The letter G happened when I was doing the previous BM and took up to do Mahatrasrian cuisine. Goda Masala is the famous spice powder from the Maharashtrian cuisine. The very first time I participated in a food event was for RCI Maharashtra and I had cooked few dishes for the event. That was my first exposure to this cuisine and whatever veg dish I had prepared, I had enjoyed the taste. The masala bath recipe that I had referred called for Goda Masala and it was said that if you don't have goda masala, you can replace with regular garam masala. As you might have guessed right, I went ahead with my homemade garam masala, not even bothering to check out what and how this Goda masala was made.
It was many years later that I finally came around reading on what makes up a Goda Masala and how it is made. This spice powder includes the basic garam masala ingredients, along with some more. After making it, I went back to read on my Maharashtrian Masala Bath, and realized I missed the main essence by way far. And also realized that the hostess and other natives who had left such wonderful comments on my dish, were really kind to point out that the taste wouldn't have been the same!
Anyway I had enjoyed my participation then and that experience had surely made my initial years very memorable.
I also seem to have missed out on sharing another interaction, which had laid heavily on my conscience for not writing about it or clicking pictures of what I received. Pradnya had sent in a huge box, full of spice blends, with beautiful notes, recipes, and how to use for each of the spice blends. Though I thanked her, I never shared how wonderful it felt to receive those homemade spice blends. She had sent Goda masala, garam masala, peanut masala, etc. All used up and enjoyed. In fact, the box you see in this picture was one of the boxes she had sent in. To remember her Goda Masala, I stored up in the same box. Thank you Pradnya for your thoughtfulness and sweet gesture.
Though I must confess my boys were not happy. The reason being she packed everything in a Ben Ten box and they wrongly assumed that a toy awaited them and was sorely disappointed to see cooking things! We all had a laugh at the way they looked at it.
For today, under G, it is a condiment - Goda Masala
The recipe I am sharing today is from an online Maharashtrian friend. She said her mom makes different combinations. This recipe I choose to make didn't have peppercorns and black cardamom. The fragrance and the spice that makes this unique is the use of Dagad phool / Black stone flower. We normally use this as a whole in our cooking, mostly biryanis. I was surprised to note that this is ground as powder.
She also said that they mostly roast these spices in oil and when they roast it to almost black, they call it Kaala masala. When the spices are roasted and tossed till they leave aroma, you can remove and grind. So this variety of masala is simply referred to as Goda Masala.
After making this spice blend and preparing a couple of dishes with it, I realized how spicy and aromatic the final dish was. In fact, this friend of mine gave me recipes that had a ground masala to it. That had red chili, peppercorns. So I assume they don't mix it beforehand but include fresh to the dish.
As with any cuisine, I have no authority over the authenticity of my preparation. I followed the recipe to the T and I enjoyed all the dishes that I prepared with it.
Goda Masala from Maharashtra
Ingredients Needed
Coriander seeds - 4 cups
Cloves - 2 tsp
Cinnamon sticks (half inch to one inch long) - 4-5
Cumin seeds - 3-4 tsp
Caraway seeds / Shahjeera - 3-4 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1/2 cup
Dry Coconut / Copra - 1/2 cup
Bay leaves 6-7 nos
Dagad phool / Black stone flower - 6-7
Asafoetida (Hing) according to taste
Heat a nonstick pan, toss all the ingredients until the aroma starts coming out. Remove and allow to cool, before grinding to a smooth powder.
The ingredients are roasted one by one. Since I was making almost 1/4 of the recipe I got, I had tossed in together. Also, you can use a few drops of oil during the roasting, which will surely bring out more essence of the spices used.
Note:
The above measurement was halved, still, I got a huge batch that's frozen. I have since used this spice powder in many dishes and loved the addition this spice powder gave.
I had used this goda Masala in the below recipes, that I did for a previous BM theme.
Couple of them asked what is goda masala and where the recipe for it. I had simply said will share it, not disclosing that I had saved it for my ABC cooking for G! I was feeling so bad for sharing the main spice blend later, but couldn't help it.
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Recipe
G for Goda Masala | Maharashtrian Goda Masala
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Preeti Garg says
Nice flavorful spices which gives wonderful aroma.
Priya Suresh says
U know wat i came to know about this masala just 3years back that too through this blogworld, flavourful goda masala, i prepared recently a pulao with this masala and we loved it.
Nivedhanams Sowmya says
so aromatic and delicious.. have seen this in vahrehvah and bookmarked it... but yet to try... can imagine how flavorful this will be!!!
Suma Gandlur says
Flavorful podi. Nothing can beat the homemade versions.
vaishali sabnani says
Ghoda masala has a distinct flavor which is way different than garam masala..even I made it while making the Maharashtrian thali.
Sandhya Karandikar says
Srivalli, Your Goda Masala looks very authentic. As you rightly have said each community/family will have a slightly different recipe for this.
It is called Goda Masala because chillies are not used and proportion of dried coconut and corriander seeds is much high to give it a sweet taste. This is mainly used by the Brhamin community from maharashtra.
Chef Mireille says
love the sweet spices in this masala although no idea where I would find that flower
Sapana Behl says
Wonderful blend of spices ! Home makes are always best ..
Manjula Bharath says
wow very very flavorful masala 🙂 i too have to try this now .. very aromatic flavors and spices added dear !!
Janani says
I love goda masala recipes a lot its even better when made freshly at home loving the mix valli so nice. I have missed adding 2 ingredients will add to my list too thanks for sharing.
Gayathri Kumar says
Very interesting write up Valli. The masala looks so flavourful...
Harini-Jaya R says
Very flavorful and home made masalas have a special charm, right?
Sreevalli E says
Very flavorful masala.. I do prefer home made than store bought ones..
Pallavi Purani says
I had a version of this at a friend's home at Pune. Such a waft runs through the house when the spices are being roasted. 🙂
Saraswathi Tharagaram says
Excellent blend of flavor and that too homemade makes it best..
Rajani S says
I can imagine the boys' disappointment and your excitement at the contents of the Ben Ten box :-)...Nice of Pradnya to send in the 'good stuff' and explain patiently the use of each and everyone :)...
Kalyani says
its truly an aromatic podi... and I make it sometimes in small batches for masala bhath ! wonderful....
Archana Potdar says
Looks delicious. I am yet to make my own Goda masala easy to fall back of the delicious supply i get from the various relatives. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe anyway.
Padmajha PJ says
This is in my list but never made it. Yea, I too loved Pradnya's pack of masalas 🙂
Padma Rekha says
Yes Godamasala gives a different taste and flavor.I didn't even tuch that hole pack of masalas which given by Pradnya they are in my fridge....
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Truly an aromatic masala Valli! Love all the flavors 🙂
Nisha Sundar says
Though I have heard about this so many times, never made it once. Is dagat phool a common spice ?
veena krishnakumar says
Nice write up Valli, got to know about this flavourful masala
Srivalli says
Thank you everybody!
Nisha We get dagat phool as part of the spice mix and is quite to find. In most of the biryanis that is made locally, this is added. I really don't have an idea if recent trend or been there..:)