Blending

The magic of Indian cooking is in the blending of spices. Blending means to combine the required ingredients in a blender until very smooth or uniform. All spices have their own characteristics and are used in varying proportions to make the correct combination for a particular delicacy. The required proportion of spices and herbs are ground in a blender along with some water or vinegar to form a paste. This paste is the secret and basis of Indian cooking. You can create a plethora of dishes each distinctive and different by blending individual spices and herbs. Spices can also be added in a powder form by powdering them in a spice grinder.

A word of advice, most of my recipes call for whole spices and blending them directly in a blender can render the blades to go blunt over a period of time. I would therefore suggest that you powder the whole spices first in a coffee grinder or a dry grinder jar attachment of your blender. Add the powdered spices to the blender along with other ingredients as called for in the recipe and you will notice that a beautiful paste is achieved in next to no time.
Pre-packaged masalas and curry powders are great spice blends to add to dishes and no doubt convenient but can restrict your cooking because just about everything tastes the same. There is absolutely no place for any curry powder in my cooking as curry powders do not produce authentic flavour profiles.

Most of the recipes in my book call for blending and this is because each recipe is a delicate combination of spices and herbs and each results in an exotic masala blend. My Chicken Roce Curry, Chicken Green Masala Curry, Chicken Indad Curry, Mutton/Goat Meat Curry and Pork Vindaloo are examples of mouth-watering exotic curries which I cook over and over again.