Both have lead to what is known as "curry powder" in the west, although you should be able to get them under their own names depending on where you are no doubt.

And btw yes of course, regional preferences and specialties will vary.

GulabJamun

Hello

The spices that go into garam masala vary from person to person and regions. All garam masala really means is "hot mix".

Kerala, for example has quite simple garam masala often containing cinamon, cardamon and cloves which is quite different from other states in India.

You can buy alot of shop brought masala mixes but to get one that you really like I would have a go at making your own (then you can leave out the spices you don't like)

Have fun if you do have a go

NeeliAankhen

I've never had an Indian recipe that used garam masala alone for its seasoning - but lots that include some garam masala along with a particular assortment of spices for that recipe.

I also have never made an Indian dish that ended up with a noticeable cinnamon flavor. Though You'd probably especially want to avoid recipes that ask you to flavor your cooking oil at the beginning of the recipe with a cinnamon stick, as that probably is definitely noticeable for you.

But if you really are put off by any cinnamon in your food, I would suggest you look around on the Internet for garam masala recipes and mix up a 2-4 ounce quantity of your own - find a recipe without it, or leave it out of another recipe.

Put it in a jar with a tight lid and use it when the recipe calls for it.