People have a different kind of acquired taste to their meaty dishes and hence cook them in another. But, certain types of species complement the taste of meat, no matter how you cook it.
You can easily find different kinds of spices for various meat types. There are options for general meat masala, chicken masala, pork masala, fish masala, shrimp masala, and so on.
Meat masala and the ingredients used to make it at home.
However, the homemade species hit the plate differently. One can be assured of the quality of ingredients used that spice and the method of preparing it. Besides, you can also opt to keep out the component that you do not like while preparing meat masala at home.
The aroma and flavor of homemade species are fresh and tempting. If you want to learn how to make the best meat masala powder at home, then keep reading this article.
Ingredients Required To Make Meat Masala:
- Bay leaves
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Coriander Seeds
- Cumin Seeds
- Fennel Seeds
- Fenugreek Seeds
- Fresh Curry Leaves
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Green Cardamom Pods
- Kashmiri Chilli Powder
- Mustard Seeds
- Nutmeg
- Pepper
- Peppercorns
- Salt
- Salt
- Star anise
- Turmeric Powder
Steps Involved in Making Masala Powder:
- First, sort out the dry, powder, and wet ingredients required to make the meat masala.
- Wash all the wet ingredients and herbs and let them stand to dry out. It is better to dry out the ingredients like curry leaves, bay leaves, garlic, ginger, and other herbs weeks before the preparation.
- Drying out the whole spices like cumin, fenugreek, close, cardamom, coriander, etc., is safer to get that proper finish. Using the dry ingredients also increases the shelf life of the spices.
- Take a dry cast iron pan and heat it. Add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds to the pan. Roast these species slowly on the pan by continuously stirring them. Allow these seeds to pop out and take them away from the heat. It is essential to keep stirring to avoid churning the spices.
- Allow the roasted species to cool down at room temperature.
- Now add Kashmiri chili powder and turmeric powder to the roasted seeds.
- Grind these species in a mixture grinder and make a fine powder.
- Again, take out the cast iron pan and roast the whole remaining species, such as star anise, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, fennel seeds, green cardamom pods, etc. Roast the species until they develop the fragrance. Allow these whole spices to cool down, grind them in a mixture, and keep them aside.
- Add dried garlic cloves, curry, and bay leaves to the pan and stir them on a medium flame. Add all the ground mixes together and grind again with the leaves until you make a fine powder.
- You can grind these spices in batches and later mix them in a bowl. However, you need to properly integrate them all by stirring them properly for some time.
- After all the powder ingredients are mixed, add a spoonful of table salt to the spice mixture and mix it properly. The freshly ground species release heat, so allow it to stand for a while and cool down to room temperature. After cooling completely, you can store the spice for use when required.
- Make sure to store the meat masala in an air-tight container to prevent spoilage. Please keep it in a cool, dry place in your kitchen cabinet, not in the fridge. If you keep the spices in the refrigerator, they might absorb moisture and get spoilt.
- Some people also prefer to add dried tomato and lemon grass to the meat masala to give that tangy taste. You may also add it while adding the whole spices in the above procedure.
- If you are someone who loves to use freshly blended spices while cooking, then you can follow the same procedure with smaller amounts of spices. You can prepare the spices right before cooking instead of using the stored one.
How To Use Homemade Meat Masala Powder?
You may use the homemade meat masala powder for cooking, marinating, or roasting the meat. Since this readily made meat masala powder already has some salt in it, make sure to taste the meat before adding more salt.
Since this homemade meat masala powder is already cooked, you can use it to make salads using meat, such as chicken salad. You can also use this spice in garnishing the meat dishes.
You may also use the meat masala to marinate the steak or garnish it.
Method of making meat curries using homemade Meat Masala:
- Slice one big onion if you are cooking 500gms of meat. Chop two medium-sized tomatoes, some green chilies, and some parsley.
- Take a pan and heat it. Then add three tablespoonfuls of oil to the pan and allow it to heat up. Now fry the sliced onions until translucent.
- Add the meat to the pan and fry it on medium until all the moisture from the meat dries up, and it starts to leave the oil in the pan.
- Then add the chopped tomatoes until it becomes soft. Add the homemade meat masala to the meat and stir it for 2 mins. Add salt to taste and add some water. You can add two spoonful of meat masala.
- Allow the water to thicken into a thick gravy and turn off the heat. Garnish the meat curry with freshly chopped parsley. Now your meat curry made with homemade masala is ready to eat.
- The cooking time varies for different types of meat. If you are using chicken meat, then it gets cooked in 30-45 mins. However, for mutton meat, you would have to cook it for one complete hour to get it fully cooked.