Homemade Garam Massala, Indian Spice Mix

When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible. And now cooking and clicking is my passion and it does bring out the best in me. I always enjoyed helping my mom in the kitchen when I was young but the real cooking started only after marriage. It was then limited to simple Daal Tadka or Mutter Paratha using basic Indian spices. Later the experiments began –adding pav bhaji massala in rice; or making pasta sauce from scratch and even preparing my own chaat massala mix. Blending your own spice mix is pure bliss and I hereby declare-homemade is happiness.

Life is fast and we all tend to pick up readily available ingredients from the market which is fair enough. But let me tell you something once you make your own spice mix at home you will be little hesitant to buy from the stores. Reasons? oh they are many- ofcourse you can make any changes as per your taste or decide the consistency you want; and most importantly you will end up with pure, hygienic and fragrant spice blend- who doesn't wish that?

What is garam massala? No it is not curry powder. So Garam means Hot/Heat; Masala is Spice Mix. The composition of garam massala differs regionally, with many recipes across India according to regional and personal taste, and none is considered more authentic than other. And that is why if you are particular about the final taste then homemade is the best option. The components of the mix are toasted and then ground together. Marwadi cuisine is impossible without garam masala be it in Aloo Pyaz Ki Subji or Stuffed Bhindi- you can never have enough of it.

For me this is one magic mix if used in right quantity can take your meal to the next level. Garam Massala is always added in the end as all the Indian curries and sauces are slow simmering ones and garam massala powder at the beginning would mute the flavours of the spaces. While there are dozens if not hundreds of recipes for garam massala but coriander seeds which give right texture and whole red chilies that provides heat are the 'must' ones. Personally I add star anise, cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms-all these spices have unique scents and when roasted releases great flavour. What else- next passion is all you need.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup whole coriander seeds/dhaniya

1/4 cup cumin seeds/jeera

8-10 green cardamoms/ilyachi

5 cloves/laung

2 whole cinmon sticks/daalchini

4 bay leaves/tej patta

4 dry red chiilies/sukhi lal mirch

1 teaspoon black peppercorns/kali mirch

5 black cardamoms/badi ilyachi

2 star anise/anshphal

Method:

In a heavy bottom pan dry roast all the ingredients separately on a low heat till aromatic.

Once cool, grind in the grinder.
Store in airtight containers.

Notes:

You can also add nutmeg/jaiphal in it.

Try to use whole spices, powdered ones will not bring real taste.

Make sure you roast on low heat, as they tend to burn very soon.

Make a small batch first and then adjust any ingredients as per your own taste.

Tuesday's Tip- How To Freeze Beans And Legumes?

After a very long time I am back with Tuesday’s tip. You all have been so encouraging about the Tuesday’s tips section-so thanks very much. How to deodorize the fridge is the most popular tip so far. Next tip that got attention is Quick Soak Method for legumes.

Legumes like chickpeas, beans, black eyes beans, white peas etc...are very healthy and is infact the most vital source of proteins for vegetarians. Legumes are soaked (generally overnight) before boiling for two reasons – one, they need to be softened before they boil, and two, pre-soaking helps to make the beans more digestible. I understand that most of you prefer canned legumes as the whole process of cooking them can be very tedious. But why waste money on those canned beans which by the way is loaded with sodium content?

So here is a quick tip on How to freeze legumes? Yes! Next time you soak chickpeas to make Kadai Chola Massala, or beans to make Mexican rice, or Cannellini beans for curry; all you have to do is soak them in large quantities so that you can freeze it for the future use.

You can freeze almost all kinds of legumes, just soak, wash and boil (with or without salt-your choice) until tender, once boiled, drain the water and allow it to cool. Next simply put in the Ziploc bags (freezer safe) and freeze. This way the legumes will remain fresh upto 6 months. If you want you can also use freezer safe jars instead of Ziploc bags.

Just take them out and put in boiling water before use. Trust me this will make your life easy. The boiled beans readily available in the kitchen are such a wow factor. I can make Rajma Tikki, Punjabi Chola, Ragda Patties anytime I wish.

Yeah! So next time you soak any legumes, remember you can soak more so that it can be used in the future.

Hope you will like the tip. Do follow this and let me know it was.

Tuesday's Tip- All About Tomatoes

Tuesday’s tip is here. I have been getting mails and comments mentioning that this section in my blog is very informative and useful and I must write Tuesday’s tip without fail :-) :-). So the wait is over!

Today it is all about tomatoes. Tomato is one such ingredient that is used in Indian cooking a lot and I can’t think of anything if there are no tomatoes in my kitchen. Summer is the time when tomatoes are available in abundance and one must take full advantage of this season.  By the way did you know that there are over 10,000 varieties of tomatoes? Tomato is a very healthy vegetable which has good water content, is rich in Vitamin C and have zero cholesterol level.  That is too much of gyan from my side :P Now let us see the tips.

How to select Tomatoes:

Buying and selecting is the real trick. Choose the one that is firm, full and deep bright red in colour. Avoid the one that is mushy and or even slightly green –both of them will lack in flavour. Don't worry about tomatoes with weird shapes. Even cracked skin is okay, but leaking juice and soft spots are not. Another test is the smell; prefer one that has strong earthy odour- stronger the smell means better tomato. Shun the ones with no smell- they are complete no no.

How to store Tomatoes:

Tomatoes are delicate and fragile and must be handled properly. Refrigerating tomatoes damages the membranes inside the fruit walls, causing the tomato to lose flavour, so the best place to store tomatoes is at room temperature. Take off their wine stems and keep them upside down, this will help tomatoes stay fresh for long.  If tomatoes are not quite ripe, leave them in a brown paper bag for a couple of days.

How to preserve Tomatoes:

Whenever we think of preserving jellies and jams comes to our mind. But here is an easy way -just freeze the whole tomatoes. Yes! If you have space in the freezer just put tomatoes in a Ziploc bag and freeze them; it stays fresh for long.

Hope these tips help.  Please comment if you have any tip/s related to tomatoes. 

* Disclaimer :::: Not all the information mentioned above is my own and some of it are taken from various books and online sources like Google including the pics. My pics will have my logo on them , rest all are taken randomly from Google 

Tuesday's Tip- How to deal with heat of chillies

Chili peppers bring food dishes to a whole new level, sometimes transforming normally boring meals into phenomenal dishes exploding with chilli pepper flavour. But cutting the chillies can be a very hard task and if you fail to cut them properly you will wind up with burning sensation of chillies on your hands for hours.

Don’t you worry; today’s tip will help you to solve this problem.

Tip 1-
Well this is the one with common sense but we usually forget about it. The safest way to cut chilies without setting your skin on fire is to cut them while wearing rubber or latex gloves. They can sting, burn, and irritate skin. Do not touch your eyes during or after handling chili peppers.


Tip 2-
Before you chop chilli peppers, rub a little vegetable oil into your hands and your skin won’t absorb the spicy chili oil. Easy right!!


In any case if you forget to do any of the above steps, here are other tips that will help you to remove the burning sensation from your hands.


Tip 1-
If it can cut through oil and grease on our dishes, it can do the same for our hands! Most dish soaps have oil-dissolving properties that are above and beyond regular hand soap. Just wash your hands with dish soap and you will get some relief.


Tip 2-
Chili oil is more soluble in alcohol than in water, so a good splash of rubbing alcohol can help wash it away. High-proof liquor like vodka can also work well. Just wash your hands with alcohol.


Tip 3-
Chilli pepper is more soluble in fats and oils than it is in water, so maybe it would work. Advice on several internet forums say to pour the milk or yogurt into a bowl and soak your hands until the burning sensation stops.









Do you have a tried and true method of washing burning chili oil off your hands? Please share!

* Disclaimer :::: Not all the information mentioned above is my own and some of it are taken from various books and online sources like Google including the pics. My pics will have my logo on them , rest all are taken randomly from Google 

How To Avoid Over-Flowing Of Milk- Tuesday's Tip

All of us have to boil milk so that it does not curdle and produce stale smell. There are so many Indian recipes which requires boiling milk, like making paneer/cottage cheese, making deserts like sandesh, rasgulla etc. Boiling the milk can be a tricky task; one has to stand and guard so that milk doesn't overflow. There is an easy tip that if followed will help to avoid milk over flowing.

If milk over flows your stove and the vessel gets stained. You not only have to bother cleaning the stains but also have to pour some extra milk to replace the milk that has wasted in over flowing. 
Here is the quick tip. Before you pour milk into the pot for boiling, rub butter/ghee/oil along the top edge and the inside lip of the pot. Due to this, the milk won’t overflow when it foams up.

I have tried this so many times and yes it is effective. So stop gaurding the boiling milk and use that time to do something else.Do try this and let me know :-) See you with another tip on next Tuesday.

* Disclaimer :::: Not all the information mentioned above is my own and some of it are taken from various books and online sources like Google including the pics. My pics will have my logo on them , rest all are taken randomly from Google 

Clean Microwave in 5 minutes- Tuesday's Tip

Today I will share the simplest and the quickest way to clean microwave. This method is so very easy that anyone can do it. I know and I understand that cleaning microwave can be a tough task and for some very expensive too. There are so many microwave cleaners available in the market that cost much and are not very effective.
Many of us are so busy with our work that we usually ignore that microwave is dirty and is caked with food and splashes of oil and dirt everywhere; we all want to clean it but we think that cleaning is very time consuming and thus we shun that.


Today I will share the secret to clean microwave in only 5 minutes,this tip will not only clean it but also remove dirty odors. It only requires water, vinegar. Result: a sparkling clean microwave!

Here is the tip:-
Fill a microwave safe bowl with 1-2 cups of water and add a dash of vinegar (about a tablespoon or two). Put the bowl in the microwave, shut the door, and turn it on for 5 minutes.
The steam from the bowl will help loosen up dirt and bits of food, and the vinegar will help eliminate any odors. Once the 5 minutes are up you can start cleaning right away, or if you’ve got stubborn dirt just leave the door shut for a few more minutes for the steam to continue to work its magic.

Be careful when you pull the bowl out, it will be very hot. Remove the turntable tray (carefully, it will be hot as well) and wash it in the sink. Now just take a cloth and wipe down the inside of the microwave; the dirt and food will come right off!

I was able to clean off dirt without scrubbing. Mostly what I saw when I looked at the microwave were the big spills on the bottom. But after I was done cleaning I realized the entire thing had gone five shades whiter! Don’t just assume your microwave is yellow. It’s not. Microwaves are white.

Happy Cleaning!! I hope this tip was useful.


* Disclaimer :::: Not all the information mentioned above is my own and some of it are taken from various books and online sources like Google including the pics. My pics will have my logo on them , rest all are taken randomly from Google

How To Preserve Ginger (Paste and Whole)- Tuesday's Tip

Yes!! so it is Tuesday today and so I am back with the new tip. Today I will tell you 2 ways to store or preserve ginger. Ginger is very cheap and is available at all the veggie shops; we generally buy very little amount of ginger because we are scared of it getting stale or rotten. But I am not one of them, because I know how to preserve ginger. 
 
Fresh ginger cannot be beaten for taste and refreshing texture. Its use in stir-fry dishes and other Asian cuisine. It also enhances many sweet foods when baking. I prefer to store ginger in 2 ways -one for the gravies or soups and other one in large pieces for spiced tea, lemon ginger juice etc.

Ginger on demand for soups and gravies:
Clean and peel 1 fresh ginger. The edge of a spoon works very well for this task, removing the papery skin easily. Take the grinder or blender and grind the ginger to very fine paste. Mix in it 1/2 cup of oil and 5 tbsp of salt. Fill the mixture in the air tight jars and keep them in the fridge. The paste in ready and can be used whenever you want. Please note that the paste has oil and salt in it, so remember it so that you do not end up adding excess salt and oil in the gravies and soup.

Ginger on demand as whole
For this I do not peal the ginger; it is said that ginger peal is very nutritious and has more flavor and aroma. So simply cut the ginger into large chunks and wash it well, so that peal is free from dust. Dry them on paper or kitchen towel so that there is no moisture left in the ginger. Then simply take plastic zip lock bag and put the ginger in it, and freeze it in the freezer. Now when you need to put ginger in the juice, tea or sweet dishes simple take one piece and grate the ginger; you are all ready to use it.

These tips are great way to store ginger for a long time and use as and when needed. Buy it in bulk, when on sale and store it quickly and easily.

* Disclaimer :::: Not all the information mentioned above is my own and some of it are taken from various books and online sources like Google including the pics. My pics will have my logo on them , rest all are taken randomly from Google

How To Keep Eggs Fresh? -Tuesday's Tip

Here I am back with another useful and simple kitchen tip. Well we all love eggs, and we usually buy 10-12 eggs together-but the question is How to keep them fresh? I will share some basic tips with you today that will keep eggs fresh for 4- 5 weeks.







Should you refrigerate eggs?
Always keep the eggs in the cardboard box (the box in which you get them).Eggs will last longer in the fridge, provided you don't put them in the door. The cold does make them last, but constant changes in temperature can make them go off quicker (we open door again and again). They should be kept nearer the back of the fridge, where the temperature is more constant. For cooking, its better to use room temperature eggs, so get them out in good time.

How to check if the egg is fresh or not?
Immerse the egg in a pan of cool salted water. If it sinks, it is fresh; if it rises to the surface, it is old and should not be cooked.  








I hope these tips were useful :-) Next time do not be scared to buy dozen of eggs.