Premade Spice mixes

[abhi]

I like to blend my own spice mix most of the time (varying combinations and proportion of cumin, coriander, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom (green or black) , cinnamon, nutmeg, mace and bay leaves) but I love Baadshah meat masala. For one of my goat preparation it is a must. Mmmmm.

Also, kasoori methi (dry fenugreek leaves) is my secret ingredient in quite a few dishes.

One combination I like is the achaari masala (black mustard seeds, cumin, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and black pepper corn). The fennel and the fenugreek seeds will bring out the smell of the good old aam ka achaar! Usually use it with yogurt for thick curries.

cheers.

[Wholemeal Crank]

My apologies if this is not the right place to ask this question and surprisingly, I don't see that we have a topic to help figure out where to ask things or discuss things. So this might be a bit off topic....

 

I have seen a lot of recipes for from scratch spice blends that include toasted and ground peeled/split dals of various kinds. What got me thinking are some recipes and ask for lentil dal and chana dal or urad dal.  How important do you think it is to use that precise type of dal when making a spice mix that's going to be blended into a stew or pot of beans or rubbed on the vegetables?

 

Are there substitutions you feel comfortable making when you don't have the specified dal on hand?  

 

I have many legumes in my pantry and am often reluctant to buy a pint of another variety when I only need a tablespoon here and a quarter cup there.

[liuzhou]

2 hours ago, Wholemeal Crank said:

I don't see that we have a topic to help figure out where to ask things or discuss things.

 

This page outlines what topics go in what forums. I'd say this goes under Cooking

 

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Savory cooking techniques and ingredients.

 

If you report your post, I'm sure @Smithy will move it to where it should be (and hide this).