garam masala and pumpkin spice

There was a couple things on my docket today.  Go through my spices and make some more of the mixes that I use a lot- especially in the fall.

Here are some of the things I use my garam masala for.

 
Butternut Squash Soup
 
Chickpea Tikka Masala


 
 Dum Aloo
 

 Lucknow Red Bean Chili (Rajma)

Carrot and Potato Indian Stir Fry
 

garam masala

1/4 cup cumin seeds
⅓ cup coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns (reduce to 1 tbsp for heat)
2 tablespoons whole cloves
2 tablespoons green cardamom
6 whole mace
6 cinnamon sticks
6 whole bay leaves
4 black cardamom, seeded
1 small whole nutmeg, crushed

Toast all the ingredients except for the nutmeg and black cardamom in a hot dry skillet for one minute.  Cool and grind add in the other ingredients. Make sure you take the black cardamom pods apart and discard the husks.

pumpkin spice 

⅓ cup ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg or mace
1-½ teaspoons ground cloves
1-½ teaspoons ground allspice

Add a gift tag with these instructions: “For pumpkin pie, add 1 to 1-½ teaspoons of spice mix to your other ingredients.”


 
Here are some of the recipes I use pumpkin spice for.

 
pumpkin donuts

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Pumpkin Cheesecake
 
Pumpkin Tart