Garam Masala or Wah Baharaat?

Yesterday, TLC aired the Sino-Australian restaurateur, Kylie Kwong's show Cooking With Heart & Soul recently in which she cooked up a Moroccan meal - a lamb tajine with salads and rice.
To make her tajine, Kylie used an Arab spice, Baharaat (بهارات‎), which she said was used to give a unique flavouring to Arab cuisine.
I did a quick websearch on the Baharaat on Wikipedia after the show was over. The Baharaat is a spice blend used in Arab and Middle Eastern cooking to season meats, fish and gravies.
Peppercorns, cardamom, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks and paprika form the essential ingredients of the Baharaat.
Ohhh, that is much like our own garam masala (गरम मसाला), which is ubiquitous in North Indian cuisine. Now cardamoms, cloves and pepper originated in the spice plantations on the Malabar coast, right here in India. Arab trading dhows which had been visiting Malabar for over a thousand years would have taken these spices to their lands, so today what we call garam masala is known as Baharaat in the Arab lands.
My Mom used to and still makes her supply of garam masala. She used to dry roast all these spices on a griddle, with a wonderous, exotic aroma filling the whole house. The roasted spices would then find their way into the mixer, making the aromas even more potent. The ground spices would their way into airtight bottles. The treasured spice would then be used to spice up dry vegetable preparations, chickpeas, red kidney beans and non-vegetarian gravies.
When I moved out of the nest and set up the first home at Delhi, I used to buy vacuum sealed packs of garam masala from Malviya Nagar market. That wasn't even half as good as Mom's concoction. And then Mom visited. She was shocked to see the kind of mild, tasteless garam masala we were using. That was it! She then ensured we get an endless supply of Mom's special concoction, which she would get on her monthly visits to Delhi! Homecooked food, all of a sudden, underwent a magical transformation!
And then I shifted to Bombay, got married and things took a healthier turn. Salt intake was reduced, fat intake was greatly minimised, food became less spicy, with a greater emphasis on fruits, salads and yogurts! So intake of garam masala greatly reduced.
But the magical smell of Mom's garam masala wafting through the air will still make me go crazy!

'God's own country'

An old piece (written on January 27, 2002) describing my trip to Trivandrum (January 24-26, 2002), which I think is worth preserving.... Here goes:

Me's just back from a junket to 'God's own country'........ yeah you got it right - Kerala, truly 'God's own country'. I had a conference in Trivandrum organised by my company. A whole lot of people from my co were scheduled to attend..left Delhi on a 'brrrrrrrrrr' cold morning.... the plane was full of my office people - seemed as good as home in there..........landed at BOM at 8.......... a city I love for its myriad smells, tastes, colors and sights, a city that epitomizes triumph and endurance of the human spirit over adversity........ was tempted to get out of the sterile environs of the cabin,
smell the air and call up a few friends..... but didn't because I was afraid, I might branded an Osama follower!!! We flew over the Konkan and Malabar coasts................ what a sight that was........ would pay a million for that.... the shimmering blue sea on one end and green and brown of land on the other. Landed at Trivandrum at 11.......... the approach to TRV is fabulous. The airport is located near a beach and in the middle of a coconut grove..... the view was fabulous..... the doors were opened and we were greeted by the bright Kerala sun and warm balmy breeze. Waiting at the terminal building were lissome dusky Malloo beauties, all there to welcome us!!! We were all greeted with a tilak and a red rose each...the route to Kovalam is fabulously green. Coconut trees lined both sides of the road. had a small glimpse of the backwaters. Reached the hotel on Kovalam beach and had to get ready for the conference which was to start in an hour..... Kovalam is known for its beach sands which have thorium in minute quantities ........ a place frequented by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis...the view of the sea was too tempting...... but had to rush....... the thing went on the till late in the evening after which we were invited for a Mohiniyattam show in open air theatre....... good music in the sea breeze - what else could I ask for.....the next morning I was up early for I couldn't resist the lure of the sea..... nopes I don't know swimming......... I was lured by the strong sea breeze....... went to the beach and saw the fishermen returning with their catch for the day.......the conference was over by 2PM........ we had time for ourselves now...... went for a speedboat ride.......... cannot describe how it felt. Soon after that we left for the city... visited the Padmanabha temple.... even though I am not a religious guy or a 'temple-goer'. stripped to the bare and clad in lungis (as per the custom!), we watched in wonder the exquisite 700-800 year old stone carvings.....now was the time to buy some souvenirs......... went about the city for that and picked up quite a bit. Reached back late in the night........and I shouldn't forget the food........ yum yum yum... coconut rice, curd rice, appams, thorans, sambhars, local coconut stews, fish curries.... mmmm my mouth waters at the thought of Keralite food. Woke up at 2AM in the morning - we wanted to view the sunrise at Kanyakumari!!!! Kanyakumari is a 2hr drive from TRV..... reached Kanyakumari well in time, but there were clouds in the horizon....... we were not disappointed tho..... there was a 'slit' in clouds and we could see the sunrise........ what a place to be on 26Jan!!!! Sitting at the bottom-most tip of the peninsula, watching the sunrise and hoping for brighter times ahead for us and our Republic!!!! Long Live the Republic! Moved about, went to Vivekanand Memorial, the Thiruvalluvar statue and moved about a bit....... and then it was time to return....had to rush back to TRV to catch the flight back to Delhi..... was sad to leave the warmth of the place.........as they say all good things come an end, but this was the beginning of my love affair with 'God's Own Country'......... as one of my friends had said.. for those who love time is eternity for those who love, yes the short I spent there was like eternity.as we took off, I made a vow to return back..... spend more time, visit Cochin, Munnar, Thekkady, Periyar and the backwaters!!!! And now its back to the cold, dust, traffic jams of Delhi.....