how to make garam masala

01/06/201208/06/2012 Moya8 Comments

Garam masala means warm or hot spice mix and is a blend of spices used extensively in Indian cooking. There are many variations of garam masala as there are cooks and this depends on taste, the recipe being prepared and the region.

Sometimes garam masala is referred to as a finishing spice and can be sprinkled over the surface of a finished dish just before serving or added towards the end of cooking, enhancing the dishes fragrance and flavour. Also this spice mixture (whole or ground) can be added to recipes at the beginning stages of cooking.

Making a visit to the souk (spice section) in Manama, I managed to stock up on some whole spices, some of which will be used to make a fairly basic garam masala which I use when cooking Dhal Makhani... which happens to be one of my favourite Indian dishes! Usually I grind small batches of the whole spices using my electric spice grinder which does the job, although not as finely ground as shop bought! An electric coffee grinder can also be used, solely for the purpose of grinding whole spices… unless you are happy to consume spiced ground coffee!

Bahrain’s shops, supermarket’s and souk’s are stocked with a huge array of ground spices and spice mixes (which I buy at times) and that means never needing to grind another spice! However, grinding whole spices at home will provide maximum freshness, bringing the aroma and flavour of the spices to another level!

Garam Masala

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
6 green cardamom pods
1inch piece cinnamon stick
3 blades of mace
6 cloves
2 dried bay leaves

How to make:

Heat a heavy-based frying pan over moderate heat and lightly roast each spice (except the bay leaf) seperately, moving the frying pan around until the spice releases a fragrant aroma, this does not take long, about 30 seconds. Immediately transfer the roasted spice onto a cold plate.

Grind all the cooled spices plus the bay leaf in an electric spice grinder or coffee grinder and store in an airtight container.

Note: After dry roasting the cinnamon stick and blades of mace, break them up into smaller pieces using a pestle and mortar! Your spice grinder or coffee grinder will thank you for this! Also tear up the bay leaf.

If you are not a big cardamom fan, break open the pods and use only the seeds.

If you can’t find mace blades use 1 whole nutmeg instead, break into chunks before dry roasting.

To dry roast or not to dry roast! I guess that depends on the recipe in question and may also be a preference! I tend to dry roast the whole spices if I am going to use the ground garam masala towards the end of cooking!

Storage: Spices are best kept in airtight containers away from direct heat and sunlight. The recommended keeping time for ground spices and whole spices varies, with ground spices loosing their potency faster than whole spices! Let your nose, eyes and taste be the judge when checking the freshness of your spices! It is always best to buy small quantities of spices and replenish often.

Do you make up your own spice blends? Do you have any thoughts on dry roasting spices?

posts · style

the perfect package

26/05/201204/06/2012 Moya16 Comments

A beautiful gift box with home-baked goods or chocolates inside is always appreciated and a great way to share the “love and appreciation of food” with others! At times I love to give home-baked goods as gifts to family and friends and I find they are always very well received! There are many occasion where home-baked goods are given as gifts and presented in beautiful packaging, especially during the holiday seasons, birthday parties, baby showers and engagements. Why wait for big events… make every day special!

Visiting a friend or family member after a morning of baking is a good enough reason to pop some freshly baked goodies into a gift box to take along… so I always keep a little supply of assorted gift boxes and packaging at home simply for that reason! No placing my home-baked goods on boring dull plastic plates and covering them with foil when I have the choice of some beautiful packaging instead! These cute colourful boxes photographed on this post are hand-made by The Perfect Package in Bahrain and are made to order.

When entertaining at home I always enjoy laying the table with the appropriate items and hopefully creating an inviting ambiance that will also complement the food being served. To add a splash of colour and change the overall look and mood of a simple laid table… place small colourful gift boxes (home-made chocolate truffles inside would be nice) on each of your guests place setting. Not only will your table look fabulous… your guests will be oohing and aahing over their surprise gifts! Of course you are only limited by your imagination as to what you could put inside these cute boxes so I will leave that for you to decide!

Do your home-baked gifts a favour and dress them up beautifully… with the Perfect Package!

baking · food + drink · posts

matcha tea and lemon cupcakes frosted with a matcha tea buttercream

21/05/201230/06/2014 Moya26 Comments

The Sweet Adventures Blog hop theme this month is “What’s your cup of Tea,” and hosted by 84th and 3rd. A perfect opportunity to use my new muffin tin which I bought on a recent trip! Why buy another cupcake or muffin tin when I already have so many? Well, the shape caught my eye! Baked muffins and cupcakes in this cake tin take on a different appearance, tall and narrow with some having domed shaped tops depending on the recipe being used! What ever way they come out they all look really cute!

With some lime green cupcake liners (also my new muffin pan), matcha tea in the cupboard and lemons in the fridge, it was decided… matcha tea with lemon cupcakes! Matcha tea is a high quality Japanese green tea which has many health benefits, guess using this in the cupcake recipe is a good thing… might just think these cupcakes are really good for my health… right!

My matcha tea probably could have been fresher, it had been already opened for a few months and the powder was not as green as when first opened, guess I will have to stock up again and use the older matcha tea for this face mask! Usually I buy matcha tea from Asian supermarket which is beside the Oriental supermarket, both opposite the Central Market for those living in Bahrain.

Matcha Tea and Lemon Cupcakes with a Matcha Tea Buttercream Topping

Ingredients:

110g salted butter, softened
110g caster sugar
zest of one lemon rind
1 teaspoon of matcha tea
2 eggs, lightly beaten together
75g all-purpose flour
25g self-raising flour
1 heaped tablespoon of home-made full-fat plain yogurt or shop bought

for the matcha tea buttercream:

25g cream cheese, softened
50g unsalted butter, softened
200g icing sugar (a little more if needed)
2 teaspoons, whipping or single cream
1/4 teaspoon match tea
green edible glitter dust (optional)

You will need a 12 hole cupcake tin lined with 12 cupcake liners

Note: These cupcakes have a light flavour of matcha tea (I am not the green tea drinker in the house), but you can increase the flavour (and colour) by adding another 1/4 teaspoon of matcha tea into the buttercream frosting.

Useful Kitchen Jewellery:

cupcake pan
measuring spoons
mixing bowls
spatulas
electric whisk
sieve
microplane zester
wire cooling rack
piping bag and nozzle
kitchen scales

How to make:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4/Fan 160°C.

Add the butter, caster sugar and lemon zest into a mixing bowl. Sieve in the matcha tea. Using and electric mixer, beat ingredients together until light and fluffy.

Add the beaten eggs (a few tablespoons at a time) to the cake mixture, beating well after each addition.

Sift in the flours and fold into cake mixture with a spatula until the cake mixture is smooth, stir in the yogurt.

Bake cupcakes for about 18 to 20 minutes or until middle of cupcake springs back when lightly pressed with fingers.

Let the cupcakes sit in the baking pan for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

For the buttercream frosting:

Add the cream cheese and butter to a mixing bowl, beat together with an electric mixer until soft and smooth.

Gradually sift in the icing sugar and beat until all the icing sugar is incorporated.

In a small bowl mix the cream and matcha tea to a paste and then beat this into the buttercream.

Spoon the matcha buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a rosette nozzle, pipe a small swirl on top of each cupcake. Dust lightly with edible glitter dust, if desired .

Tip: Dry your washed baking tins up-side down in the residual heat from the oven after baking, Mum used to always do this! The heat will dry your pans completely and stop rust forming on some pans.

This post is part of the Sweet Adventures Australian Blog Hop, “What’s your cup of Tea,” click here to see all the other entries!