Borrowed ingredients: Garam masala oatmeal raisin cookies

Northern Indian garam masala gives classic oatmeal raisin cookies a subtly exotic twist. Recipe below.

In her recent post The Flavor Of Yellow over at A Chicken In Every Granny Cart, Ann made a lovely golden Grated Cauliflower Curry. She said she had to improvise on the original recipe because she doesn’t “keep garam masala lying around.”

That got me thinking about the fact that we usually have at least a couple of different kinds of garam masala lying around at any given time—even though the couple of Indian-inspired dishes we cook don’t call for it. And that led to this post.

According to The Spice House website, garam masala is a Punjabi, or Northern Indian, style curry powder. Unlike other curry powders based on turmeric, it is built on a mixture of cardamom, coriander and black pepper. There are probably as many variations on garam masala as there are cooks who use it, but it may also contain cinnamon, cloves, fennel seeds, caraway, mace, nutmeg… well, you get the idea.

While it’s primarily thought of as a Northern Indian spice mix, garam masala is actually used throughout South Asia, according to food-nepal.com, and varies by region. This would explain its use in an amazing Vietnamese beef stew that Marion makes once or twice a year. This hearty dish dates to Vietnam’s colonial past, when it was known as French Indochina, so it is eaten with a fork instead of chopsticks and served with a baguette rather than rice. Unfortunately, with spring upon us as of today [those of us in the northern hemisphere, that is], you’ll have to wait ’til this fall for this dish.

We also use garam masala in chicken dishes, stews and various dishes with sauces to give them a nice depth and mystery. It doesn’t scream Indian food and it doesn’t pack much in the way of heat, but it adds a delicious spiciness to whatever you’re cooking. Most recipes for slow cooked foods advise you to add it near the end of cooking for maximum flavor.

But cookies? Or as Ann said when I mentioned them in a comment on her Flavor Of Yellow post, “Whoa. Oatmeal cookies with CURRY?!? WOW! This I MUST taste!” Okay. Here you go.

Garam Masala Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
Yield 2 dozen

This recipe is based on one taught by the excellent cooking school The Chopping Block here in Chicago. They offer a wide range of cooking classes for all levels of cooks.

1-1/2 cups each regular or quick-cooking oats, flour
1 teaspoon garam masala [see Kitchen Notes]
1/2 teaspoon each, baking soda, baking powder, salt
1 stick [1/2 cup] unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup each, sugar, dark brown sugar [packed]
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup golden raisins [see Kitchen Notes]

Heat oven to 350ºF. Combine oats, flour, garam masala, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugars in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until thoroughly mixed and creamy. If you’re impatient like me and don’t let the butter get warm enough before starting, use the tines of a fork to mash it together with the sugar, then finish up with the mixer.

Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. I usually add it about a third at a time to avoid overwhelming the egg mixture. Stir in raisins.

Using a tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop rounded balls of dough onto greased baking sheets. Flatten slightly. Bake until golden, 12 to 14 minutes [depending on your oven]. Cool on wire racks.

Kitchen Notes

Garam masala. You can find it in the spice aisle of many supermarkets or in Indian grocery stores. The Spice House also sells it in their stores and online; Marion finds their mix a little heavy on the cloves. Wherever you get it, read the ingredients. If salt is too high up the list, don’t get it—some we’ve tried are waaaay too salty. If you’re adventurous and would like to make your own, here’s a recipe at food-nepal.com.

Golden raisins. If you can’t find [or don't want to spring for] golden raisins, regular raisins will do. But golden raisins have a slightly, I don’t know, bigger taste—a slightly less sweet, tangier, more interesting flavor. And their golden color is more harmonious in these golden cookies.

Also This Week in Blue Kitchen

Jazz, dark and sweet. A gift from a friend brings us the gifts of Chet Baker at his very best, in What’s on the kitchen boombox?