Staple Corner: How to make your own Chana Masala Powder

Whenever possible, I prefer to make my own spice mixtures. Quality pre-blended varieties are available at Indian grocery stores, but not everyone has local access to a neighborhood Indian grocery, and it's much more fun to concoct your own mixture to complement your culinary creations. I made this mixture in preparation for the chana masala I will be making this week. If you want to make your own garam masala, some recipes can be found here.

Homemade Chana Masala Powder

1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
2 tablespoons of cumin seeds
2/3 teaspoons of black cardamom seeds
1/3 teaspoons of yellow cardamom seeds
1 2/3 teaspoons of black peppercorns
2 - 3 dried red chillies
1/3 teaspoons of whole cloves

pinch of ground ginger
pinch of mace
pinch of nutmeg
1/3 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon of amchoor powder

Dry roast the seeds, peppercorns, chillies and cloves in a large frying pan over low heat until they begin to brown. Transfer to an electric coffee grinder with the ground spices and grind to a fine powder.

Makes about 1/3 cup. The recipe can be increased if you want to make a larger quantity.