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Bengali · Bangladeshi

Bengali garam masala

Vegetarian

গরম মশলা · gôrôm môshla

Bengal's three-spice garam masala: green cardamom, cloves and cinnamon in roughly equal measure, warmed rather than roasted and ground fine. Intensely sweet-scented, it is stirred in at the very end of kosha mangsho, chingri malai curry and Bengali sweets.

Bengali garam masala is a Bengali condiment from India, ready in about 15 minutes and made with cardamom, cinnamon stick and cloves. It serves 12 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep
2 min
Cook
3 min
Rest
10 min
Total
15 min
Serves
12
Level
Beginner
Calories
6

Ingredients

12 teaspoons (about 2 g each)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Warm the cardamom (opens in a new tab), cinnamon and cloves (opens in a new tab) together in a dry pan over low heat for 1–2 minutes, shaking the pan, just until fragrant and dry to the touch. They should not change colour. (In Bengal they are often simply sun-dried for an afternoon instead.)

  2. Step 2

    Cool completely on a plate, about 10 minutes, so the oils do not make the powder clump.

    • 10 min

  3. Step 3

    Grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder (or pound in a mortar for a small batch). Cardamom (opens in a new tab) husks can be ground in; sift them out if you prefer it silky.

    Spices being ground in a mortar and pestle
    How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Spoon into a clean, completely dry glass jar or spice tin, label with the date and keep away from the stove, light and steam. Always use a dry spoon. Because the batch is small, grind a fresh one every month or two.

About this dish

Origin
Bengal (West Bengal and Bangladesh), West Bengal, India · Well documentedThe cardamom-clove-cinnamon trio is the standard Bengali garam masala on both sides of the border; some cooks add a bay leaf or a little mace.Also popular in BangladeshMore food from India
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Condiments, chutneys & relishes
Cooking method
Toasted
Taste
aromatic / warmly spiced, sweet
Diet
Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Whole-food focused · Paleo-style · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-sodium · DASH-style
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Cardamom · Cinnamon stick · Cloves
Techniques
Toasting · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Dry grinding

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

6 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 2 g · recipe makes 12

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 6%
  • Carbohydrate 81%
  • Fat 13%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy6 kcal293 kcal
Protein0.1 g7.6 g
Carbohydrate1.4 g74.9 g
Net carbohydrate0.7 g35.4 g
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.8 g39.5 g
Fat0.1 g6.7 g
Saturated fat0 g1.4 g
Trans fat0 g0.1 g
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium2 mg84 mg
Salt equivalent0 g0.2 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
17 mg
Calcium
13 mg
Iron
0.2 mg
Magnesium
4 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
0 µg
Vitamin C
0 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
—

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Use about ½ tsp for a curry for four, sprinkled in with the ghee at the end; it is much stronger than mixed garam masala.

Common mistakes

  • Cooking it for long: added early, the aroma disappears and leaves only bitterness from the cloves.

Serve with

  • Kosha mangsho, chingri malai curry, chicken rezala and morog polao.
  • A pinch in payesh, shemai and other milk sweets.

Storage

  • Tightly sealed, cool and dark, for 2 months.

Variations

  • With bay leaf and mace: Add 2 tej patta and a blade of mace for meat dishes.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

About this masala

Type
Dry spice blend
Texture
Fine powder
One batch makes
about 23 g
Keeps
about 2 months
Store
Airtight jar, cool dark cupboard
Recipe
Regional variation

Bengal (West Bengal and Bangladesh). Makes Garam masala, the ingredient our dish recipes list. All masalas

Regional variations: Kerala (Malabar) garam masala, Mughlai (shahi) garam masala, Punjabi garam masala

Used in

Amounts are each dish’s own quantity, for the servings it is written for. “Make enough” opens this recipe scaled for that dish.

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

The spice and seasoning backbone

Spices, masalas & pastes

  • Cardamom, lightly roast whole green pods (about 50)10 g
  • Cinnamon stick, lightly roast, broken (true cinnamon or cassia)8 g
  • Cloves, lightly roast (about 60)6 g
Used in step 1

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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