What magic ingredient transforms ho-hum ground beef and frozen peas into exotic lusciousness? Garam masala. This blend of warm spices usually gets sprinkled on sparingly at the end of Indian cooking for a bright, fragrant finish. But in beef and pea curry (Keema Matar), a heap of garam masala added early on infuses every spoonful with the excitement of a Bollywood extravaganza. If pumpkin spice had a savory, more sophisticated, less seasonal cousin, it would be garam masala. Besides cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom, garam masala throws in cumin, coriander, and black pepper. Garam masala adds mysterious warmth to tomato sauce. You can find a similar effect in Greek tomato sauce, which leans on…
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