Toasting the spices

Indian cooks claim that raw spices are indigestible, so they make an early morning ritual of toasting and grinding fresh spices for the midday meal. Light toasting whole spices and seeds bring out their flavors so much that once anyone get in the habit of taking this extra step, he notice a distinct lack of flavor when he skip it.

The spices that respond best to toasting are cumin seeds and coriander seeds. Other spices can be toasted are whole allspice, fennel seeds and dried chilies.

Simply place them is a single layer in a dry skillet and heat them over medium high heat, shaking the pan or moving the spice around with a wooden spoon until you get the first whiff of their wonderful fragrances.

Immediately remove the pan from the heat and transfer the spices to a mortar or grinder to cook before grinding. Remove them from the pan quickly so they do not burn. When they have cooled, grind the spices to a coarse or fine powder as anyone wish. Spices may be ground by hand in a mortar or small bowl.

For large amounts of spices or for particular tenacious spices, a small spice grinder makes good sense. It is best to toast different spices separately, because they may require different toasting times; however, they can all be ground together.
Toasting the spices