from How to Eat With Your Hands
To cook a masala is to take a jumble of desiccated seeds, stems, leaves, fruits, and flowers and commit to their transformational powers. In the heat of the pan, the spices bloom, darken, and release themselves. They infuse everything they touch. What begin as inert scatterings from the spice cupboard become cohesive and assertive. They come to define a dish. This is an approach to cooking that doesn’t aim for restraint. Dry-roasted masala blends are best used as finishing spices. A spoonful of garam masala, for example, to finish a pan of nihari or a light sprinkle
over kebabs at the table adds lift and fragrance.
Ingredients
2 small sticks cinnamon
2 dried bay leaves
2 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tsp green cardamom seeds
1 tsp black cardamom seeds
6 cloves
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
Directions
In a dry skillet over medium heat, combine all the ingredients except the nutmeg. Roast for 2–3 minutes until fragrant. Remove from heat and let cool.
Grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder. Shake through a sieve to remove unground bits. Grate in the nutmeg, stir to combine, and store in an airtight jar for up to six weeks.
Makes ¼ cup
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: There are three main ways to cook a masala: dry-roasting, tarka, and bhuna. Dry-roasting is the quickest and easiest method but restricted to a finishing spice. The other two methods incorporate the masala in the cooking process.
Excerpted from How to Eat with Your Hands: Roti Shoti and Other Ways to Settle In copyright © 2026 by Khalil Akhtar. Reprinted by permission of Goose Lane Editions. For more information, please visit www.gooselane.com