Topic: How do I dry roast spices?

[Manterik]

Simple question, how do I do this ? Do I have the heat on full, medium or low ? How long for ?

Sorry for a dumb newbie question.

Thanks

[CurryOnRegardless]

Not dumb at all, if you don't know simply ask, there will be someone here who could answer practically any curry question you may have.
As far as roasting spices goes it is actually quite easy. Heat a dry frying pan over a medium heat for a couple of minutes and then use a small amount of spices to just cover the base of the pan. Shake the pan gently to turn the spices over and after a minute or so the spices should start to darken and give off an aroma, agitate them once or twice more to ensure they are even and you're done. Keep a dry bowl handy and pour the roast spice into it to allow to cool before grinding.
Continue with small amounts of spice till you have enough (little and often is the way to go) and believe me the first time you smell freshly roast and ground spice you'll never go back to buying the pre-done commercial stuff. Start with coriander seeds and prepare to be amazed at the results.

HTH

Regards
CoR









 

[Secret Santa]

Just to add to what CoR said, as this is your first time dry roasting I would do one spice at a time, so just coriander seed, or just cumin seed etc. Once you've got a feel for the time it takes for each individual spice you can start to dry roast combinations.

[adifor]

Ooo first post.Been lurking here a while.This has puzzled me a bit too. I guess it gives a better result but is it absolutely necessary to dry roast before grinding for use or can you just grind the coriander seeds say, straight out of the packet for an acceptable result ?

[Secret Santa]

Hi adifor,

If you're making BIR style curries I wouldn't even bother with the seeds, just buy preground (powdered) spices.

There's some argument that if you're making more traditional curries then you should do what they do which is to roast, to bring out the essential oils in the seeds, and then grind.

Personally I think it's a bit of a faff and I always use FRESH preground spices.

[adifor]

thanks for that ss, will bear it in mind. I have a mixture of whole and ground in stock and can get what i need without too much bother living in bradford 

[JerryM]

adifor,

i don't roast spices at all now that i buy branded garam.

for spice mix i don't rely on the freshness of the powder as i have a coffee grinder and wiz the coriander & cumin seed quickly. these particular spices being more aromatic than say turmeric which keeps well in the ground form (and paprika to more limited extent).

[Cory Ander]

I dry roast the spices for my garam masala and also now for my spice mix (i.e the cumin and coriander seeds).  Actually, I usually just grind them, without roasting them.

I'm sure that contradicts what I have previously said, regarding BIRs roasting spices. I'm sure they probably don't.  They probably use commercially ground spices, but their turnaround is probably such that their ground spices are always "fresh".

To dry roast (as has been said), simply heat a heavy pan, on a medium heat, and dry roast (i.e. using no oil) the spices, for a minute or two, until a little vapour (not SMOKE!) and aroma is given off. 

I agree that it is wise to dry roast the spices individually, since they all take differing amounts of time.  Alternatively, you can also chuck them in a roasting tin, in an oven at a moderate temperature (e.g. 160C), for a few minutes.

PS: Subsequently grinding the spices (using an an electric grinder) also heats them, and so constitutes "roasting" them to a certain extent.

You might also like to check this link which describes dry roasting spices a little more fully: http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php?topic=2151.0

[adifor]

Thanks Jerry and CA for the input much appreciated 

[Stephen Lindsay]

I have been making my own garam masalas, tandoori masala and other spice mixtures for about 15 years and I usually make them in batches about the size of a jam jar full. I only buy those spices which I can't but whole (e.g. turmeric) in ground form. I dry roast my spices in a medium oven in a large roasting dish, so for example if I am using ground coriander or cumin in a recipe it is whole seeds that I have ground in advance and stored in tubs in the dark.

For a masala I put the whole spices all together in the roasting dish and check it every minute or so. One the spices darken and give off an aroma I take them out of the oven, empty them into a cold roasting dish or baking tin so that they will cool down quickly. I then grind in an electric coffee grinder and use or store. Success guaranteed with every batch using this method!

As far as BIR are concerned, whilst some may use products off the shelf, I understand that some restaurants get wholesalers to make up masalas to their own recipes.