How to make masalas

The technique of browning spices in hot ghee or oil to release their flavors and aromas is unique to Indian cooking. In making a masala sometimes you use whole spices, sometimes powdered spices, but most often a combination of both. First assemble the spices near the stove. Then heat just enough ghee or vegetable oil to keep the spices and other ingredients from sticking to the pan (generally 1-2 tablespoons). Make it extremely hot but not burning. Then drop the spices into the ghee. They immediately begin to swell, pop, brown, or change in some other way. Then just at the precise moment, when the spices are browned and ready, pour them over the dish you're cooking, or put what you're cooking into the seasonings to saute or simmer.

Since different spices take different times to brown, yet must finish all at once, a sense of timing is of paramount importance. For example, a recipe may call for cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, grated fresh ginger, ground coriander, and powdered asafoetida. Since the cumin and fenugreek seeds both take about 30 seconds to brown, add them together to the hot ghee or oil first. Then ten seconds later, add the grated ginger, which takes about 20 seconds. The ground coriander takes about 5 seconds to brown, so toss it in 15 seconds later, and finally, add the asafoetida. And there you've got it!

When you add a dish you're cooking to a masala, stir it at first to coat the ingredients with the spices and to prevent the spices from overcooking on the bottom of the pan. In recipes that call for ground spices only, the ghee or vegetable oil should be only moderately hot, so that the spices will brown without burning. And aside from the masala, herbs and seasonings generally go in during the cooking, or at the end.

With just a little experience in preparing masalas, you'll become familiar with the flavor and aroma of each spice. With strong spices such as cloves, cayenne pepper, and asafoetida you'll use very small quantities. For mild spices, such as cumin seeds and ground coriander, you'll use more.

Some masala blends, such as panch masala and garam masala, can be prepared in advance. You can make enough to last several weeks or even months. Panch masala, a mixture of five whole spices, is used mostly in cooking vegetables. Garam masala, literally "hot spices" (to warm the body), is actually a mixture of ground sweet spices. It's added to a dish at the end of cooking, sometimes just before serving.

Here is one recipe for panch masala and one for garam masala: