Goda Masala
Spice mixes or masala’s don’t always have to be completely from spices. Nuts and grains and seeds play an important role too. In Maharashtrian households, in the masala dabba (spice box) one compartment used to be always there for a very typical masala called goda masala.
My Grandma also had this masala, a little bit dark brown in color, slightly clumpy, not as dry as say your turmeric or chili powder or other spice mixes. She definitely used it whenever she made masalae bhat or bharli wangi (small stuffed eggplants). It smelled of earthy sweetness, when you ate it on its own there wasnt particular heat coming from it but you could sense the spice. You could put some oil over it raw and eat it with bhakri. It wasn’t sharp but was pungent and nutty. This was her Goda Masala (Goda = Sweet)
Goda Vs Kala Masala and store bought spices
Recently lot of companies package and sell their Goda Masala, but i find that this is much more sharper than my Grandma’s. Her’s was sweet smelling and earthy tasting while this is very very pungent and sharp even sometimes packing some heat. Also many have started selling or using Goda Masala with Kala Masala interchangeably. I maybe wrong about this but to me Goda masala is quite different from Kala Masala using lot of the oily roasted coconut, sesame and poppy seeds in combination with the sweet spices with a hint of pepper – hot or black. So i wanted to recreate the sweet spice mix Goda Masala from my childhood memory.
Not Quite the grandma’s Goda Masala
We are fortunate to sometimes have exquisitely made Goda Masala from our relatives and special ones like those made by our friend Uday. The traditional Goda Masala calls for many ingredients. We however did not have them on hand and neither did we have one provided by our families and friends. We specifically did not have the dagadfool (stone flower which is a lychen) and nagkesar. Many people will point out that that is what really makes Goda Masala unique and i agree to that. However a sweet aromatic masala although different is also enjoyable, so we tried to go for that. So ours is not the completely authentic Goda Masala, its something different, but close to my Grandma’s and for that equally awesome to us.
We roasted dried grated coconut on low heat till it started turning toasty hint of brown. We did the same to white sesame seeds. We also roasted similarly coriander seeds, cumin seeeds, some cinnamon, cardamoms (green), cloves and star anise. We added black cardamoms, some mace and white poppy seeds to this along with just a pinch of turmeric and hing.
We let this cool down and then coarsely ground the masala. The oils in the coconut and sesame come out and make the masla mix a bit clumpy. Generally goda masala recipes ask for masalas to be fried in oil, but i feel dry roasting allows more temperature control and oil is convenient when making huge batches of masala and also acts as preservative as coconut is used.
We like to make this spice mix fresh and use it up. Missing or special ingredients are made up for by freshness of the rest. When you grind this, smell it and you will know. It will smell sweet and aromatic. All the sweet spices of cardamom, cinamon and clove will hit you right away alongwith the earthy undertones of coconut which is almost caramel like and sesame seeds which transform when roasted.
The case of small vs large eggplants
Generally with this masala small eggplants are used and they are stuffed. The small eggplants are more flavor packed and intense. The large ones are mild and if you overpower them with masala you have the danger of not retaining the flavor of eggplant. Who would want that! However the small eggplants have a very low flesh to skin ratio. Large eggplants can yield more flesh vs the skin. Also large eggplants are easier to find in wisconsin when you go for quality and are much easier to prepare.
So we cut them in large thick discs, almost quarter to half inch thick. We salt the open surfaces and weigh them in a dish with paper towels to absorb. This works great because it takes out some of the water, in a way intensifying the milder flavor of these eggplants. Once they drain a bit this way, we pat them dry. Since ultimately we are going to grill them in a pan, losing this moisture helps them grill quicker as well.
They go in a oven and back for 30 mins at 350. Meanwhile we warm some oil and add the sweet spice masala and heat it without burning it. We also add some roasted peanut powder and toast it further till it getts crispier and nuttier.
Once the eggplants are out of the oven we baste them with some of the masala oil and grill them slow and steady in the pan. They take brilliantly golden hues with some of the turmeric and the grill effect of golden brown delicious coming through.
We add some salt and some tamarind and jaggery juice to the left over masala and glaze the slices with it. We top it off with some cilantro.
They are melt in your mouth crispy slices. The masala with peanuts that crispen and cilantro and the sweet spice mix are lifted up with just a hint of acidity and sweetness. This will remind you of eating the escapee masala from dry bharli wangi. Get warm chapatis and eat slices at a time or even on their own!
Eggplants with Sweet Spice Masala
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Yield: Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 Large Eggplant Cut into thick slices
- Salt as seasoning
- Few Tbsp oil for Grilling and baking
- 1 Tbsp roasted peanuts chopped fine
- 1 Tbsp oil (peanut oil works great for flavor as well)
- 1 Tsp Tamarind Jaggery Syrup (Tamarind with equal parts jaggery and some water heated till jaggery melts)
- 1 Tbsp Chopped cilantro
- For the spice mix:
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 green cardamom
- 1 black cardamom
- 1 star anise
- half inch piece of cinnamon
- 2 tsp dried grated coconut (with brown skin on is preferred but not mandatory)
- 2 tsp white sesame seeds
- 0.5 tsp nigella / black cumin
- 1 tsp white poppy seeds
- 1 small piece bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 1 pinch turmeric
- 1 pinch asafoetida (optional)
Instructions
- For the spice mix:
- Roast individually following in a dry pan and set aside: dried Coconut till toasty brown, sesame seeds till brown, coriander and cumin seeds till aromatic, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, star anise
- Mix roasted ingredients with remianing ingredients and let cool down
- Grind coarsely in a spice or coffee grinder
- Slice eggplants into 0.25 to 0.5 inch thick roundels
- Salt them each on both sides by sprinkling salt over them
- Put a clean kitchen towel or paper towel over a baking sheet and place the salted slices on them, weigh down with other pan and some weights like canned food
- After half hour pat the eggplant slices dry and wipe them with a fresh towel
- Brush them with oil on both sides and back in a 350 F pre-heated oven for 30 minutes
- Meanwhile heat the 1Tbsp oil over low heat and add the peanut powder and 2 tsp of the ground spice mix. Let it heat slowly till it gets aromatic and the peanut powder starts to get toasty. do not let it burn at any point and take it off the heat when ready.
- Heat a big pan for grilling on medium heat. Brush the eggplant slices with the spice oil with oil that floats. Grill eggplant slices evenly on both sides till crisp and golden. Brush with additional plain oil if needed.
- Take them out into a dish when down and brush with remaining masala oil and peanut mix. Garnish with cilantro.
- Serve immediately on their own as an appetizer or with chapati. They surprisingly taste really good as well as cold appetizers next day out of the refrigerator!
- Prep Time: 60 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Cuisine: Indian - Maharashtrian
