The Good Old Magical Indian Blend
Uma’s cooking has always been lip-smacking, leaving her family wanting more. One of her favourite blends was garam masala. There simply was no meal in their home without a dash of the masala. But the purpose of the following blog post was born when her daughter once asked her what garam masala was used for, and all Uma could say was ‘It adds mouth-watering aroma and flavours to the dish’.
While she’s not wrong, she’s not fully right either. Garam masala is so much more than that, as we’ll see.
What is Garam Masala?
Predominantly used in India, and a few other parts of Asia, garam masala is an Indian spice blend. Usually containing about 10 different spices, this mix is made by roasting pure spices and then grinding them.
The best thing about the blend is that, there is no one recipe or combination of spices followed unanimously. Even as you read, there is a new recipe for garam masala being born in some household in India.
Where can you use Garam Masala?
Garam Masala is used in multiple stages of cooking. While some begin their cooking with it while tempering, some end their cooking with the spice blend as the seasoning. In some dishes, Garam Masala becomes the sole spice blend to be used.
This spice blend can make your food preparations extra delicious.
Curries (Dry): Be it vegetarian or non-vegetarian curry, adding a dash of garam masala and coating the vegetables or meat with it, elevates the flavours and aroma of your dish, making it absolutely appetising!
Curries (With Gravy): Adding Garam masala to your gravy makes it mouth-wateringly delicious! Vegetables/meat soaked in this gravy, is bound to be more juicy and palatable!
Soups and stews: This magic blend is also used as an additional spice blend, to flavour soups and stews.
The most common ingredients in this magical blend
This masala gives us the liberty to bring together the flavours we most relish. The higher the number of spices, the more flavourful and nutritious the essence of the masalas.
Annapoorna’s Garam Masala has been curated based on the most common spices appearing in various recipes across India, thereby making it a one-stop solution for all Garam Masala lovers!
Annapoorna Garam Masala is made with the goodness of coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, chilli, ginger, cassia, bay leaves, salt, star anise, garlic, cloves, green cardamom, mustard, black pepper, turmeric, rose flower, black cardamom, nutmeg and mace.
What are the benefits of Garam Masala?
The name ‘Garam Masala’ translates to ‘Warm Spices’, since the blend is known to elevate our body temperature. Remember this when you are craving for something hot and spicy, on a rainy day!
Garam masala sure enhances the flavour and aroma of the dish. But that is not all.
- It is known to stimulate your appetite while also easing the process of digestion.
- Loaded with antioxidants, it keeps your skin healthy.
- A combination of extremely nutritious pure spices, it is rich in nutrients that boost metabolism.
- It helps fight acidity.
- Gastrointestinal tract is the happiest with the spice-blend, for it helps fight bloating, gastritis and flatulence.
- Additionally, it is also known to fight one of the most common problems faced : bad breath.
That’s the specialty of Indian cuisine. The blended spices, and thus meals, are always loaded with multiple benefits. Consciously, or unconsciously, our cuisine has managed to bring as many benefits as possible in one magical blend. Why not take advantage of it? Add a dash of Annapoorna’s Garam Masala to your cooking, to elevate the flavour, while enjoying multiple health benefits.
