The powdered masalas aisle in any Indian grocery store usually has more than 200 types of innovative spice mixes on sale. Chhole masala, meat masala, pav bhaji masala, chicken masala, super garam masala, shahi paneer masala, kitchen king masala, sabji masala, curry masala etc etc.
But do you need to rely on all these packet masalas for your cooking?
Especially when some of them have recently been in the news for their alleged excess pesticide content. Earlier there were many reports too highlighting the high arsenic content in haldi (turmeric) powder.
Make your own masalas at home! We offer you 5 moms' asli recipes for homemade masalas.
Manjula Nair's Sambar Masala
Servings: Makes 2 cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup dhaniya or coriander seeds
- ½ cup chana dal of Bengal gram
- 1 tsp urad dal or white gram
- 1 tsp methi or fenugreek seeds
- 6-8 dried bedgi chillies (3-4 if using Guntur chillies)
- 5- 6 sprigs fresh curry leaves, washed and dried
- 1 tsp rai or mustard seeds
- ½ tbsp haldi or turmeric powder
- Pinch hing or asafoetida
Method
- In a frying pan or tawa, carefully dry roast each of the ingredients, except the hing and the haldi, separately, on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Take care not to burn any of the ingredients.
Do not use oil.
If the pan begins to overheat, take off heat and allow it to cool a little.
- Ideally, wash the chana dal and the urad dal and dry well before roasting them.
- Break open the chillies and discard the crowns before roasting.
- While roasting, the coriander seeds will change colour and turn fragrant in a minute or so.
- Roast the chana dal and urad dal till they turn brown, not red.
- Curry leaves should be fried gently -- the leaves should not blacken.
- Place all the roasted ingredients on a plate or thali to cool a little.
Add the turmeric powder and asafoetida and grind all the ingredients to a fine powder.
Allow the masala to come to room temperature before transferring to a clean, dry glass bottle or an air-tight container.
Seal well and store in a cool and dry place.
You may also choose to refrigerate.
- If stored well, home-made sambar masala stays fresh for up to 2-3 months.
Rekha Sanap's Goda Masala
Servings: Makes 1½ cups
Ingredients
- 1 cup dhaniya or coriander seeds
- ½ cup khopra or desiccated coconut
- ¼ cup til or white sesame seeds
- 2 tejpatta or bay leaves
- 5-7 peppercorns
- 2 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
- 1 tsp khus khus or poppy seeds
- ½ tsp methi or fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp shahjeera or fine cumin seeds
- 1-inch dalcheeni or cinnamon stick
- 1 piece javitri or mace
- 2 chakraphool or star anise
- 1 tbsp dagad phool or kalpasi or stone flower
- 2-3 lavang or cloves
- 1 badi elaichi or black cardamom
- 4 whole Kashmiri or bedgi chillies
- ½ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil, preferably peanut
Method
- Roast all the ingredients, one by one, in a frying pan or tawa, with a few drops oil each, except the coconut, coriander, sesame, salt, haldi.
Roast the ingredients over medium to low.
Stir the spices continuously for an even roasting until they turn aromatic.
Keep aside on a plate or thali to cool.
- Dry roast the coconut, coriander seeds, sesam seeds separately over low heat and cool.
- Now grind all the roasted ingredients together in a mixer.
Add the turmeric powder and the salt to the ground powder.
Cool and store in an airtight container.
Rekha's Note: Roasting each ingredient individually requires patience but it is an essential step. Roasting in oil ensures a proper binding of the ingredients of the masala and gives it a nice texture.
Goda Masala is often confused with Kaala Masala because of similar ingredients, but the latter is roasted for longer duration, hence it has more robust flavour and is darker in colour.
What separates Goda Masala from regular garam masala is pungency. Goda Masala is relatively mild in taste and ingredients like sesame and coconut ensure its signature nutty flavour.
This masala is predominately used in making vegetarian dishes like Kala Watana Usal, Missal, Bharleli Vangi, Vangi Bhat, dry and rassa sabzis, Katachi Amti (typically served alongside puranpoli).
Satya Raghava's Fish Curry Masala
Servings: Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp dhaniya or coriander seeds
- 3 tsp jeera or cumin seeds
- 3 tsp methi or fenugreek seeds
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1½ tsp rai or mustard seeds
- 1½ tsp oil
- 18-20 bedgi chillies, preferably, or 25-30 Kashmiri chillies
Method
- Dry roast all the ingredients together, except the chillies, over low heat, till they turn aromatic; do not over-roast or let them burn.
Keep aside.
- Roast the red chillies with the oil over low heat.
In a mixer, grind all the roasted ingredients to a fine powder.
- Store in the freezer in a ziplock bag.
Use 1/3 cup of the ground masala in 2 medium-sized servings of fish curry
Jolly Aikara's Garam Masala
Servings: Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
- ¼ cup saunf or fennel seeds
- 3 1-inch pieces dalcheeni or cinnamon
- 50 green elaichi or cardamom
- 30 lavang or cloves
- 1 piece javitri or mace
- 1 piece chakraphool or star anise
- 1 piece/seed jaiphal or nutmeg
Method
- Peel the cardamom and discard the skin.
- Roast all the ingredients together in a frying pan or tawa over low heat till they turn aromatic.
Take off heat and cool.
- Crush the nutmeg and transfer it along with the other roasted ingredients into a blender and pulse until a fine powder.
Store in an airtight container.
Jolly's Note: This Kerala garam masala is used sparingly in Egg Curry and Black Chana Curry.
Homemade Haldi Powder
Servings: Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
- 500 gm fresh, organically-grown whole haldi or turmeric
Method
- Cut the haldi into small, thin round (medallion-like) pieces.
Do not peel.
Dry in the sun on a thali for about 10 days, lightly covered (with a muslin cloth).
- Place the dried haldi pieces in a sieve with fine holes and shake over the sink to get rid of any dust, grit or gravel.
Grind in the mixer to a fine powder.
Store in the freezer in a ziplock bag.