How to make Roasted Cumin Powder | Homemade Jeera Powder

When it comes to basic spices and pastes used for cooking, I never purchase them. I usually prepare the basic spice powders like cumin powder, coriander powder, Garam masala etc and various south Indian masala powders at home. I have not still ventured into the preparation of various masalas like Pav bhaji masala, Chole masala, Kitchen king masala etc at home as I am a bit lazy in preparing them. But I will definitely try recreating the same masalas at home one day and would love to post them in my blog.

I always wonder why some one would buy these basic powders like cumin powder and coriander powder while the preparation of the same is very simple and easy and does not take much time. More over the freshness, fragrance of these home made powders is not at all comparable to the store bought powders. Roasted Cumin powder is a very important basic spice in Indian kitchen as it plays an important role in day to day curries and gravies and also plays a key role in Indian Chaats.

This is a simple recipe which I am posting for Beginners. It doesn't need much effort to prepare this Cumin powder at home and it will definitely enhance the taste of your food.

If you are interested check out the preparation of other spice powders at home:

• Bisibelebath Masala
• Garam Masala Powder - Punjabi Style
• Garlic Chili powder | Velluli Karam | Goddu Karam
• Kurala Podi/Multi purpose Curry Powder
• Maharastrian Ghati Masala
• Rasam Powder - Andhra style
• Sambar Powder - Andhra style
• Sambar powder- Karnataka style
• Vangibath Masala Powder 

Homemade Roasted Cumin powder:

Shelf life:1-2 months

Grinding time:2 mins | Roasting time:5 mins | Total time:7 mins + cooling time

Cuisine: Indian | Category: Spices - Kitchen Basics

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Cumin seeds(Jeera)

Method:

• Clean the cumin seeds and dry roast in a pan over medium flame until you get a nice aroma and they start turning nice brown in color by stirring it occasionally. Take care that you do not turn them black otherwise it will give bitter taste to powder. They will also start popping once they turn the brown color. Switch off and let it cool.
• Grind it into a powder in mixer or spice grinder. I do not grind it to a very fine powder, I keep it slightly coarse as it adds a nice taste to chaats or any other curries. If you want you can grind it to a fine powder or keep few bits of cumin seeds here and there.
• Allow the powder to cool for sometime and store it an air tight glass container.

Use it in Chaats, Gravies and Curries as mentioned in the recipe.

Notes:

• Use a clean and dry spoon always or keep a spoon in the container itself.
• Do not turn the cumin seeds black otherwise it will give bitter taste to powder.
• I always prepare in small quantities so that the freshness of the spice would not be lost.
• This much quantity would easily be sufficient for a month for me. But it depends on the family size and usage as well.

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