Indian cooking is a juggle of many spices and flavors. It can be quite intimidating to many Indians as well. As an Indian chef, people ask me this question all the time…

“When I use garam masala or curry powders to cook Indian, why doesn’t my cooking taste authentic and delicious like yours?”

Here is why: Curry powder and garam masala are a blend of Complementing spices which is half the equation. To get the authentic Indian taste, one needs to know the ratio of each Complementing spice in the spice blend and then balance it with corresponding Base Tasting spices while cooking. That's why most Indian chefs don't use curry powder and garam masala.