Recipe - Indian Curry Spice Mix

One half cup Coriander seed
One fourth cup Cumin seed
7 Whole red chiles
1 tablespoon Whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon Mustard seed
2 tablespoon Ground turmeric
2 tablespoon Fenugreek seed

If you use a baiking tray and the oven, preheat the oven to 300 F. Line the
baking tray with aluminum foil and place all the whole spices in separate
heaps on the tray (this is so that you can easily remove the smaller spices
as they det done_. Place the baking tray on the top shelf for up to 10
minutes, or until the spices become aromatic and slightly brown. Do not
overroast. If you use a frying pan ( aheavy cast iron pan is preferred),
set it over low heat and separately dryroast the whole spices, stirring
them and shaking the pan constatly until the aroma is released and they
begin to brown. (When roasting the cillies, keep your face averted as they
give off a punget, eyewatering smoke) Do not let the spices burn.

If you are using ground spices, warm them gently on a baking tray in the
oven until they begin to give off an aroma, taking care not to burn them;
this is a quick process.

Feed the roasted whole spices into a spice grinder, blender or mortar and
grind or pound into fine powder. (This will have to be done in batches.)
Accumulate the powder in bowl or pour it into a storage jar. Add the
preground spices and stir or shake the mixtrue until all the spices are
thoroughly blended. Cover the bowl or cap the storage jar tightly.

NOTES : if using ground spices, here are the measurements coriander 1/2
cup,
One fourth cup of cumin,
One half tablespoon of cayenne, 1 tablespoon of ground black pepper. I
have done this both with pre ground spices and with whole. I prefer to use
whole, but had excellent results with the ground.
Recipe by: The Cuisines of Asia, by Jennifer Brennan

Posted to MCRecipe Digest V1 #1029 by Julie Johnston
julie43@accessatlanta.com on Jan 21, 1998