This is a quick Garam Masala (Indian spice) mix. Garam Masala is better when made with whole spices that have been roasted and ground, but this is a quick and easy substitute that's pretty good.
I loved this stuff. I used whole spices though, roasted them together on dry pan until you could smell the aroma and then ground them all up. Was perfect on chicken tandoori and pulav.
Read MoreI've used many Garam Masala's in my cooking because my husband is from Punjab and we both enjoy Indian food. I use to make my own Garam Masala but found it too time consuming to make from scratch, I tried this recipe because it used less ingredients than what I am used to cooking with. Sorry but it was lacking in the rich flavour that I am use to. I have also tried some other brands like McCormick's and was disappointed at the blend. I just recently discovered the most amazing Garam Masala when I visited a Farmers Market in Port Moody area close to Vancouver BC. It was amazing, it was a punjabi style garam masala that can be used for hundreds of recipes. It seriously reminded me of my mother-in-laws cooking back in punjab! You can get it online from IndiaBase Canada's website. Sharmila masala's is another brand that I truly love, but its a bit hard to find. Making Garam Masala is an art and often takes several tries before getting it right! Hope this review helped!
Read MoreI've used many Garam Masala's in my cooking because my husband is from Punjab and we both enjoy Indian food. I use to make my own Garam Masala but found it too time consuming to make from scratch, I tried this recipe because it used less ingredients than what I am used to cooking with. Sorry but it was lacking in the rich flavour that I am use to. I have also tried some other brands like McCormick's and was disappointed at the blend. I just recently discovered the most amazing Garam Masala when I visited a Farmers Market in Port Moody area close to Vancouver BC. It was amazing, it was a punjabi style garam masala that can be used for hundreds of recipes. It seriously reminded me of my mother-in-laws cooking back in punjab! You can get it online from IndiaBase Canada's website. Sharmila masala's is another brand that I truly love, but its a bit hard to find. Making Garam Masala is an art and often takes several tries before getting it right! Hope this review helped!
I loved this stuff. I used whole spices though, roasted them together on dry pan until you could smell the aroma and then ground them all up. Was perfect on chicken tandoori and pulav.
I wanted to make Moroccan Lentil Soup from this site and of course couldn't find garam masala at my grocery store. I don't do much Indian cooking at all, and didn't even know if it was a powder or paste or something else. Thankfully did a search, this popped up and my soup is smelling wonderful as it simmers away! I also added this to my "spice mix" list - for Christmas I gave someone little bottles of Taco Seasoning, Tourtiere Spice Mix and my own poultry seasoning mix. Plan on doing the same as part of an upcoming bridal shower gift, but will add a jar of this to it!
This is a great garam marsala. I've used it in many dishes and really like the flavour. Thanks for submitting
I had a curry recipe that called for garam masala. I searched the grocery store endlessly (including bulk spices and specialty areas) with no luck. I was so happy to find this "quick fix" on Allrecipes. I thought this was the perfect blend of seasonings- the curry tasted delicious and authentic. I ground my own coriander because I only had whole on hand. Otherwise, left everything the same. Thanks for the recipe- I will use this from now on any time I need garam masala!
Why purchase garam masala from a grocery store if you already have the spices on hand? I use this blend in many Indian dishes, and I feel like it makes my cooking even more authentic and "from scratch."
I have never purchased garam masala and I didn`t know its flavor. I used this recipe to make Indian dishes. I used all spices, roasted them for 1-2 min (until you could smell the aroma), then ground them. I think, great for use in all Indian recipes.
I bought most of the spices whole and grinded them in the coffee grinder. Used this in my oatmeal (surprisingly good) as well as a chicken thigh marinade by mixing into yogurt and seasoning with salt.
I, too, needed this for the Moroccan Lentil soup. It was easy to make and added with a little sugar and black tea, makes a great, quick Chai beverage! I love this site!
Just what I needed! I didn't have time to round up whole spices; frankm7 is right, whole is best, but in a pinch, this worked well.
So grateful to have found this recipe since I can no longer find garam masala in my local supermarkets! Luckily, I had all the spices listed in this recipe, threw this together exactly as written, and used it in my crockpot chicken makhani. I can't say whether this is *traditional* garam masala, but I CAN say it worked wonderfully in my chicken makhani. For those of you who prefer the convenience of using pre-ground spices to make your garam masala, I highly recommend this recipe!
Perfect! I had a little left and couldn't find it at my grocery store. I came home and made it from spices I already had in my kitchen, mixed it with the little store bought stuff I had left and VOILA! Perfect and easy!
It's been a while since I've been able to get my hands on real garam masala, so I'm sort of going from memory, but this tastes and smells pretty much like the real thing! I was out of cardamom so didn't use it and I suspect my coriandor was kaput since it didn't smell like much, but still - an excellent substitute!
I thought I had this ready made spice mix in my pantry, so I didn't buy anymore at the store. When it was time to add it to the recipe, I couldn't find the jar. Luckily I had all the ingredients that your recipe called for! I easily mixed it up, and it saved the dish!!
Much easier than the hour drive I have to any decent spice shop (for whole or ethnic spice blends). My curry tasted the same as when I use the store garam masala.
Works very well! I just found bottles of (expensive) Garam Masala at a local store... I can't tell the difference. Thanks for a keeper!
Awesome in a pinch - but no substitution for roasting whole spices and grinding them yourself.
I love this! So easy to make and it adds great flavour without too much heat. I love to saute onions, ground turkey and spinach with this as the seasoning.... yum!
Soooooo good! Seems very close to what I get from our local Indian restaurant. I assume "ground pepper" means black peppercorns and not red pepper flakes or something else. (?)
I needed garam masala for "Gobi Aloo (Indian Style Cauliflower with Potatoes) (also from allrecipes.com)." This recipe worked out great and I have more next time I need garam masala.
While this is indeed a good substitute I must say something. Garam Masala is Indian and in no way Moroccan. I lived in Morocco and no spice blends are used.
Looking for an alternative to store bought curry powder when making Curried Mustard Greens with Kidney Beans from this sight. Though we were missing coriander and nutmeg, this was still wonderful...., HOWEVER, MY HUSBAND'S PREFERENCE WOULD BE TO REDUCE THE CUMIN A BIT..., HE LOVES IT TO BE STRONG IN TEX MEX, BUT NOT SO MUCH HERE (sorry, that's a note to self..., I personally loved it as is). We look forward to trying this with the proper ingredients next time. My husband might even enjoy the cumin with the appropriate changes. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Love it, thanks. Don't have anything really to compare it to bc I don't think I've tried garam masala by itself, but another recipe that saved me from buying another spice. I so don't need another one! I subbed curry powder for coriander bc I didn't think I had any, then I found some. I'm not sure what I was thinking bc now I have two jars of coriander . . . .(see what I mean? I don't need anymore! Can't even find what I have bc I have so many!!). Anyway, thanks! Perfect for the butter chickpea recipe on this site.
If taste is king, then this recipe needs adjustment. First of all, no cloves (it's perfum). Second, use 1 green and 2 black cardamom pods not 1.5 teaspoons worth, the black ones are smoky, green more perfumy hence the former. Lastly use 3/8 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/8 mace. Because one of the ingredients is cinnamon, its recommended to add the garam masala at the end of cook time.
Thank you! My husband keeps urging me go try cooking Indian food at home, but I didn't want to have to buy a whole bottle of spice I might or might not end up liking. All other recipes were for toasting and grinding whole spices, which I rarely have on hand. This recipe hit the spot perfectly!
I didn't have any garam masala on hand for a recipe yesterday, and this was a great find! Thanks for the recipe!
Too much cumin - try 1 or 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground BLACK cumin (charnushka or kalonji) and also add in 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger.
My sister makes an awesome Indian chicken dish with garam masala. I wanted to make it, but I didn't have any garam masala. I used this recipe....EXCELLENT. It turned out perfectly! Thanks for sharing.
I could not find Garam Masala at the store to make an Indian Butter Chicken recipe I wanted to make. I used this.. not sure if it is good or not as I have never tasted Garam Masala before but will say it saved my recipe to be able to make my own. Be aware taht Cardamom is VERY expensive for a spice... I paid $10 for a small bottle.
What a wonderful way to mix up some garam masala, when it is needed for a recipe. From what I know of the taste and smell this was pretty darn close. I only needed enough for a recipe, so I just mixed a little up. I did an equal amount of all of the ingredients. Only change I made was leaving out the cardomon, because it is expensive. Nutmeg is similar, so a little extra of that can be added. I also subbed allspice for the cloves, because they are similar, but cloves remind me too much of Christmas. This mix is fool proof and worked great for what I needed it for. ty
A very delicious spice combination that worked really well in 'Chicken Shawarmas' from AR. I only mixed up one-fourth a recipe as that is all I needed for 1 large chicken breast. We really enjoyed the taste of this and I look forward to finding other recipes that use garam masala in it. Not sure how close this is to the store bought version, but for us, it worked great and we loved the taste.
I used only 2 tsps of this to make Chicken Makhani (Indian Butter Chicken). Since I've never had Garam Masala or Chicken Makhani and have nothing to compare it with, I thought the dish was exceptional!
pretty good! had enough for several recipes, which is a great thing! Thank you!
Absolutely delicious. I have never had garam masala from a store. But I used this recipe to make Chicken Tikka Masala after having it in a restaurant, and my homemade version comes out amazing every time with this spice recipe.
Excellent substitute. Why pay 8 bucks for a bottle that has been sitting on a grocers shelf for over a year. This works fine.
I gave it 4 stars because it shouldn't contain cloves or nutmeg (I usually buy this seasoning from a Lebanese store and I've used it for years and nowhere does it list cloves or even nutmeg).
Very good and I like to use it on stir fried cabbage. Fry/saute cabbage red, green or both, with onion, garlic and then sprinkle on either fresh or dry fennell seed. Use the garam masala sparingly at first until you get the taste to your liking. It doesn't sound like it would all go together, but it really does!
This was perfect for the bean curry I made from melskitchencafe. Thanks for sharing this easy recipe!
I didn't make any changes. I'm so happy to have a garam masala that tastes great. Not like the nasty packaged mixes.
I realized I was out of garam masala after I had already started sautéing the aromatics for my dal, so this recipe was perfect in a pinch! Since it uses pre-ground spices, you can mix it up quickly without having to worry about toasting and grinding each spice.
I love this recipe! I bought a bottle of garam masala and it was ok but I could tell the difference between that and home made. This recipe tastes awesome! I made it in bangain bharta and also a potato and peas dish. Fantastic!
This recipe is a life saver. I am an American who lives in Bulgaria and I needed Garam Masala to make butter chicken. In Bulgaria, you can't find garam masala ANYWHERE. However, all of these ingredients were available and resulted in some of the best butter chicken I have ever had! Thank you so much!
I used it in vegetable soup and it was delicious. I had all the ground spices on hand and now I have my own garam marsala mix to use for future recipes! I'm very pleased.
Of course I was out of some of the spices so I substituted pumpkin pie seasoning for the cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, coriander and cloves. It was probably a little heavy on the cinnamon but I was probably the only one that noticed. The dish was definitely better with the Garm Masala, than without it. Much better! I love cinnamon, so to me it tasted great.
I was making an Indian dish and had no garam masala. I found this recipe and did as many others. In my case, I added all the spices whether ground or whole and roasted them very quickly in my pan, then I ground it all up in the coffee grinder. I liked this recipe very much and it was much easier than going to go buy garam masala at a specialty store. I recommend this recipe!
I love this recipe. The scent is bold and makes my mouth water for Indian food. The flavor is full. I use it in many recipes. It tastes great as a spice over baked sweet potatoes and a sprinkle of olive oil.
I used a mix of pre-ground and whole spices that I ground. What I had in my cupboard.
This taste amazing! I used the same salt amount in the marinade, and cut the salt by a two thirds in the Marsala sauce.. I made naan bread with it (from scratch) , and it was a hit in my house full of picky eaters!! Even my 3 yr old ate it!! Yay!! Success!!
I've been very pleased with this recipe. I've used it in my Indian recipes and been very happy with the end result.
Delicious. I used it in a Chicken Markhani recipe that turned out very tasty.
I live very far away from any sort of store which sells Indian food, and wanted to try making some...so I was left to my own designs to find substitutes for the spices. So I followed this recipe, and the only things I had to buy were the cardamom (expensive!) and the cilatro/coriander. I only used 1/2 tsp of cumin as I really really do NOT like cumin, but I know that it'd be missing something without a bit of it. I used extra cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. I combined all the stuff into a cermaic mortar/pestle and combined it that way. Ended up very floral and fragrant! Very intersting combination. Thank you for this recipe!
Love this recipe. Have made it twice and doubled the second time I made it and keep it in a small mason jar. Taste great on roasts, chicken, lamb and just about anything. I do occasionally sprinkle in a bit of cayenne for a bit of heat. Everyone loves when I make a roast with this seasoning.
What a help to find this! Couldn’t find garam masala in my local grocery store and it’s an important ingredient in Indian recipes. Now I have it whenever I want. Thank you.
I made it, excluding the cardamom (personal preference), and it was DELICIOUS! It was perfect with my Chicken Tikka Masala!
I always have some Garam Masala blend in my spice rack to kick up a spice rub for pork or chicken or to use in indian dishes. Versatile and yummy!
One of the things I don't like is a lot of cinnamon in savory cooking so I halved the amount.
Really tasty and smells so good as the dish you use it in is cooking! .I used this with a Weight Watchers recipe for Spiced Roasted Butternut Squash. It was delicious!! I especially appreciated the recipe because my husband is allergic to coriander, so I was able to leave that out.
Loved this recipe. I live in a remote area in the western USA and can't just buy Garam Masala at the market. This is the best/easiest recipe I've found.
make it fresh each time we make tikka masala. missing the fresh roasted flavor though.
Having never had this spice blend before I've nothing to compare it to...however, the recipe I made it for ('Chicken Shawarmas' from this site) was scrumptious and now I can't wait to find more recipes using this fabulous spice combo. The only change I made was having to grind up my coriander, only had whole on hand. Thanks for saving me from sticker shock at the grocery store!
In my opinion, this blend did not have enough of what I call the "perfumey" spices, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves.
Added 1/2 tsp of tumeric and 1/2 tsp ground mustard (trying to match look and smell of one I bought at an Indian market). I think I'll be using this from now on :-)
Making my fourth triple batch! Easy as the name says. The biggest problem was initially finding all of the ingredients but now have enough for many batches. I would recommend grinding the whole ingredients outside after dry roasting. My husband had a respiratory issue and grinding the mix inside aggravated his condition. Love this receipe!
This recipe is very good. First time having it and like all of the spices. It works well alone and with other flavors in dishes.
this is a quick and easy great tasting seasoning. add to almost anything to make it more savory
