At a glance
The whole thing comes down to briefly toasting the whole spices in a dry pan, which brings out an intensity of aroma that shop-bought blends simply can't match. After letting them cool properly, the spices are ground finely, sieved if you like, and finished with ginger and freshly grated nutmeg. It only takes a moment, but the result smells like Christmas from a mile away.
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Prep the spices in the pan
Tip the star anise, allspice, aniseed, fennel seeds, cloves and coriander seeds into a dry, cold pan. Pop the cardamom pods open and pick out just the black seeds, adding those in too. Add the Ceylon cinnamon sticks, breaking them into smaller pieces with your hands as you go.
For this step
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Toast until fragrant
Only now put the pan on a low to medium heat. Toast the mixture for about 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until everything smells wonderfully fragrant. Keep a close eye on it – the spices mustn't burn, or they'll turn bitter.
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Let it cool - don't skip this
As soon as the spices are fragrant, tip them straight from the hot pan onto a cold plate. Let them cool completely. Don't skip this step – warm spices would steam up inside the grinder and lose their true aroma.
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