Garam Masala

[Razor]

Ok, this probably isn't going to be a popular example with some, but this is what Pat Chapman has to say about Garam Masala, taken from the Balti Curry Cookbook; isbn CN 2849

Garam Masala is one of the keys to North Indian, Moghul and Pakistani and Balti cooking. Literally meaning hot (garam) mixture of spices (masala), it is used to perk up dishes towards the end of their cooking.

There are as many recipes fro garam masala as there are cooks and, as with the previous recipe, you will probably wish to vary the ingredients to suit your taste.  This is an authentic Kashmiri garam masala where the emphasis is on the aromatics rather than the heat.

And this from Kris Dhillon, taken from The New Curry Secret.

Garam means 'hot' and masala a 'mixture of spices'
According the Ayurvedic concept of health, food items have differing effects on our bodies and our health due to our constitution or 'tri-dosha'.  The heat from this 'hot' spice mix is not a heat that you taste as with chillies, but one that warms the body.  Spices such as cloves, cinnamon, black cardamoms and nutmeg are the Garam constituents of this aromatic mixture.

It seems that both Pat and Kris are in agreement as to what Garam Masala is however, it seems to me that the debate in this thread is, when it should be used?  If my assumption is correct, then I would say that 'Jeera's' post shows that it can be used whenever you feel like, IF it gives you good result?

Ray

[Peripatetic Phil]

Technically, Garam Masala IS a Spice mix, under any other name, or am i wrong here

To follow up on Ray's answer : by definition, a Garam Masala is a Masala, and a Masala is a blend of spices, so provided you are willing to accept that a Spice Mix is just another way of expressing "a blend of spices", then yes.  But if, on the other hand, you believe (and I don't mean "you" personally in this context) that a Spice Mix is that mixture of spices that is added in the early stages of preparing a curry, and which need to be "cooked out", then no : with that restricted definition of a Spice Mix, a Garam Masala is not a Spice Mix.

I hope this helps, Les, but I fear that I may have just muddied the waters even further ...

** Phil.

[Peripatetic Phil]

If my assumption is correct, then I would say that 'Jeera's' post shows that it can be used whenever you feel like, IF it gives you good result?  Ray

Absolutely, Ray : I could not agree more.
** Phil.

[spiceyokooko]

I'm now beginning to understand Spicey's line of enquiry within this subject.

And yet again we will have to leave the definition of Garam Masala open ended, because no-one can really define what it is or when or how it is used specifically in BIR cooking. Yet people will continue to bandy the term around without fully understanding what it contains or how its used.

Yet new people here are supposed to understand this?

Perhaps, perhaps not.

[spiceyokooko]

Technically, Garam Masala IS a Spice mix, under any other name, or am i wrong here

Yes it is, but it's a specific type of spice mix. The question is, how and why is it differentiated from other 'Spice Mix's as used within BIR Cookery? And when used in BIR's how and when is it being used?

And I'm talking specifically about Indian Restaurants, not what people do here.

[Les]

Technically, Garam Masala IS a Spice mix, under any other name, or am i wrong here

To follow up on Ray's answer : by definition, a Garam Masala is a Masala, and a Masala is a blend of spices, so provided you are willing to accept that a Spice Mix is just another way of expressing "a blend of spices", then yes.  But if, on the other hand, you believe (and I don't mean "you" personally in this context) that a Spice Mix is that mixture of spices that is added in the early stages of preparing a curry, and which need to be "cooked out", then no : with that restricted definition of a Spice Mix, a Garam Masala is not a Spice Mix.

I hope this helps, Les, but I fear that I may have just muddied the waters even further ...

** Phil.

Phil/Spicey
Both your explanations work for me, It has cleared my question (and my mind) up, I understand the difference now,
Thanks for your input

Les
PS
I know that Julian (c2g) always add's a pinch of GM at the end of cooking, Which in my mind keeps the integrity of the spices, rather than adding at the beginning of the dish, which would diminish the flavour a bit.
But It's up to the individual and what they want to achieve i suppose

[noble ox]

GARAM MASALA
I was an original hippy  back in the "good old days" so here is another perspective on GM use
Meditation was the "in thing" some were playing with it ,and some were very advanced ,There were many ways to relax ,to clear the mind from chanting to inscense burning etc. One girl I knew used GM ,I asked her about it and she said "it helps to get total relaxation"
Not saying she was right or wrong. it became popular then in some BIRS ,and why not ?

[Razor]

Hi Spicey,

And yet again we will have to leave the definition of Garam Masala open ended, because no-one can really define what it is or when or how it is used specifically in BIR cooking. Yet people will continue to bandy the term around without fully understanding what it contains or how its used.

I don't understand mate, I thought that I had explained it in my earlier post as did Phil?

What it is?.........is a masala made up of aromatic, warmth inducing spices such as, black peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, cardamoms, but quite often mixed with other spices such as coriander and cumin.

When is it used?.......Usually towards the end of the finished dish but can be used whenever the chef desires.

How is it used?.......by adding a specific quantity to a dish and stirring through.  It can also be used as a condiment much in the same way as salt and pepper.  I have also heard it used as an aid to meditation

How it is used in BIR's specifically?....I have never been fortunate enough to get behind the scenes in a BIR so my answer can only be speculative but I would suggest that my above comments come pretty close.  I would also add, that it can also form part of a curry masala, so, a masala within a masala..!

I honestly don't know how better to describe it I'm afraid

Ray

[Peripatetic Phil]

And yet again we will have to leave the definition of Garam Masala open ended, because no-one can really define what it is or when or how it is used specifically in BIR cooking.

First of all, let us not conflate two very different concepts : what a GM is, and how it is used.  I believe that Ray, and your good self, and several others, have all very adequately defined what it is : a mixture of "warming" spices, examples of which have been listed.  Clearly there is no one recipe for GM : there are probably as many recipes as there are Indian families and Indian chefs, but the basic constituents and proportions are agreed yet still open to individual interpretation and variation. 

Now let us turn our attention to how it is used.  In traditional Indian cuisine, it is sprinkled on just before a dish is served; it may, or it may not, be stirred in.  In BIR cuisine, that usage is still recognised and respected, but not universally adopted.  Some (but by no means all) who believe that a good spice mix is one of the keys to a good curry, have taken to adding some GM to their spice mix; others have not.  Some may add it as a separate ingredient, at the beginning (before bhooning), after bhooning, whatever : each recipe will tell the would-be chef when to add it, how much to add, and so on.

So what really is unclear ?  We know what it contains (in general, and to a certain extent, specific, terms), we know how it is used.  What remains to be discussed ?

Yet people will continue to bandy the term around without fully understanding what it contains or how its used.

Just as people will bandy around "leverage" or "demographic" or "resource", all wonderful modern buzzy words which hoi polloi rush to adopt without ever asking themselves if they really understand the words they are adopting.  No different with Garam Masala : some, wishing to appear self-important, use it when they really mean "spice mix" or just "masala"; others, with a longer background in Indian cuisine, and who care about the words they use, will use it when appropriate and eschew it otherwise.

Yet new people here are supposed to understand this?

If they want to, yes; if they just want a new word with which to impress their friends, no.  Not our problem : theirs.

My two rupees'orth.
** Phil.

[spiceyokooko]

So what really is unclear ?  We know what it contains (in general, and to a certain extent, specific, terms), we know how it is used.  What remains to be discussed ?

For me personally, (I can't speak for others) specifically how a BIR Chef would use his/her Garam Masala mix. That's really what I would like to know. Are they using it as an ingredient in a generic 'spice mix'? Or as a replacement for the 'spice mix' itself? Or along more conventional lines aka Julian from C2Go, as an addition at the end of cooking?

We know most generic spice mixes will contain as principal ingredients - turmeric, coriander, cumin and paprika and as secondary ingredients - fenugreek powder/dried leaves, garlic powder, ginger powder, tandoori masala powder etc. What's notable is the absence of the primary ingredients in Garam Masala - Peppercorns, Cloves, Cinnamon/Dalchini, Cardamon.

What interests me in trying to understand, is at what point and how, a BIR chef will incorporate the primary flavours from Garam Masala into a typical BIR Curry. I know some of them are used as whole spices in pre-cooking the meat and we also know Julian for example uses a Garam Masala mix at the end of cooking in powder form.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm quite curious about understanding this.