This aromatic Garlic and Black Pepper Spice Blend will remind you of rainy days in the tropics - the pleasant, earthy aroma that accompanies the first rain falling on soil that has baked in the heat of the sun! Nothing beats the taste and flavour of a good homemade seasoning, right?!
Garlic, Black Pepper seasoning mix has, apart from garlic and black pepper, a few other pantry staple spices. These spices not only tingle your palate, they are good for your gut as well. This garlic curry powder is all you need to uplift the taste of the any dish !
We are a family of garlic lovers!
We are a family of garlic lovers! I mean, what is not to like about garlic, right?! It is wonderfully aromatic and lends its warmth and goodness like a true friend. We do have quite a few recipes using garlic that we love as a family and then we have our individual favourite such as this Garlic Butter Mushrooms Fry which is my older teen's go to Sunday breakfast!
I will attribute this spice blend recipe to my younger teen. One day she was feeling a bit under the weather and requested me to make crisp, pan-fried potatoes. I knew that garlic with potatoes would do the magic and cheer her up. I could see that she was heading towards a cold. Common wisdom guided me to add black pepper along with the garlic. Lo and behold! before I realized, this delicious spice mix was born! Needless to say, my girls loved the crisp potato fry. They said “please make a note of this curry powder and do make it again. It is yum!” Since then this has become a part of my spice blend collection!
If you take a look at my spice cupboard, you will find so many spice mixes and seasonings from all over the world! Each one so distinct. For instance, the seasoning mix that I use for the Mediterranean Inspired Vegan Flatbread. Or this mix of anti inflammatory spices that I use for Aloo Matar (Potatoes and Peas in tomatoes gravy).
What is your favourite spice blend? Do let me know in the comments.
Ingredients for Garlic and Black Pepper Spice Mix:
Garlic is so incredibly flavourful, isn't it?! The one downside though is that, if not balanced well with other ingredients, it can overpower the dish and completely take over the flavour of the main ingredient. Therefore I am careful in balancing it with other spices.
In this mix, I have used some pantry staple spices - coriander, cumin and nigella seeds to balance the garlic. Needless to say each of these spices are powerhouses of flavour and health benefits on their own. In this easy spice blend, they come together beautifully to not only mellow the pungency of garlic, but also stand out on their own merit.
I love coriander seeds! Do you too? I do use this spice a lot more than any other. Have you tried the Baingan Bhartha (Chargrilled Eggplant Curry) in which the main spice is ground coriander? Do try and let me know how you liked it. In this spice blend it is coriander that matched up to the might of garlic 🙂
Roasting the spices for the garlic pepper seasoning recipe
When making spice blends and seasoning at home, I almost always roast the spices individually. Roasting not only intensifies the flavours, it also adds shelf life to the masala powder.
For this recipe, begin by roasting garlic in a pan that is on medium heat. I prefer to use my favourite cast iron pan for this. Slice the larger cloves of garlic and the dry roast the i.e. without oil, till they turn golden brown around the edges. Remove from pan and keep aside.
In the same pan, now add coriander seeds. Roast them for a minute. Keep the heat to medium. In about a minute, you will smell the earthy aroma of the coriander seeds. At this point add the black pepper corns. Fry for about 30 seconds. Now add the cumin seeds. Fry for another 30 seconds and then add the nigella seeds. Turn the heat to low and fry all of these together for another minute or so. The coriander seeds would have turned golden brown by this time. Add the garlic. Mix and set aside to cool.
Once cool, grind to a powder. I like to keep it a bit coarse for added texture. That's it! this insanely aromatic, immunity boosting garlic pepper rub is ready to be added to your favourite dish!
Are you, like me, big into meal prepping?! I would love to know! Please let me know in the comments.
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