If you grow up in a South-Asian home, you casually observe all the "tricks" mothers use to enhance the flavors of everyday dishes or make them quicker to cook. We are letting you in on all the little secrets of the Moji Masala kitchen to make your cooking faster, easier and more delicious!
Kashmiri Garam Masala: The Everything Spice Blend
Need a magical blend that wakens any dish? Try adding Moji's Kashmiri Garam Masala! Garam masala translates to "warming spice blend". It's used all over India, prepared with different spices from home to home. Our Kashmiri blend is a mixture of the strong flavors of black cardamon, clove and black cumin seed balanced out with the sweetness of green cardamon and cinnamon. It has a complex, earthy flavor and is used primarily as a finishing spice to ground a dish. A half teaspoon in your curry or a sprinkle on your Quick Spiced Gobi will transform the dish. Often when you feel a dish is not quite done, a bit more garam masala does the trick! However, Kashmiri Garam Masala is versatile and can be used as more than a finishing spice. It's packed full of flavor, but not spicy, so it's a wonderful blend to use in everything. You can add it to a simple stew, sprinkle it on eggs or fish, add it to a bread crumb mixture or create a marinade. A little goes a long way!
Here's a quick marinade recipe as we approach grilling season: blend together 2 tablespoons of olive oil, one tablespoon of tomato paste (there's that umami again), two teaspoons of lemon juice, one teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic (or 3-4 chopped garlic cloves) and 2 teaspoons of garam masala. Give it a taste and adjust based on anything you think it's lacking. Spread it on pound of steak or 4 chicken thighs and marinate it for a while or just bake or grill. It might be one of the best things you have ever made in a half hour!