Mum's Mixed Masala

When I first married my husband and moved in with my in-laws, I had no clue about cooking or the amount of spices to use in different curries. My mother in law used to tell me to use my ‘anthaz/andaaz’ translating somewhat into use my common sense 🤣🙄 but sadly, I didn’t have any when it came to spices haha! So she patiently taught me the different ground and raw spices for a chicken curry, meat curry, fish curries and vegetable dishes. I soon became very confident in doing this and before I knew it, I was happy to cook on my own without supervision.

However, things all changed (cooking wise) when husband and I moved out to our first home. My mum visited and sorted out my spice cupboard labelling each of the separate jars of spices and then she handed me this tub of what was labelled ‘mixed masala’. She told me I only needed to use approx 2-2.5 tbsp of this spice into my normal sized curries and I wouldn’t need to add anything else! Shortcut? I love it! Thanks mum!

I never really questioned how she made this mixed spice although from a young age I do remember her a few times a year get the big red bowl out and mixing away a lovely array of stunning reds, sun-bright yellows, vibrant hues of orange spices that smelt spicy and tantalising yet comforting to my senses. And everyone always loved my mum’s cooking and dishes!

So this week whilst visiting my mum, I asked her if she could make me a new batch and I thought it’s about time I learnt how to do it myself! What seemed to be a tough, boring and tiresome job of fold, stir, mix and repeat ended up being quite fun and I found it quite therapeutic watching all the beautiful colours mix in together to make such a gorgeous spectral colour from crimson to burnt orange. I loved it! It makes life sooo much more easier and I thought why not share it with all my followers? This way, writing out my recipes will become much easier and you can all try out my mum’s mixed masala and make cooking a doddle for you too!

INGREDIENTS

East End 400g Madras Curry powder East End 400g Chilli powder East End 400g Tumeric powder East End 400g Coriander powder East End 400g Garam Masala East End 400g Jeera (cumin) powder

METHOD

1. In a large bowl, pour in the whole packet of the following ground spices: tumeric powder , coriander powder, curry powder, chilli powder.

2. Add in 3/4 of the packet of garam masala and Jeera powder, leaving 1/4 powder left in each of these bags. The reason is because these spices are quite strong in itself so the whole packet is not needed in the mixture.

(don’t worry, it won’t go to waste, I have another trick up my sleeve!)

3. Fold in the spices in the bowl evenly until all individual colours have amalgamated together to form a lovely rich orange hue.

4. Spoon this into a tight sealed container and you can use this spice mix for any meat curries. For a medium sized curry (1 whole chicken size) I use approximately 2.5 tbsp of this spice. If you like your curries more spicy, you can adjust and add more.

Now for the left over Garam Masala and Jeera powder.

1. Mix together the remaining 1/4 each of the garam masala and Jeera powder in a small bowl and store it in a tight sealed container.

You can use this mixture for any other dish. I usually add a teaspoon to pasta, grilled chicken, marinating meat/fish – whatever tickles your fancy!

Or if you prefer cooking with your spices individually you only need 1 tbsp of this in your curries alongside your other spices!

I hope you enjoy this quick easy fix to your spice cupboard! This is the spice mix I use for all of my chicken and meat curries, unless stated otherwise. The garam masala and cumin mix I use for curries such as chicken korma or chicken/meat pilau rice.

Tag me @cookinwithshummi if you decide to use this method for your cooking!