muttlee wrote :

i want to know what garam masala is. 
i bought a bag of dried powdered GM , but i reckon it's a bit of a cop 
out. most of the ingredients i already use in my curry... coriander, 
cumin etc. how do you make yer garam masala? does it have any ting 
especiale? 

I use Rajah brand garam masala and don't tend to make my own. 

Even a good brand like Rajah uses cumin and coriander but I don't think 
that matters. What you also get in a good GM is the more aromatic spices 
like  black pepper, cinnamon, pimento, cardamons, cloves and nutmeg in 
SMALL quantities . i.e. you don't have to go to all the trouble of 
grinding up each one when you only need a tiny amount of each. 

The other thing about GM is that it is usually added towards the end of 
the cooking in addition to the other spices as a way of adding a 
little fresh spicy taste. The other spices have been cooking for a while 
and have mellowed a little so the GM just livens things up a bit. I only 
use a tiny amount in this way otherwise all your curries end up tasting 
the same!