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container, about 1½ years.
Note: To roast and grind your own chili, buy two dry New Mexico chili pods and two dry
pasilla chili pods. Wash, dry and toast the pods on a baking sheet in a 350ºF (180°C) oven until
just barely brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Let cool until you can handle them. Crack them
open and shake out the seeds. Break them into small pieces and grind them in a spice grinder.
Yields about 6 to 7 tablespoons medium-hot ground chili.
Curry powder
In the Asian curry belt every country, every region, even villages have their own
characteristic curry powder mix. The variation of spices is infinite and to test and compare them all
would take a lifetime. Here is a recipe with South Indian-Ceylonese flavor. You can vary the
pungency by the type and amount of the ground chili. The only hard-to-find items are curry leaves
and fenugreek. Most Asian food stores with Indian ingredients carry them. You can find fenugreek
in a health food store with a good spice department, even in a well-stocked supermarket. Curry
leaves are more difficult to locate but substitute bay leaves if all fails, using 1 bay leaf to replace 10
curry leaves.
Ingredients
3
4
2
tablespoons coriander seeds
tablespoons cumin seeds
tablespoons fennel seeds
¼
1
1
½
teaspoon fenugreek seeds
tablespoon black peppercorn
tablespoon black mustard seeds
teaspoon cardamom seeds
1
2
2
1
/3 teaspoon whole cloves
teaspoons ground cinnamon or 3-inch (8-cm) piece cinnamon stick, broken up
0 dried curry leaves
tablespoon ground chili (mild, medium or hot, see note under chili powder recipe)
Procedure
. Heat a small, heavy sauté pan on medium to high heat and add the seven seeds, cloves,
1
cinnamon stick and the curry leaves. Toast them 7 to 10 minutes while shaking the pan often until
they start crackling and give off a fragrant aroma. Add the ground chili and stir continuously for 1
minute. Remove the spices from the pan and let cool.
2. Grind the mixture in a spice grinder or coffee grinder reserved for spices.
Makes ¾ cup curry powder. Store in freezer for longest shelflife.
Chinese five-spice powder
Two ingredients of Chinese five-spice mix are not readily available outside Oriental
markets: star anise and Szechwan pepper. The flavor of star anise is very similar to our own anise.
Szechwan pepper is more aromatic than our black pepper and has a milder flavor. It is not even in
the same family as black pepper. But the difference between the authentic and this versions is
minor, and chances are no one but a true Chinese epicure can tell the difference. Don't be too
play © erdosh 374
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