| Introduction |
This section is devoted to simple masala powders, which though commercially available these days, are so much cheaper to prepare at home.
Small amounts prepared, say, monthly, will give you fresh powders, having a wonderful unmatched aroma, which cannot come with powders that are stored for months even a year. Above all they are very easy to make.
|
|
Following pointers should be kept in mind while making masala and spice powders at home:
|
| 1. | All masala spices like chilli, dhania, etc. should be sunned for a couple of hours and then pounded. This way the spices will become crisper and give a better aroma. |
| 2. | Remember that though dry grinders, electric mortars, etc. will produce good powders, the most flavourful ones are those which are ground in a mill or pounded with a mortar and pestle. |
| 3. | Always store the pound masalas in airtight glass or transparent plastic jars with tight lids. |
| 4. | If available add a few para tablets used to preserve edibles grains, masalas ,etc. |
| 5. | Pound enough to last about 6 months, then there is any sense in going through the procedure. If you make too much, it may lose its flavour, if too little then is the effort worth making so often. |
|
| Dhania (coriander seeds) powder: |
| Choose crisp green seeds, which do not have teeny holes made by worms. Remove stalks, husk, etc. Place in strong sunlight for 30 minutes, grind to a fine powder. Sieve before storing in clean sterile tightlidded jar. |
|
| Chilli Powder: Red |
For a deep colour but a not too spicy taste, choose the long shiny thick dried chillies. Sun them till crisp.Break off stalks, and discard. While pounding add a tsp. oil to a kg. Of chillies. This will keep the sting of the chillies from permeating the air and everybody’s nostrils. It will also act as a preservative. Pack in ziplock or seamseal polythene bags. Or in sterile glass jars, with airtight lids.
For a milder colour, use slinder, wrinkled skin dried chillies, they are usually extra long. |
|
| Chilli Powder: Green |
Choose healthy firm green chillies. Put plenty of water to boil, add a tsp. of salt to it.
When boiling starts, add destalked chillies, and boil till they come to the top.
Drain, and spread on a thick towel till excess water is drained.
Dry in strong sun or in a warm switched off oven,till chillies turn crisp.
They will look transparent, once they dry. Pound as for red chillies.
These chillies, can be used where spiciness is required, but you do not want the colour chillies. Eg. White pulaos, white sauce, etc.
|
|
| Turmeric Powder: |
| Pounding turmeric requires a bit of a lengthy procedure, but those who want the authentic don’t mind it.Buy thick firm, healthy ones. Wash in plenty of water, drain water in a large colander, then dry in strong sun. See that they are absolutely dry and brittle, before you pound. If grinding in a machine, then pound to a semicrushed state by hand, to avoid the blades of the dry grinder from injuring. |
|
| Jeera(cumin) Powder: |
| Choose plump, brown, aromatic seeds. Warm them a bit over a warm griddle or in a switched off oven, before grinding. Dry grind in a mixer, till crushed fine. Since crushed cumin tends to lose its flavour fast, grind just enough for a fortnight or so. |
|
| Amchur(dried mango) Powder: |
Choose large firm raw green mangoes. The omelette or raspuri varieties are best. Those with more flesh and lesser fibre.
Peel with a vegetable peeler. Slice into long thin slices, and put in strong sum immediately, by spreading on a clean dry cotton sheet in single layer. The slices should be in bright strong sun for at least 4-5 hours, to avoid them from discolouring. Spread in a dry warm area in the night and spread again as before till the pieces are crisp and brittle. Pound and then run in dry grinder till a fine powder is got. Sieve if required to make even powder.
Store in clean sterile airtight jars. |
|
| Cardamom(ilaichi) Powder: |
Cardamom powder is widely used in Indian sweet dishes, icecreams, milk specialities, and even to make a hot milk based rejuvenating drink. It is added flavour and aroma to many exotic rices, vegetables and other richly flavoured dishes.
One may find black, white and green cardamoms. Though the black ones look like a wild variety, they are often used in lending a distinct flavour to dishes.
White cardamoms are not too fragrant in their cooked form.
The costliest and most widely popular variety is the green cardamom, used in many many dishes in India and the world over.
Most people would like to make cardamom powder (esp. from the green variety), by removing the lump of blackish seeds, and then grinding them to a powder. The skins are either discarded or mixed into tea leaves, to give a faint fragrance in the tea. Though this is a wonderful way to use the skins, if one has a large quantity, then it is liable to go waste.
In my method, I grind the cardamom pods, skin and all to get cardamom powder. Roast the pods a bit, either on a warm griddly or in the microwave till just about crisp. Cool a bit, and then grind pods to get a fine powder. Sieve through a fine sieve. Transfer residual waste back to the grinder, add more pods and grind. Similarly finish with all cardamom. Store in a tightlidded clean sterile airtight jar. |
|
| Garlic salt: |
100gms. Garlic,peeled and chopped
250gms. Salt.
½ tsp. rice flour
Dry garlic in sun till brittle.
Grind to a fine powder.
Add salt, run grinder for a few seconds.
Keep for 2 days for flavour to merge fully in salt.
Mix in ½ tsp. rice flour
Put in sprinkler and use as required.
Note: the rice flour will keep the salt from turning lumpy. Store in clean, dry airtight jar. Keeps for over 6 months, easily. |
|
| Pepper Powder: Black |
Air out pepper in hot sun for an hours or so.
Grind in a dry grinder till fine.
Store in a sprinkle jar, or airtight bottle.
Pepper which is ground instantly in the pepper mill, tastes best. |
|
| Pepper Powder: White |
To prepare this from fresh pepper, the green peppers are peeled.
Then the inner cores are dried and powdered.
When commercially ground, the peeling is done in automatic machines.
White pepper powder is used, where the taste is supposed to more sharp.
At the same time,the colour of the dish is not affected. |
|
| All purpose curry powder: |
10 red chillies
1/4 cup coriander (dhania) seeds
1/8 cup cumin seeds
1 tsp. methi(fenugreek) seeds
1 small stone (size of a big pearl) asafoetida
2 dried turmeric tubers
1"stick cinnamon
5 cloves
10 black peppers
1/4 cup udad dal(split black gram)
2 stalks curry leaves
1 bayleaf.
METHOD: Roast all ingredients on low flame in a heavy or iron pan. Add a drop of oil to help the roasting. Roast till fragrance exudes strongly stirring with a spatula continuously for even roasting. Cool a little, pound to a fine powder or grind in a small electrical dry grinder.Store in clean dry airtight glass jar, at room temperature.
Note: If you cannot get hold of whole asafoetida and turmeric, add it ground while blending the masala in grinder.
Making time: 25 minutes
Makes: 1 cup powder
Shelflife: 6 months or more |