Cooked Masala

Ingredients:

*28oz can of tomatoes (pure if you don't have a food processor or you can get them whole/crushed/diced whatever as long as you can pure them for the sauce)

*1/2 tsp salt

*1/2 tsp turmeric powder

*1/2 tsp chili powder

*1/2 tsp cumin SEEDS

*4 teaspoons coriander powder

*1/2 teaspoon garam masala (donw below I put a recipe for a garam masala mix you can make yourself or buy premade from an indian market, but I prefer to make my own because it's way cheaper and fresher)

*4 bay leaves

*1 cinnamon stick (about an inch long)

*4 black cardamoms (not green and def not white.. the black have a smokey flavor and are *excellent for this sauce)

*1/2 tsp paprika (smoked if possible)

*2 medium onions

*2 small pieces of ginger

*1 large or 2 med green chilies (one jalapeno will do)

*2 cloves garlic

*1/4th + cups oil

Method:

-In the food processor, grind onions, ginger, green chili, and garlic.

-Heat the oil in a none stick pan over mid-high heat and add cumin seeds, bay leaves, cinnamon, and black cardamom.

-As soon as the cumin seeds begin to pop add the onion pure you made and turn down the heat to mid-low.

-Cook for about 20+ min until the mixture is nice golden brown with the onions.

-Than add the 28oz tomatoe pure to the sauce with the rest of the spices and cover, simmer on low for about 25min more.

-Once the oil separates from the masala it is done, let it cool and store for use in many Indian dishes or you can add whatever you want to it in terms of veggies and meat and eat that sucker!!!

Garam Masala Mix:

*10 dried red chilies

*2 curry leaves (dried, I could only find them fresh and dried them myself. Could only find them at an Indian spice store, just fyi. A lot of garam masala pre mixes I have seen usually use bay leaves instead so that's totally up to you.)

*2tbsp coriander seeds

*2 tbsp cumin seeds

*1 tsp black peppercorns

*1 tsp cloves

*1 tsp fenugreek seeds

*1 tsp black mustard seeds

*1/4th tsp chili powder

*1 stick of cinnamon about 7.5 cm long

Method:

-Dry roast the cinnamon, chilies, and curry leaves first for about 2 min on low heat.

-Than add the rest of the spices - chili powder (it burns) and dry roast all the spices on low heat for another 8-10min.

-Once done let them cool and grind them in a spice grinder. (I use a coffee grinder as my spice grinder, it's cheap, around $15 and works just as great as the expensive "spice" grinders.)

-Store in an air tight jar and use as Garam Masala powder for all indian dishes that require it... and let me tell you there's a ton! Including Chicken tikka!