Have you ever had your mind set on making a certain recipe only to reach into your spice drawer and realize you don’t have the specific spice blend it calls for?

That was me.

I was like “no way!!” and proceeded to pull out every jar I own because I could’ve sworn I still had some garam masala somewhere. But nope.

It was then that I knew, I had to make my own. Not that I mind, because I do prefer kitchen-made spices blends over store bought. So I did a little Google search only to find recipes calling for whole spices. I believe that is probably the dependable route but the thing is- I had only a few of those whole spices (cumin, cinnamon and coriander) on hand and the rest were ground spices.

After a few attempts and recipe fails, I came up with a great kitchen-made garam masala using pre-ground spices and I’m pretty confident it’s a winner because I haven’t bought a jar of it since. But feel free to adjust the spices here or there to suit your preference.

To cook this From-scratch Garam Masala Gather:

coriander
cumin
cardamom
black pepper
cinnamon
clove
nutmeg

There’s no right or wrong brand. I will first say, buy what you can afford. However, not all spices are created equal as you tend to get what you pay for. Currently I use Morton & Bassett (not sponsored) because I find their spices to be top notch in texture, color and flavor. Worth keeping and respect what their company stands for not only with charitable work but also quality control. With that said some other pleasing brands I’ve used over the years are Simple Organic, Frontier Co-op and Penzys.

In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons ground cumin, 1 tablespoon cardamom, 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper.

Then add 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground coriander, 3/4 teaspoon ground clove and 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.

Stir those beauteous spices until combined.

Then pour the blend into a small, dry, 8-inch skillet.

Heat over low and stir occasionally until the spices become quite fragrant. I think toasting the spice blend genuinely brings out each spices individual flavor and let’s not forget to mention the aroma it will give off. Rich.

And that’s it my friends!

A strong garam masala spice blend. The warmth this spice blends adds to a dish is welcome! Speaking of dish… stay tuned to tomorrows post where I’ll be using this fab spice blend and you don’t wan to miss it!

Also don’t forget to check out my other seasoning and spice blends!