Spice Mixes

Chaat Masala

Image: Chaat Masala

• Ingredients
  • 1 Tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp dried mint
  • 2 tsp black salt (kala namak)
  • 1 Tbsp mango (amchoor) powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper, preferably whole
  • 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• Instructions
  • Roast cumin, coriander, and fennel one after another in a pan until they turn slightly more brown
  • Combine roasted seeds with other spices and grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder or something similar
  • Notes
    • This recipe is supposed to include asafoetida powder, but I didn't have any, so I may update it at a later date
    • Roasting the seeds is always better, but it will work with pre-ground spices as well

Lebkuchen Spice

Image: Lebkuchen Spice

• Ingredients
  • 8 tsp (15g) cinnamon
  • 2 tsp (2g) cloves
  • 1 tsp (1g) allspice
  • 1 tsp (1g) coriander
  • 1/2 tsp (1g) cardamom (only the seeds, don't include the shells)
  • 1 tsp (1g) ginger powder
  • 1/4 tsp (1/2g) ground nutmeg (possibly increase if using pre-ground since that isn't nearly as strong)
  • 1/4 tsp (1/2g) mace powder
  • ~2 1/2 pieces (2g) star anise (whole "star", not just seeds)
  • 1/2 tsp (1g) dried orange zest
  • 1/2 tsp (1g) dried lemon zest
  • 1 tsp (1g) fennel seeds
• Instructions
  • Simply grind all spices together using a spice grinder or something similar
  • Notes
    • Everything always tastes better when whole seeds are used, but you should be able to replace the spices with pre-ground versions as well (I actually used pre-ground coriander when I made this). Pre-ground cardamom is utterly horrible, though.
    • There has been some confusion regarding the teaspoon measurements, since they can be done using the seeds or pre-ground spices, resulting in differing amounts of actual spice. If I remember correctly, I originally measured cloves, allspice, cardamom, and fennel using the whole seeds. Note that the measurements aren't very exact, for instance, since the allspice seeds are fairly large, I just filled the teaspoon and had them go a bit over the top. I measured cinnamon, ginger, orange zest, lemon zest, coriander, nutmeg, and mace as powder, although there shouldn't be much of a difference for the coriander. One important detail is that I used freshly ground nutmeg, which is much stronger than the pre-ground versions. I mainly did it this way because those are the formats I had each of the spices in. Ideally, whole seeds should be used as much as possible, as already mentioned in the last note.
    • It probably is better to just add orange and/or lemon zest when making the Lebkuchen, but it's easier to put it directly into the spice. Honestly, this spice can be changed a lot and still called Lebkuchen spice - back in the day, everyone had their own special mixture. Just follow your heart.
    • On second thought, don't, that's what killed Romeo and Juliet.

Seasoning Salt for French Fries or Fried Potatoes

Image: Seasoning Salt

• Ingredients
  • 1 medium onion (~80g, but it doesn't have to be exact)
  • 4 Tbsp salt
  • 3 Tbsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • ~1 tsp (2g) mace
    • I only have whole, dried mace, so I don't know exactly how much volume it would have as powder. I just used a teaspoon filled with small pieces of mace, but it probably doesn't matter too much anyways. (Image)
• Instructions
  • Cut onion into small pieces and place in frying pan without oil. (Image)
  • Fry onion on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, occasionally turning the pieces, then leave on the hot (but turned off) stove until cool in order to dry the onion pieces. If a gas stove is used, it may be necessary to keep a very small flame on since no further heat comes after it is turned off. (Image)
    • It may be necessary to increase the time depending on various factors.
    • The onion pieces may get fairly dark brown, but they shouldn't actually get burnt unless the heat is too high (in the image, they may have gotten a bit too dark because I accidentally had the stove too hot).
    • It's probably possible to dry the onions using an oven as well, but I just did it with a frying pan and haven't experimented with other methods.
  • Grind dried onion pieces, paprika, pepper, and mace together in a spice or coffee grinder.
    • It might be a good idea to grind the onions alone and leave the powder to dry for a while since the onion pieces often will not be perfectly dry. I haven't experimented with this yet, though.
  • Add salt and grind for a few more seconds to mix it properly and make the salt a bit more fine-grained (the salt I get here is relatively fine-grained, but I still found it to be a bit coarse for my taste).
  • Note: Even though this seasoning salt is "officially" meant for french fries, you can dump it on a lot of other things as well.