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> Garam masala is a blend of spices that are lightly roasted. The "garam"/hot refers to this roasting. That is incorrect. Garam does indeed mean hot, but indi
by yumraj 4y ago
> Garam masala is a blend of spices that are lightly roasted. The "garam"/hot refers to this roasting.
That is incorrect. Garam does indeed mean hot, but individual spices in garama masala don't need to be roasted, in fact I believe most, if not all, of them are not roasted, rather simply ground together.
The garam refers to the taseer (in Ayurvedic terms) of the spice blend, as in is it cooling (such as fennel is cooling), or is it warm (such as black pepper is warm/hot) to the body.
Almost all, if not all, of the ingredients of garam masala are warming to the body.
- manish_gill 4y agoOn the question of roasted vs not: I believe they simply need to be _dry_. Typically this can be achieved by either soaking the individual spices out in the heat, or a partial roast.
- davchana 4y agoYes, correct. Just to add, things with hot taseer are recommended to be eaten in winter, to stay warm (not temperature wise), and cool things in summer. One of my childhood memories is eating a lot of mangoes (which is hot) in one sitting in summer (which is when mangoes are available), and them getting nose bleed (because its hot). Worth it :)
- HDMI_Cable 4y agoI'm curious: is there any correlation between the perceived spiciness of a blend and the taseer, or is the designation based moreso on observations on when it is appropriate to eat them (e.g., someone noticed that it was better to eat something in winter, or people tended to eat something in winter and so designated the spice as having high taseer)?
- davchana 4y agoTaseer is of anything, not exclusively only of spices. Warm milk raises body's temperature, so hot, so is mango fruits dipped in ice water. So is dry fruits eaten at room temperature. Cold milk with half water, and some ice cubes is of cold taseer. Mint drinks are cold, so if rubbing mustard oil on forehead & foot soles. Rubbing ghee or almond oil is hot taseer. Taseer is not based on spiciness or taste, it is based on how one's body temperature changes after consuming that food.
- kleton 4y agoI wonder how much overlap there is between substances that are considered hot/cold in ayurvedic vs traditional Chinese medicine. I think mangoes are considered cold (阴) in Chinese, though they are relatively recent to their experience.
- davchana 4y agoTo add, there is also a concept of acidic & base foods. If one has too much of base foods, like one day old lentils, or gourds, one may feel like having sticky spit, or white crust of lips, or sore throat. The home remedy is to have a thick soup of dried ginger, onions & black pepper. This balances the body acid back to ph7 levels.
- lotsofpulp 4y agoBy body acid do you mean stomach acid? Why would you want that to be at a pH of 7, which is neutral.
- davchana 4y agoIts not based on English meaning of acid base, but that was the closest similar meaning words I could muster in English.
- bipson 4y agoThe whole idea of acidic/basic foods is not grounded on the scientific meaning of basic/acidic. Food considered to be "acidic" often has no particularly low pH, and vice versa. And most of all: you can't influence your body's pH (i.e. blood) by eating something specific. You would be dead immediately if this was possible. The pH of your stomach content might vary if you just ate, but your body will create the acid by itself. As soon as you see food. There might be still something to whole acidic/basic idea, but it has nothing to do with pH ;)
- davchana 4y agoYes, true, it's not based on English meaning of acid base, but that was the closest similar meaning words I could muster in English.
- throwaway2037 4y agoThis nosebleed stuff: Is there any proven science behind it? I hear it from Chinese people also. I never believe it. Supposedly, fresh lychee fruits are "super hot". I can eat a huge bunch. No ill effects -- including nose bleeds. Many non-Chinese laugh when I tell this story -- "me too".
- davchana 4y agoI don't know about science, but this has happened to me multiple times in life at different ages. The common scenario with all of them is that there's a bucket full of ice water & suckable mangoes (the one you don't cut, you just bite and make a hole, and then press the mango & let it ooze from that hole), its summer, and I am under a shade in open, in around afternoon or high sun, and I eat 10-12 of mangoes, I will feel the blood flowing through nostrils, and it will start dripping. If I eat 2-3, then no nose bleed. No nose bleed ever in life.
- throwaway2037 4y agoOk, it sounds like a food allergy.
- davchana 4y agoIts not the food, its the quantity. Some people get nose bleed from just being in summer heat or high temperature.
- canadianfella 4y ago[dead]
- Baeocystin 4y agoHuh. TIL. The (Hindu) woman who taught me a few Indian recipes told me that the spices in garam masala were always pre-roasted, with the exception of the nutmeg. Maybe it's a regional thing?
- dragonwriter 4y agoMost source I’ve seen has favored roasting spices for garam masala before grinding, but some have noted that there are some recipes that don’t.
- zffr 4y ago“Always” is a stretch. Like the other commenter mentioned, “garam” just refers to the type of spices used. These spices would be referred to as “garam masala” even if kept whole and unroasted. Some recipes call for tempering whole pieces of garam masala directly in oil instead of adding powdered garam masala at a later stage in cooking. The reason most people will use powdered garam masala is that it is much more efficient. A little powder can provide similar flavor as many whole spices.
- OJFord 4y agoGP is talking about dry-roasting whole spices prior to grinding them into a powder, not tempering. Without getting into a flavour debate, it undeniably makes some (e.g. cumin) a lot easier to powder finely.
- hackernewds 4y agoI think to claim either side entirely is inaccurate. Only a Sith deals in absolutes
- chimeracoder 4y ago> Huh. TIL. The (Hindu) woman who taught me a few Indian recipes told me that the spices in garam masala were always pre-roasted, with the exception of the nutmeg. > Maybe it's a regional thing? It's regional insofar as the exact constituents of garam masala are regional - nutmeg, for example, is a pretty regional one and not super widespread. It can be roasted, raw, or ground, depending on which stage you're using it in.
- forgotpwagain1 4y agoAFAIK `taseer` isn't Ayurvedic term. `Prakruti/Nature-of-food` might be more appropriate word. Most of the spices are indeed lightly roasted before grinding to bring out more flavor. It may differ regionally and may be based on grinding method. Grinding can generate heat as well. Additional fact: Many regions have specific blends: * Bengalis use punch-pooraN masala, * Marathi / Maharashtrians use KaLa (black) masala also called as goda (gauDa) masala and many other regional blends.