Recipe: Madhur's Garam Masala

Ravindranath: Your heart-felt message touched me. I spent quite a bit of time searching the web in an attempt to find a possible answer to your question.

I found many garam masala recipes and most all of them were very similar. HOWEVER... when I specified *Kashmiri* in my search, I found the one I am posting below. It has definite differences from the others I saw.

Is it possible this is close to the one your mother made?

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Madhur's Garam Masala

Ingredients

1 tb Cardamom seeds; whole not pods
1 ea Cinnamon stick; 2 inch
1 ts Black cumin seeds
1 ts Cloves, whole
1 ts Black peppercorns
1/4 ea Nutmeg; average size

Instructions

" "Garam marsala" means "hot spices" and is generally added to foods near the end of cooking or as a garnish. This homemade version is superior to store bought, which is usually heavy on the cheaper spices and not as fresh. Make this in small quantities so that it stays fresh. Cardamom seeds (not pods) available in East Indian food stores, are used here as they give a more delicate taste. Regular cumin seeds can be substituted for the black cumin seeds."

Place ingredients in clean electric or spice grinder. Turn machine on 30 to 40 seconds or until spices are finely ground. Store in small jar with tightly fitted lid. Keep away from heat and sunlight. MAKES ABOUT 3 TABLESPOONS

Source: Madhur Jaffray, published in Toronto Star