Indian cooking 101: Blending and roasting spices

Before and after blending: never roast powders, only whole spices. Take a long time toasting your whole spices: slow and low heat works best (for about 1 hour). You can super dry your spices in the airing cupboard for a week before toasting them. After roasting your whole spices and letting them cool down, add your un-roasted powders. There are millions of versions of spice blends, this is just one. If you roast your spices properly, the flavours you'll get are on another level. Keep moving the spices around the pan on a very low heat. It can be tedious but be patient, it's worth it. Once ready, store in an air tight container. The spice blends will keep for ages: over six months. This is a semi-complex blend, feel free to leave or add the flavours /spices you don't like i.e. pepper. Tip – Don't smoke when roasting, unless you want a more roasty flavour and a darker curry. The same can be done when making garam masala (whole not powdered).