This quick Garam Masala spice blend takes 2 mins to make at home with everyday spices. Use it in Indian dishes, with roasted veggies, in soups, stews, cookies and more. Jump to Recipe
“Garam” means hot and “Masala” in this context means a blend of spices. The spice blend itself is not generally hot. It has black pepper but no cayenne or chili powders. It can however feel hot once you eat some because of the pepper and cloves. The spices together will warm you up from the inside.
Garam masala recipes vary by family recipes, regions, states within India and of course personal preference. There are several regional versions of the spice blend and they have their own names like kashmiri garam masala, goda masala, sambhar powder etc.
This is the basic garam masala to use in Indian curries, stir fries, veggie dishes, dals and more. I have the traditional whole garam masala mix on the blog here. The whole masala stays fresh for much longer. I grind a portion of it and use it for a month or 2 and then grind more. For smaller quantity spice blend, use this quick recipe with ground everyday spices.
Use it in Butter Tofu , Cauliflower Tikka Masala, Masala Pot Pie, lentil sweet potato dal curry. And many more Indian dishes! or add to soups, stews, to veggies to roast, cookies, yes cookies work too.
Curry powder is not the same as garam masala. Get the recipe and Read more about it here.
More Spice blends from the blog
- Whole Garam Masala
- Curry Powder
- Cajun spice blend
- Taco Spice
- Jamaican Curry Blend
- Berbere Dry blend (Ethiopian)
- Pumpkin Pie spice
- Gingerbread spice
Also note the spelling. It isnt Garam Marsala 🙂 (which is the next popular search term after garam masala). 🙂
Recipe Card
Quick Garam Masala Spice Blend Recipe with ground spices
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 to 3/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients and store in an airtight container for upto 2 months.Add 1 bay leaf, powdered for variation.
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Nutrition
Rachel
Great recipe – thanks! This is my go-to recipe for garam masala. I use it on a regular basis.
Vegan Richa Support
perfect
Tom
I have a food sensitivity to cinnamon, is there something I can substitute? Could I increase the amounts of the other spices?
Richa
Just omit it.
Beth
I love this recipe. It’s quick, easy and delicious!
Richa
Awesome
Henning
Hi Richa,
do you “roast” the spices in a pan before grounding them?
Richa
I don’t. You can lightly roast and then store. It reduces the shelf life of the mix as roasted spices get rancid after a month or 2
Joshua Howard
Thank you for this recipe and clear instructions! Two days ago I made it and added to my soup. It was really yummy!
Richa
Thanks!
Bronwyn Bell
My mum wanted a chicken curry for dinner tonight, and with no premade mixes on hand, I decided to look for one online, found one but it called for Garam Masala. Decided to wing it with this recipie, seemed to do the job. I had no ground cardamon though so used turmeric instead and put in a tiny bit of chilli flakes which I then attempted to ground in…. haha…
Lulie
It makes me a little nervous…. I came back from the market today with everything but garam masala…. and this pops up first on my Pinterest 😨
Tina
Do you have a source for those spice jars? The supplier I’ve used in the past no longer carries them. Thanks!
Richa
i got them at the store at worldspice.com
Tina Shen
Thanks very much. Just found your site and have purchased your Indian cookbook. Looking forward to diving into both.
Richa
so awesome! thanks for getting the book!
Kimberly DesJarlait
Crate and Barrel carry multiple sizes for the tiny spice jars.
Laura
Richa-thank you for sharing your experiences with these spices and complementary ways to savor them. Regards🤩
Laura
Very curious- what cookies use this spice?
Richa
you can use it in any cookie that is spiced. so use some garam masala + cinnamon instead of just cinnamon in cinnamon bars or cookies or some in oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, some garam masala in my pumpkin ginger cookies. there are recipes online that are developed with garam masala too. it goes well with ginger, chocolate and cinnamon.