I get confused with the term of garam masala and curry paste/powder. Are they the same thing? From what I know, the term curry comes from the British. Also, with the Indian curries, the recipe mentions garam masala but still has another long list of spices which sometimes has spices that are already in garam masala, so what still need to use garam masala?

Thanks

garam masala is a powder from north india. curry paste and curry powder are british creations. if you don’t have garam masala, use equal parts of cloves, cardamoms, cinnamon and black peppercorns.

different curries have different combos of spices. but if a recipe calls for ‘curry powder’, use a combo of turmeric, cayenne (chilli powder), cumin powder and coriander powder.