Best garam masalas according to redditors

Honestly Amazon is great. One of these should last you a while.

There's this lovely spice (not the best photo) my mum discovered when I was little which makes some of the best curries (she originally used it for grills and oven roasts). It's just called 'tandoori' curry, and it's similar to the spice you get in most tandoori food. If you can, you should really give it a shot.

SO WEIRD!!! Haha. He said that because chicken was the predominant flavor. The sauce was extremely bland. I also thought it was weird you only used 1 teaspoon for most spices; we cook a lot and that didn't sound like enough. And 4 ounces of heavy cream also seemed like WAY too much cream. It's store bought garam masala and we used it both before and after cooking like the recipe says. It's a great brand, Rajah, but it is probably a couple of years old. I looked at her FAQ page and the number one complaint seems to be that it's bland. She suggests making your own garam masala to combat that, which is what I will probably have to do in the future. But I've made butter chicken in the Instant Pot before with different recipes and they always turn out, so I'm not sure what's going on.

1. Search online your nearest Indian grocery store/deli.
   
2. Buy a crate of these: http://www.amazon.in/Jabsons-Chana-Masala-120gm/dp/B00DJEWANY
   
   
   Best vegan snack hands down. If you can find the smaller chickpea variety at the Indian store you can try roasting and making the snack yourself.

Coriander is sorta like cumin. Combined, the two go really well together and can be used for a dry rub on chicken, meat, or vegetables. It's a little more bright and citrus-y tasting than cumin. I don't usually use it on its own (whereas I use cumin on its own all the time) but combined with other spices, it's great.

Garam masala is spice blend that's used in Indian dishes. Every Indian chef and region has a favorite recipe, it seems. I'm not an expert on Indian cooking by any means and I have no idea how authentic this is, but I have found this to be a good all purpose blend.

Allspice is kind of hard to describe....the best I can do is a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, and pepper. It's most often used in very small doses in baking, but also in Jamaican jerk rubs.

Yes, cayenne is spicy. I mostly use it in small doses to provide a little kick to chili or a wet/dry rub. If you're not into spicy food, you can leave it out and your dish will probably be just fine!

Star anise I usually use for soup broths. I make a lot of pho and Asian noodle soups, where star anise is often called for. If you wanted to add a little licorice essence to something (stew, soup, etc.), adding a few star anise pods will do the trick. Anise also comes in seed form, but the licorice flavor is much more pronounced and I very rarely use the seeds.

Thank you for reminding me. I left out the macros on my recipe post. I've added them now.

Leaving out the onions definitely helps. I had a heap of sliced green onions that I needed to use, so that was a big reason I went with those. You still get some of the flavor with less carbs (and a nice pop of color). You could also cut back on the garlic to save some more. I prefer this brand of masala powder. Just the aroma alone is amazing, let alone the taste. Whatever you choose, make sure if you buy a garam masala blend, ensure it is not made with any sugars or starches to avoid hidden carbs.

That's not an affiliate link. I'm just a fan of it.

Some lentil recipes that are both fast and filling (imo; I am presumably much less active than you)

Palak Dal

1.75 cups of moong dal
3.5 cups of water
2 medium onions
1 small leaf thing of stone flower
6 cloves of garlic
As much ginger as garlic
Half teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp fenugreek
Pinch of hing
1 lb spinach
1 lemon’s worth of juice

1. Wash moong dal until clear
   
2. Add to water and bring to a boil, then simmer until there’s no more water
   
3. Dice the onion, garlic, and ginger
   
4. Heat vegetable or grape seed oil and add both onion and stone flower
   
5. Once onions stop being completely raw, add garlic-ginger mixture
   
6. Toast and grind remaining spices
   
7. Chop spinach and gradually add to gravy once it starts turning light brown
   
   • If you don’t chop the spinach it will look less appetizing but still taste fine
     
8. Once all spinach is added, add ground spices and moong dal
   
9. Mix thoroughly and add water
   
10. Cover with lid so that some steam can escape and simmer until done, stirring every fifteen minutes
    
    Lentil Vegetable Soup
    
    Grapeseed or vegetable oil
    1 cup chopped onion
    1 cup chopped carrot
    1 cup chopped celery
    1 cup chopped tomato
    1 pound lentils (red or green work well)
    ~8 cups chicken or vegetable stock/broth
    1 tsp ground coriander
    1 tsp ground cardamom
    1 tsp ground cumin
    1 tsp ground black pepper
    1 bay leaf
    
    
11. Toast and begin grinding spices (all except pepper and bay leaf) before beginning
    
12. Heat oil, then add onion, carrot, celery and bay leaf and cook until onions are translucent.
    
13. Continue to grind spices and chop tomatoes while waiting
    
14. Add tomatoes, lentils, spices, and stock / broth
    
15. Simmer covered for at least an hour. Cook longer without lid if too watery.
    
    This is not so fast but even more filling than the above two:
    
    Masoor Dal
    
    INGREDIENTS
    2 tablespoons vegetable / grapeseed oil
    1 cup finely chopped onion
    2 ½ cups (10 ounces, about 1 medium) finely diced sweet potato
    2 garlic cloves, minced
    As much minced ginger as garlic
    1 cup red lentils
    2 teaspoons ground coriander
    2 teaspoons ground cumin
    2 teaspoons turmeric
    2 teaspoons paprika
    1 pinky-sized piece of cinnamon
    1 bay leaf
    1 black cardamom pod
    1 cup chopped tomatoes
    Salt
    3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
    
    Add water as necessary while cooking.
    
16. Have onion, sweet potato, ginger, and garlic prepared before beginning
    
17. Heat oil, then add onion, sweet potato, cinnamon, and bay leaf.
    
18. While waiting, toast and/or grind spices and cut tomatoes.
    
19. Once onion starts to become translucent, add ginger and garlic.
    
20. Add all ground spices and tomatoes after 2-3 minutes.
    
21. Once tomatoes have cooked down and gravy is homogenous, add lentils and fry for a minute or two.
    
22. Add 4 cups of water and simmer partially covered for at least 45 minutes
    
23. Check every 15 minutes and stir.

Lol typing the recipe out makes me want to make eat it right now.

For the coriander seeds, I think it's worth it, but it's a bit too much effort. But if you have the time to grind your spices fresh, then it's the same principle as coffee beans. Freshly ground seeds will give you more flavor and aroma. So do try it if you have the spare time. You can also toast the dry spices and grind them to a powder as well to give you that fresh aroma. This will release their oils and give you more bang for your buck from your spices. I use a store bought one since I am short on time most of the days. The brand I use is called MDH. It's a popular brand in India and lots of homes use it.

SNS MDH Garam Masala (Blend of Spices), 100g, 3.5oz https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B002XH1BXI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_iX4OCbCSR9VZZ


For the ginger/garlic paste, I use a mortar pestel. It's handy to have. Mincing works as well, but I like to extract the juices from the garlic and ginger and flatten them as much as possible so they easily blend into the hot oil. I find mincing them can lead to burning at times rather than getting properly infused into the oils. I have a Vitamix on the side in case I need to whip up the paste real quick, but honestly, I take out the time to use the mortar pestel to get the best flavours.

its from shan. this one

Anyone know where to pick up a good garam masala? I found this on Amazon, but I'm unsure of quality.

http://www.amazon.com/Marshalls-Creek-Spices-Masala-Seasoning/dp/B00BYHQ4K8/ref=sr_1_73?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1382300247&sr=1-73&keywords=garam+masala

They sell blends!

Dont you get them in smaller packets?

Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/National-Garam-Masala-Powder-Pack/dp/B01CPS4KO6

Its 0.7$ each in my local market.