Once a year, perur athama would grind curry masala powder. The quintessential masala powder used for kurmas, chicken and mutton curries. She would put in so much of effort right from selecting the chillies and spices, dry roasting them, drying them in the sun so its absolutely dry and lasts for a long time, grinding them etc… Her long time driver Kennedy would load the jeep with all the roasted spices and carefully take it to the rice mill and grind it to ammas preference.
The hot ground masala was spread on newspapers lined in the dining room to cool. The entire house smelled of the masala. After 3-4 hours of cooling, the masala was carefully packed and stored in the kitchen store room. Perur athama was persnickety and her kitchen ran on a zero error policy. Everything was carefully looked upon and her dishes are legendary in our family. She is a true treasure. She would also send the curry masala spice powder in nice stainless steel boxes sealed on the outside with another plastic bag to all of her family. It lasted for an year. She is getting quite old now and I wish her a lot of health. This recipe is legendary and can turn even an ordinary recipe to something gourmet.
This recipe can be doubled or tripled according to your needs. Here are some tips to be followed so the masala powder lasts for a long time.
# Make sure the ingredients are well roasted.
# If you are grinding the powder at home, make sure the mixie / grinder is completely dry. Use a cloth to wipe off any moistness
# Spread the ground masala on a newspaper and allow it to dry completely. The grinding process makes the masala hot and it needs to be completely cool before you can store it in bottles.
# Make sure the masala powder is absolutely moist free and dry before storing it
# For retaining the freshness of the masala, store the masala in the freezer and use as required.
Here is how to do home made curry masala powder. I make this masala once in a month and grind in my mixie. You can double or triple this recipe if you want to. This recipe is so versatile. Use it while making kurmas, chicken or mutton dishes. Just a tablespoonful of this masala makes the dish very flavorful.
Dry roast all the ingredients separately until well roasted and fragrant. Set aside on a plate to cool.
First lets dry roast the red chillies. Dry roast the chillies on low flame until the chillies starts to fluff up a bit and is brown here and there. Please use caution to not burn the chillies. The entire masala will be ruined if burnt spices are used. Set aside on a plate to cool.
Add in the rest of the ingredients and dry roast till its very fragrant and the seeds are slightly brown. If your are doubling or tripling the recipe, dry roast in batches.
Wait for the roasted spices to completely cool before grinding.
Grind the spices to a very smooth and fine powder. If the quantity is large, then grind it in batches.
Spread the ground masala on a newspaper to cool. Let it completely cool before you can store it in bottles.
Here are some of the recipes you can make with curry masala powder.
- 30 dried red chillies
- 5 sticks cinnamon (two inch sticks)
- 5 cloves
- ½ cup coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoon fennel seeds
- Dry roast the chillies on low flame until the chillies starts to fluff up a bit and is brown here and there. Please use caution to not burn the chillies.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients and dry roast till its very fragrant and the seeds are slightly brown. If your are doubling or tripling the recipe, dry roast in batches.
- Wait for the roasted spices to completely cool before grinding.
- Grind the spices to a very smooth and fine powder. If the quantity is large, then grind it in batches.
- Spread the ground masala on a newspaper to cool. Let it completely cool before you can store it in bottles.
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