Spice Up Your Meals! Fancy yourself as a wonder chef? That title is yours if you’ve worked in a kitchen with a variety of spices to choose from. Spices can make everything interesting. It can turn any bland food into something completely magical. And not only that, spices and herbs can add depth to a flavour, can elevate or lower your senses depending on the type used. Some spices are added just for prepping the meal, while some are roasted over hot oil to bring out the flavours. And there are some herbs and spices, which are best used as garnish! The permutations and combinations are endless. But one thing that is almost common in every dish is the famous Khada Masala also commonly known as garam masala. It is a blend of spices that can be brought at the local grocery store or can even be prepared at home. To make garam masala, anything between 6-12 spices is added and blended. It can be prepared in one of two ways and that will define how to use the masala in your cooking. The most important thing to note is that you have to heat up the spices to activate the aromas and release their flavours. If you’re doing it while preparing garam masala, then you need not add the spice early in cooking. It can be added later or just before serving. On the other hand, if the blended spices are not roasted during the preparation, then it has to be used in the beginning of the dish so that the flavours come out. Similar spices can be made at home using a blender or a spice mill. If you own a coffee grinder, you can use that as well. You can even use cinnamon pods to make finely ground cinnamon powder. You’ll need to roast these whole spices in a pan so that the aromas and flavours are released. Heat is the catalyst that brings out the aromas. So, keep stirring constantly until the flavours are completely out and fully developed. Transfer immediately or allow for gradual cooling before sealing it up. This roasting process and grinding can be repeated and used for various others spices if you plan on making powders out of it. Making fresh spices is as much an art as is cooking with spices. Adding the tiniest bit of spice in food can be the difference between regular and mind-blowing. Lots of food experts advocate the use of whole spices for cooking. That is because whole spices have a larger surface area and the aromas and flavours are stronger compared to ground powder. But that doesn’t mean ground powder has disadvantages. There are special masalas that can only be found in the ground powder form. Spices such as chicken masala, fish fry masala, paneer butter masala can only be found in the ground form. They’re also formed by a blend of other spices and ingredients, but it is much easier to simply buy the masala you require instead of making them from scratch. Spices are an amazing addition and the ones who use it in their dishes ensures that meal times are never dull.
https://keyaspices.com/