Mistress of Spices

Before I start discussing spices, I'd like to clarify something. There are two types of spicy food...HOT spicy food, which burns the tongue, ranging from a light, pleasant tingling all the way to a screaming, scalding, on fire burn (usually from some time of green/red/dry/fresh chillies or chilli powder/paste) and SPICE spicy food, which does not attack your tongue, but it is definitely an assault on the senses, smell and taste wise (which comes from dry spices, usually the seeds of several different plants toasted and ground together). Be AWARE of which you like, and how much of each. There are plenty of people who like one and not the other. Lastly, try and be open minded. We all draw the line somewhere, and I respect that line. I would never eat fried insects. However, when it comes to things that are only a small stretch away from what you already eat, give it a try. You might like it.

If you like Mexican food, you'll probably like Indian food. If you like Greek food, you'll probably like Middle Eastern food. If you like beef/lamb, you may like goat meat. If you like shrimp, you'll probably like lobster/crawfish/crab. Try it before you knock it, would ya?

With my Indian background, most of what I cook is Indian, or has some sort of an Indian twist to it. Indian food is enriched by a plethora of spices that give it its distinctive aroma and bold flavors. Walking around on Indian streets will tempt the most picky eaters. The smells are just indescribable- the smell of tangy fritters browning in bubbling oil, the wafting breeze (welcome in the sweltering weather) brings different rich smells from different angles on the same street. India has dozens of sub cultures, and each has distinctions and specialties vastly from the other. But the spices are for the most part the same:


Turmeric (Haldi): This comes in a bright yellow fine powder with a deep herb-like smell. It originates from a plant root, which is dried and ground to powder. It brings color and character to most Indian dishes. Be careful to not be too heavy handed with this one, it leaves a tell tale smell when you overuse it. When in doubt, use a smaller quantity and add if more is needed.

Cumin (Jeera): This spice can come in two forms- seeds and powder. They are light brown in color, incredibly fragrant and add an earthiness to any dish. It's used in Mexican and Indian dishes, almost in everything!

Coriander (Dhaniya): This spice also comes in seed form or powder. They come from the Cilantro plant, and have the same flavor/aroma profile, but more concentrated. It adds a lot of depth to any dish.

Chilli powder (Mirchi): Violently red powder, chilli powder can be intimidating to work with. I don't like the tongue-on-fire sensation, so most of my recipes are very tempered with regards to chilli. If you like more of a burn, feel free to add more!

Mustard seeds: These are yellow or black. Indian cuisine tends to use more of the black seeds, but yellow is used in some parts as well. We make our own mustard powder/paste for some dishes, but we mostly use the seeds.

Fenugreek seeds: These are small and flat, light brown in color, and used in several vegetarian applications. They are fragrant, but when you fry them in oil, watch them carefully. They burn easily and are extremely bitter when too dark.

Black cumin seeds: Jet black, and almost onion-y in smell, these are great and used a lot in Northeast Indian cuisine.

Asafoetida: (I know it's a mouthful, but go with it!): This is a PUNGENT powder. It smells REALLY bad, until fried in oil, but when it is, it can almost replace onions and garlic, it's THAT good. I did say almost right? Good.

Garam Masala: This one is widely subject to interpretation. It is a blend of aromatics, ground together in a powder that packs some serious punch. It's great stuff. Don't be afraid of it! It is a blend of cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns or any variation of these. People have their preferences, but this is my favorite version/procedure of making an awesome Garam Masala mix. You can use these whole or in a powdered form.

If you're using whole, this is my usual mix:

1 stick of cinnamon (about the size of an average index finger)

5-6 pods of whole cardamom, or 3-4 lightly crushed pods of cardamom

5-6 whole cloves

5-6 whole black peppercorns

To make your own Garam Masala powder:

1 stick of cinnamon

10-12 pods of whole cardamom

15 whole cloves

15-20 whole black peppercorns

Dry roast these on med-high heat on a pan for a couple minutes, shaking them around a few times. As soon as the pungent smell hits your nose, kill the heat, throw in a spice grinder or coffee grinder (that you preferably will NEVER be grinding coffee in again!) and grind to a fine powder.

If you use this as often as I do, you'll end up with enough for a week to two weeks. Feel free to halve the above quantities for a smaller amount. The fresher your spices the better, and an easy way to "cheat" and make them seem fresh, is to toast and grind them fresh.

Mr/Ms/Mrs Reader- if you're Indian, you have this stuff in your pantry and are rolling your eyes at my descriptions. If you're not, PLEASE don't be intimidated. Buy the following:

Cumin seeds, Coriander seeds, cloves, cinnamon sticks, black peppercorns, cardamom pods, turmeric powder and chilli powder, and we'll make do with those. They'll do you for most Indian dishes! If you're too lazy to go through all the work of grinding your own spices, then you're most likely not spending this much time reading my blog, but you can always use pre-ground spices (GASP! I know. But I did say I wasn't a food snob. Trying to keep the image!). Just bear in mind, there's definitely a noticeable difference in fresh ground vs. pre-ground.

That's all for now folks, we'll get to the cooking in my next post. As they say, "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen". Right???!!! Mental high five.