Making your Own Spice Blends

    Garam Masala is a common spice blend used in Indian Cooking. It is the most aromatic of all the Indian spice blends and is used throughout India in all sorts of dishes from appetizers and soups to salads and main courses. It can be used alone, or it can be paired with other seasonings.    
  
    I find that over time, as a spice blend sits at the store in the container, the fragrances begin to mute. They don't really give you the full effect anymore. When you take the time to make your own spice blends from scratch, the flavours are much more vivid and of course fresher.
    Their are a million different variations of Garam Masala out there to experiment with. This particular version consists of a pretty common combination of spices. For the most part they are usually found in your pantry... I found it on a blog I frequently follow called Closet Cooking.

Garam Masala:

Ingredients:

1 stick cinnamon
1 whole nutmeg seed
1 1/2 tablespoon cardamom pods
1 1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 1/2 tablespoon peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon cloves

Directions:

(1) Toast everything in a pan until fragrant.
(2) Place everything in a mortar and pestle/coffee grinder. Grind until it becomes a powder.

Before

After