The traditional garam masala combination has nine or more ingredients and includes cinnamon, cloves, green cardamom, turmeric, bay leaf, nutmeg, mace, cumin, and red chili.
Buying the right garam masala is one thing, storing it properly is another aspect that you need to pay attention. Over time, with improper storing, spices tend to lose their potency. That leaves you with bland curries with none of the rich aromas that would otherwise make you salivate.
With so many brands of garam masala available in the market, it is extremely hard to make an informed choice and buy the right one. This list of the best garam masalas can surely simplify that task.
Table of Contents
Best Brands Of Garam Masala You Can Buy Online
Everest Royal Garam Masala
The Everest Royal Garam Masala has a blend of black pepper, cumin, black cardamom and dry ginger among other spices. The coriander and pepper in the masala are slightly overpowering. The masala adds a slight meaty flavor to vegetarian curries too.
TATA Sampann Garam Masala
The TATA Sampann Garam Masala has a light brown almost mustard-like color. Its ingredients include coriander, turmeric, chili, fennel, cloves, allspice, black pepper, fenugreek leaves, cinnamon, cumin, salt, ginger powder, mustard, green chili powder, coriander leaves, asafoetida, cardamom and mace. The masala leaves a peppery heat in the curries.
MDH Garam Masala
The MDH Garam Masala has a rich aroma and the taste of jeera is a little dominant in the masala. It also has black pepper blended in with the rest of the masalas. The package suggests to sprinkle the masala in small quantities toward the end of the cooking process.
Patanjali Garam Masala
Patanjali Garam Masala Powder is made by Divya Pharmacy, and has a distinctive taste. It contains the usual suspects – coriander, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom etc – and also hints of yellow chilies, mace and mustard.
How to Store Spices?
Whole spices need to be placed in a cool dry space. They can be ground up and used whenever required.
- Ground spices have a lower shelf life. Buy them in smaller quantities so that you don’t end up throwing them away.
- Store ground spices in clean and dry airtight containers. Keep these containers away from direct sunlight or heat.
- Moisture can absolutely destroy the strength of your spices and completely ruin your curries. Keep spice containers in spots with low humidity.
- Also, ensure the containers are absolutely dry when filling them up with ground spice.
- Use clean and dry spoons to scoop up the spices.
- Avoid tipping over containers of spices over a steaming pot. The steam rising up can enter the container slowly destroying the spices.
- Over time, spices do tend to lose their flavor. This can be judged by checking their color. If the color of the spice is faded, chances are, the spice has lost its flavor too.
- Spices that contain large quantities of red peppers like red chili powder need to be refrigerated. This keeps their color intake and tastes strong and fresh.
There are a number of tasty garam masalas that are perfect for Indian curries. The ones mentioned above are the best of the lot.
