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Comment by yumraj | Hacker News Reader

> 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.

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AFAIK `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.

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?

Most 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.

“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.

GP 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.

I think to claim either side entirely is inaccurate. Only a Sith deals in absolutes

> 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.

There may be differences but some of the main/common ingredients in garam masala are:

Black cardamom, cinnamon, black pepper, cloves, nutmeg etc.

Again, regional differences aside, I don’t believe any of those are roasted beforehand. At least the garam masala that I’m familiar with is like that.

You should try toasting all your spices before you grind and mix them: It only takes a few extra minutes and it adds so much extra flavour, I really miss it when the spices aren't toasted. Seriously. Google search how to toast spices, it could change your life.

If you're buying powder this has either already happened or it is too late.

To confirm, by toasting I'm assuming you're referring to dry toasting and not in oil or ghee.

Given that, there are spices that are toasted and some which are not.

For example, toasted cumin is just divine, toasted clove is also interesting. However, I'm not sure if say black pepper, black and green cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves etc. are ever toasted, at least we haven't tried that. Perhaps I should experiment one of these days..

Moreover, even with cumin, toasted cumin serves different purpose than regular cumin. Regular cumin is added in oil/ghee, while toasted powdered cumin in used as is. Most of the spices are anyway cooked in ghee or oil which enhances flavor.

Also, with garam masala, we use both whole (as a mixture of whole spices) as well as ground.

> there are spices that are toasted and some which are not.

No, I'm telling you that you can toast all of them, and you might like it.

> For example, toasted cumin is just divine, toasted clove is also interesting. However, I'm not sure if say black pepper, black and green cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves etc. are ever toasted, at least we haven't tried that.

I suggest you try it.

Black cardamom and cinnamon definitely both toast nicely.

Tej patta is a herb, not a spice.

I don't think dry heat is quite such an easy win with herbs as it is with spices.

> Also, with garam masala, we use both whole (as a mixture of whole spices) as well as ground.

Sure. People make garam masala all sorts of ways: Do whatever makes you happy. I'm just suggesting you try something awesome, not trying to tell you or anyone else "what" garam masala is.

> I suggest you try it.

Will do, I’m curious now. Sounds like a cool project for this weekend :)

I came to conclusion that roasting makes no difference, unless you are a supertaster or something.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don’t know. Is a raw onion as good as a nice caramelised one? Maybe some people think they’re just different. Maybe it’s like coke and pepsi. Maybe they taste no difference at all. Or maybe just with some spices. Maybe some people even like the mix of toasted and non-toasted. Whatever their preference it is because it’s their preference, and so that’s the recipe they hand down to their kids.

I’m just saying you should try the caramelised onion, and don’t just stick to the raw ones because that’s the recipe you know.

I don't believe this is a good analogy. The amount of sugars in an onion is definitely not the same as in a seed of the cilantro plant for example. So the reactants would be different and so would be the product. This is evident by the amount of time needed for cooking, where to caramelize an onion takes a relatively long time. I think toasting spices can vaguely round out flavors, but doesn't really bring about a dramatic change.

As a Westerner, this was my experience too when I tried roasting the spices, and I gave up on it after a bit.

Can’t say about others, but with cumin it makes a huge difference.

But, again, we use ground fresh toasted cumin as is, usually sprinkled on the top of dishes. While, regular cumin is cooked with oil/ghee. Cooking toasted cumin will char/burn it.

regional and dish thing. For some dishes we roast, and for some, we don't.

Yes, 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 :)

I'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)?

Taseer 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.

I 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.

To 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.

By body acid do you mean stomach acid? Why would you want that to be at a pH of 7, which is neutral.

Its not based on English meaning of acid base, but that was the closest similar meaning words I could muster in English.

The 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 ;)

Yes, true, it's not based on English meaning of acid base, but that was the closest similar meaning words I could muster in English.

This 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".

I 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.

Ok, it sounds like a food allergy.

Its not the food, its the quantity.

Some people get nose bleed from just being in summer heat or high temperature.

On 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.

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