Tonight we are trying to make a chicken tikka masala, a recipe we watched Alton Brown make last night on Good Eats (recipe can be found at http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/lamb-tikka-masala-recipe/index.html). Sure, we don't have a tandoori oven, but we are going to do our best with a grill and some chicken instead of lamb. The recipe calls for cardamom seeds, and unfortunately (fortunately?) we found cardamom pods at Cost Plus World Market. So, for about 10 minutes I painstakingly busted open each pod and released the seeds. After about a tablespoon (the recipe calls for 2 tablespoons), decided that would do and cut the recipe in half (turns out we didn't have enough coriander seeds for the full recipe anyway). Man-oh-man did the toasted spices smell good, and even more spectacular when I ground them (a repurposed coffee grinder makes short work of that process!) We actually had a store-bought ground Garam Masala, so for kicks I compared the smells of the two: the store bought has a stronger cinnamon hue, while my fresh recipe is much fruitier and crisp, with layers of flavors.
So go throw those old tins away. Stop flavoring your food with "old cardboard box" and spice things up!
Ed note: Ok, so the chicken tenders were, well, a bit too tender to hold up to the skewers and grill, so we ended up grilling them in a basket. It took longer too because our grill just couldn't keep up 800ºF. But oh, how delicious it was when it came together! The tomatoes were nice and bright and flavorful after stewing with the seasonings, and well, I just love the combination of coconut milk, tomatoes, and jasmine rice. We have another recipe for curry that is similar but simpler, so we might stick with that. But grinding our own spices was definitely worth it!
