CHAAT MASALA

Chaat masala is mainly used to season snacks, drinks and fruits. It lifts up the taste of the dish it is added to.

Making chaat masala at home is very quick and easy.

The given quantities of ingredients will yield approximately 80 grams of chaat masala.

Recipe for Chaat masala

Ingredients for Chaat masala

• 5 tsp black salt or kala namak
• 1 ½ tbsp coriander seeds or sabut dhania
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds or jeera
• ½ tbsp black pepper or kalimirch
• ½ tbsp dried mango powder or amchur
• 3 dry red chillies or sabut lal mirch
• ¼ tsp citric acid
• ¼ tsp asafoetida or heeng
• 1 tbsp salt

How to make

Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper and red chillies separately on medium heat.

Roast for 2 minutes each. Keep aside till it cools down.

First grind the roasted condiments and spices together.

Now add in the black salt, salt, heeng and citric acid. Grind to get a fine powder.

The chaat masala will be slightly coarse in texture. For a finer texture sieve it. Store in an airtight jar.

TEA MASALA/ CHAI MASALA

A good cup of tea is an ideal way to start a day. There are a number of versions or recipes for preparing tea. The most popular is the Masala chai, an Indian spiced tea with milk.

Either the whole spices or the pre-mixed spice powder can be used to prepare the masala chai. The second option is more convenient and one more advantage is that your tea will always taste the same. It is advisable to make the tea masala in small portions as over the time it may lose its aroma. The given measurements will yield you 60gms of tea masala.

 Recipe for Tea masala

Ingredients for Tea masala

• 3 inches cinnamon stick
• ¼ cup cloves
• ¼ cup green cardamom
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 2 tbsp dried ginger powder or 25gms dried ginger
• 1 small nutmeg or 1tsp grated nutmeg

How to make

Break the dried ginger, cinnamon stick and nutmeg (if using whole) into smaller pieces.

Dry roast the spices accept dried ginger in a thick bottomed pan on medium to low heat for five minutes.

Let all the spices cool before putting them in a mixer jar. Grind it to get a coarse powder. 

Store it in a small airtight jar.

KADHAI MASALA

Paneer kadhai, chicken kadhai, vegetable kadhai and similar kadhai dishes are popular in restaurant menus. One thing common to these dishes is the Kadhai masala.

Kadhai masala is a fragrant spice mix, easy to prepare at home. Add this spice mix to any dish to give it a restaurant style taste.

Homemade masalas are fresh, more fragrant and have a longer shelf life.

Recipe for Kadhai Masala

Ingredients for Kadhai Masala

• 10 saboot lal mirch(dry red chillies)
• ¼ cup saboot dhania(coriander seeds)
• 1 tsp laung(cloves)
• 1 tsp kalimirch(peppercorns)
• 2 inches dalchini(cinnamon stick)
• 2 nos masala elaichi(black cardamom)
• 10 nos green elaichi(green cardamom)
• ½ a jaiphal(nutmeg)

How to make

Break the nutmeg into smaller pieces.

Put all the above ingredients in a thick bottomed pan including nutmeg.

Dry roast on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Let the masalas cool to room temperature.

Grind it in a mixer jar to get coarse powder. Generally the kadhai masala has a coarse consistency.

Transfer to an air tight jar. Shelf life of Kadhai masala is upto six months.

GODA MASALA

Goda masala is special spice mix used in maharashtrian kitchens. A spoonful of goda masala goes in a number of maharashtrian dishes like bhajis, amti, masale bhat, veg and non veg curries.

Every maharashtrian house prepares its Goda masala in enough quantity for the entire year. Each family has its own version of goda masala.

Few ingredients like coriander seeds, dry coconut, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, fenugreek seeds, poppy seeds are dry roasted. Other spices are shallow fried to bring out their flavour and aroma. The ingredients are to be grinded into a coarse powder. This will be done in three batches.

Coriander, cumin, caraway and fenugreek seeds in the first batch. Dry coconut, poppy seeds and sesame seeds in second batch. Stone flower, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorn, black cardamom, and bay leaves in the last batch.

Goda masala in not very spicy like garam masala. It has a subtle flavour which cannot be missed. The given proportions will yield approximately 200 grams of Goda masala.

Recipe for Goda masala

Ingredients for Goda masala

• 125gms/ 2 cups sabut dhania(whole coriander seeds)
• 60gms/ 1 cup sookha nariyal(dry coconut)
• 30gms/ ¼ cup til(sesame)
• 25gms/ ¼ cup khuskhus(poppy seeds)
• 25gms/ ¼ cup jeera(cumin seeds)
• 5gms/ ½ cup dagad phool/ patthar phool(stone flower)
• 3gms/ 3 inches dalchini(cinnamon stick)
• 3gms/ 2 tsp laung(cloves)
• 3gms/ 1 tsp methi dana(fenugreek seeds)
• 3gms/ 2 tsp shahjeera(caraway seeds)
• 3gms/ 1 tsp kalimirch(black peppercorns)
• 3gms/ 7to8 tejpatta(bay leaves)
• 4 nos. masala elaichi(black cardamom)
• ¼ cup oil

How to make

Grate the dry coconut. Keep aside.

Dry roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, coconut, sesame seeds, poppy seeds and fenugreek seeds separately for 1 to 2 minutes on medium heat.

Keep dry coconut, poppy seeds and sesame seeds in a separate bowl and other dry roasted condiments in a separate bowl.

Fry stone flower, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorn, black cardamom and bay leaves until fragrant.

This will take maximum one minute. Keep in separate bowl.

Grind coriander, cumin, caraway and fenugreek seeds in the first batch.

Grind dry coconut, poppy seeds and sesame seeds in second batch.

Grind stone flower, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorn, black cardamom, and bay leaves in the last batch.

Now mix them together with a spoon or hands.

Transfer in an airtight container. Goda masala has a shelf life upto six months.

MALVANI MASALA

Malwan is the southernmost region of Maharashtra. Malwani  cuisine is known for its non vegetarian dishes. Especially fish dishes are quite popular.

Most of the malvani dishes are incomplete without Malvani masala, a fragrant spice mix. Sichuan pepper or triphala is the most important spice for this masala  mix.

I have used a mix of mild and hot chillies. The given quantities of spices will yield approximately 100 grams of Malvani masala. This spice mix can be stored for almost a year.

Recipe for Malvani Masala

Ingredients for Malvani masala

•  50 gms whole dry red chillies (half kashmiri chillies and half Guntur chillies)

• 4 tbsp sabut dhania(coriander seeds)
• 1 tbsp shahjeera(caraway seeds)
• 1 tbsp kalimirch(peppercorn)
• 1 tbsp saunf(fennel seeds)
• 2 tbsp khus khus(poppy seeds)
• 1 tsp rai(mustard seeds)

• 4 inches dalchini(cinnamon stick)
• 20 laung(cloves)
• 4 tejpatta(bay leaves)
• 1 chakra phool(star anise)
• 1 tbsp pathar phool(stone flower)
• 15 triphala(sichuan pepper)
• 1 javitri(mace)
• 10 choti elaichi(green cardamom)

• 1 tsp haldi(turmeric powder)
• ½ tsp heeng(asafoetida)

How to make

Dry roast the red chillies on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Keep aside.

Dry roast coriander seeds, caraway seeds, peppercorn, poppy seeds, mustards seeds and fennel seeds for 3 to 4 minutes or until fragrant. Keep aside.

Dry roast cinnamon, cloves, mace, stone flower, bay leaves, star anise, Sichuan pepper and green cardamom for 3 to 4 minutes or until fragrant.

First dry grind the red chillies. Mix it back in the roasted spice mixture.

Grind to a fine powder in two batches. Store in an air tight jar. Use as required.