CHANNA/CHOLE MASALA POWDER

     Channa Masala and Punjabi Chole are two dishes I frequent at home.  While I was in India it was very easy to buy ready to use Channa Masala Powders.  After coming down to Malaysia, I had a tough time to get all these Indian products around.  There were a lot of things which were not available here, that I started trying out recipes, which I thought was very difficult to make. Whenever I used to travel back home for holidays, I had a long to buy-list which included all kinds of Spices & Spice Powders. My dad takes much patience to do the chores, he would always ask me even before I start from Malaysia for the list of things I needed to buy.  He would buy and pack them up so perfectly for me.
      When I had all kinds of spices, I thought it would always be a good idea to prepare fresh spice powders.  But the best thing about preparing fresh spice powders, is they have a great ability to enhance the flavour of the dish it is added into.  And above all, once you get into the habit of fresh spice powders it will be very difficult to turn back to store-bought ones. Also with an added advantage of using the substances with a knowledge of what kind of things are added into it and these homemade spice powders have NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURS, ENHANCERS, COLOURANTS AND PRESERVATIVES.

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Cuisine: Punjabi (North Indian) 
Recipe Type: Spice Powder
Spice Level: Medium
Difficulty: Easy
Yields:100-150 Gms
Author: SM

Preparation Time: 5-10 Minutes
Cooking & Grinding: 5-10 Minutes

INGREDIENTS :

Dry Red Chillies - 5 Nos.
Coriander Seeds - 1/2 Cup
Cinnamon  (1" Piece) - 8-10 Pieces
Cloves - 10 Nos.
Star anise - 1 Flower
Green Cardamoms - 10 Pods
Black Cardamom - 4 Pods
Peppercorns -1/2 Tbspn
Mace(Javitri) - Few Strands
Bay Leaf - 10 Leaves
Cumin Seeds - 2 Tbspn
Black Cumin Seeds(Shah Jeera) - 1 Tbspn
White Sesame Seeds - 1 Tbspn

Do Not Roast:

Dry Ginger (1" Piece) - 2 Nos.
Nutmeg - 1/2 Tspn
Rock Salt - 1/2 Tbspn
Turmeric Powder - 1 Tspn
Amchur Powder (Dry Mango) - 1 Tbspn

METHOD :

• Dry roast all the ingredients one by one (starting from bigger ones followed by the next in size) in a very low flame until they are totally dry and fragrant.
• Roast Cumin Seeds and White Sesame Seeds until they pop, on a very low flame.
• Roast all the spices until they turn aromatic and keep them aside.
• Allow the ingredients to cool.
• Do not roast Dry Ginger, Turmeric Powder, Amchur Powder and Nutmeg.
• Finally, add Turmeric Powder, Amchur Powder, Dry Ginger, Nutmeg and Rock Salt to the above ingredients.
• Grind them into a smooth powder in a coffee grinder or in a mixer-grinder.
  

NOTES :

• Can dry the ingredients in sun, but it is totally optional.
• Care should be taken not to burn the ingredients.  It would totally spoil the taste of the spice powder.
• Roast all the ingredients in a very low flame starting from bigger ones followed by the next in size.
• If making a big batch can grind it in a mill.(if the facility is available in your neighbourhood).
• If grinding at home, do not overload the mixer.  Grind them in small batches and mix them together finally.
• Store the ground Masala in an airtight container in a dry place away from heat and sunlight.
• Do not use a wet spoon or wet hand while using the powder.
• Proper storage and handling will increase the shelf life of the Masala.
• Channa/Chole Masala Powder can be used in dishes like Channa Masala, Punjabi Chole and in the preparation of Indian Subzis too.