Spices in order to release their essential oils, most of them except for a few like nutmeg are dry roasted before being ground into spice mixes. Usually using a spice grinder rather than a mortar and pestle is preferable to blend to make sure that your mixes are ground finely. This is because a few spices like cassia bark are very tough and hard to blend into a fine powder.
Aren’t you tempted by the thought of having a hot cup of spicy tea, hot coffee or even a steaming bowl of cooked rice in vegetables with ghee or a warm bowl of vegetable soup in the evenings? Life without spice isn't that tasty! Let’s have a look on the regularly used spices in the Indian kitchen.