[cake girl]

I recived an indian cook book for christmass and a lot of the recipies call fot ghee is this something i can make or do i have to buy it also What is garam masala any info would be greatly appreaciated

thanks gina

[Botanique]

Ghee is clarified butter (traditionally in India "the liquid butter remaining when butter from buffalo milk is melted, boiled, and strained.")

Garam masala -- here's a site: http://www.recipesource.com/side-dis...1/rec0124.html

[liv4fud]

Originally Posted by cake girl

I recived an indian cook book for christmass and a lot of the recipies call fot ghee is this something i can make or do i have to buy it also What is garam masala any info would be greatly appreaciated

thanks gina

if u just want to experiment, a generic garam masala (literal translation - hot spice) is less than a $1/-

[Suzanne]

Yes, ghee is basically clarified butter; it's okay to use regular cow's cream butter, and cook it longer until it is a darker gold (but don't let the solids burn).

Garam masala is a basic ground spice mix -- think of it as the "authentic" curry powder. There are a couple of recipe for garam masala here: food.sify.com.

This is an online source for ingredients: ethnicgrocer.com. Finally, here are two sites I like for glossaries and translations of Indian food terms: cuisinecuisine.com and daawat.com. The latter one is especially good because it gives translations from/into many of the major languages of India.

[shahar]

Real ghee is usually aged until a certain rancidness is achieved. The butter sometimes come from yogurt production which also brings extra flavor. Not for every palette!
Clarified butter, oil or even regular butter are good substitutes.

[Mezzaluna]

A new member who joined today, Rupen (registered as "simplyindian"), has a website with recipes. A current member, Suvir Saran, also has a website and a wonderful cookbook, "Indian Home Cooking".

Shahar and others here are great resources. Is this a wonderful place or what???!