This is my family's magic powder and we have always made in ourselves. It is usually used for meats and some gravies like kurma, but be careful to only use a small amount, as it is potent - always remember that spices should bring your dishes to live, not kill it.
The Menon garam masala uses 7 spices including chukka / sukku or dried ginger, which are the whitish stems in the photo above. This is an in interesting root that should be pounded slightly to release its flavours. Amma also used it for tummy aches as it is an antioxidant and neutralises the digestive juices (this is a traditional / Ayurvedic recipe and I will try to share it). The other spice that is not frequently used in our cooking are dried nutmeg seeds. The Indian shops will sell them in their shells and you just need to lightly crack them open for the seed - we do not use the shell.
Ingredients:
50gm cinnamon
50gm cloves
50gm cardamon
50 gm star anise
100gm fennel seeds
5 tumb sized dried ginger (do not use fresh ginger as we're making a spice powder NOT a paste)
5-6 nutmegs
Method:
Roast all spices till aromatic - can be dry fried over low fire. Do not allow to burn.
Cool down for 1 hr.
Grind to a fine powder
You may have to repeat the grinding process several times to use up all the spices.
Amma use to sieve the mixture for a super fine powder, but I am too lazy for that, so I leave it up to you.
Store powder in bottles in a dry place - good for up to 6 months.
It properly sealed, it will keep longer in the fridge.
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