Roses to Indian Culture and Cuisine

The rose, in all its glory, is incorporated in various forms in Indian culture, be it gulab attar adorning the wrists of the nawabs or the Mughals, or gulab jal, or rose water, used in beauty regimes when mixed with chandan for face packs. Not forgetting Rajesh Khanna singing to Nanda, “Gulabi aankhen jo teri dekhi.” Gulabi aankhen??? 🙂 Nonetheless, a lovely song.

A few drops of rose essence added to any mithai or dessert makes a whole lot of difference. Think of the divine gulab jamuns, actually named after this wonderful flower. Rose petals are great as a garnish in sweets like sutarfeni and phirni. And of course, not forgetting gulkhand, which is used in various preparations such as paan and ice creams.

But the one use of dried rose petals I learnt from my mother was to use it in the making of garam masala. For years my garam masala has been made by my mom. Using dried rose buds in garam masala balances out the heat of the spices used, like cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, etc. Some years ago, on a visit to Dubai, wandering around the spice souk, I came across mounds of different coloured dried rose petals which were a treat to the eye. I believe dried rose petals are used in Middle Eastern spice mixes.

The aroma of freshly ground garam masala with dried rose bud petals literally fills the kitchen with a divine fragrance. Using just a teaspoon in any gravy is enough to infuse it with a wonderful taste and aroma. Today I share with you this wonderful garam masala recipe.

Garam Masala Ala Mummy

Ingredients

• 250 gms cumin seeds (jeera), washed and dried in the sun
• 100 gms each of:
  • Poppy seeds (khus khus)
  • Caraway seeds (shah jeera)
  • Cinnamon (dalchini), break into small pieces to make grinding easy
  • Cloves (laung)
  • Nutmeg (jaiphal), tip: grate the nutmeg to make grinding easy
  • Mace (javitri)
  • Cardamom (choti elaichi), I use whole elaichi
  • Black cardamom, seeds only (badi elaichi)
  • Bay leaves (kamal patta), throw away the stems
  • Baby rose buds, preferably pink rose (pink gulab ki kali)
  • Coriander seeds (dhania)

Method

Pick and clean all the dry spices and grind them well. Store in a jar in the freezer compartment of your refrigerator. Use as required.