Meat Masala

Meat masala is a spice mix used in Keralan cuisine, typically as a marinade for various types of meat, especially mutton.

Meat masala can either be rubbed onto pieces of meat as a dry powder mix, or combined with oil to make a paste that more easily coats the meat. Once coated, the meat should be left to marinate for at least 20 minutes, but preferably up to 2 hours, before cooking.

Ingredients

  • 50 g whole dried chillies
  • 100 g coriander seed
  • 2 tbsp black peppercorn
  • 1 tsp cumin seed
  • 1 tsp mustard seed
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 12 cloves
  • ΒΌ tsp cardamom seed
  • 2 short pieces of cinnamon
Meat Masala

Photo: Rajdeep Das / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Procedure

  1. Toast the chillies, coriander, peppercorn, cumin, and mustard in a frying pan.
  2. Grind all ingredients to a powder.
  3. Store in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.