Before I get into my submission for this weeks Tyler Florence Fridays, I wanted to tell you about a new foodie blogger club called I Heart Cooking Clubs, which is a spin-off of TFF. I've joined Deb and Natashya on this new venture in which we'll be exploring different chefs and cooks and their recipes.
We're starting with the recipes of Nigella Lawson. We'll be posting a different theme each week in which you can make a recipe of your choosing that relates to that theme and link it back to the announcement post (via Mr. Linky). For a better detailed explanation and to get started with this week's theme, just click on the name above and join in the fun!
And now back to Tyler. I almost feel like I'm cheating posting such a simple recipe. I don't suppose you remember when I made Tyler's Curried Cauliflower with Chickpeas and Tomatoes a while back? I mentioned how I used store-bought curry powder because cardamom was so outrageously expensive, so I couldn't make my own...shortly after, I was graciously gifted with a bag of gorgeous cardamom pods. So, I decided I was going to make a batch of homemade Curry Powder, so that I could always have some on hand. I mentioned the recipe in that post, but now you'll see the actual process...
Homemade Curry Powder
-barely adapted from Tyler Florence's Eat This Book
yield: ~1/2 cup
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (yellow or black)
2 dried, red chiles, broken in pieces
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
Gather all of your gorgeous spices, keeping the ground turmeric separate. You'll notice I have cardamom pods...
...so I need to extract those little seeds! The pods are pretty tough, so I just lay one down on a cutting board and whap it with the flat side of a knife. You may have to squeeze the pod a bit and shake to release the seeds. Or if you've whacked 'em just so, the seeds may be sitting pretty...just begging to be used.
Combine everything but the turmeric in a dry skillet over low heat and toast for about a minute, or until you can smell the heavenly, intoxicating smell of the spices beginning to permeate the air...this means the oils in the whole spices are being released! 
Shake the pan often to keep from burning. Remove from heat and cool a bit.
Transfer the whole batch to a spice (coffee) grinder and add the turmeric. 
Grind the toasted spices to a fine powder. Use immediately or store in a sealed jar for up to 2 months.
note:- If you don't have a spice grinder or mortar and pestl (or just don't want to grind your own), simply whisk together pre-ground spices in the same amounts listed above. Whole, toasted spices that are ground will always yield a slightly higher quality product, but there's nothing wrong with a little shortcut if you're short on time or equipment.
Keep an eye out for some more curry recipes...betcha coulda guessed that, huh? So, head on over to Tyler Florence Fridays to see what everybody else cooked up with Tyler this week! ...a hint for cleaning out your spice grinder...put a couple little pieces of bread in and pulse. The bread will soak up the excess powders in the grinder. Throw away the bread. Yes, mine is stained from many whirls of anatto seeds...but that bread leaves my "well" nice and shiny!!!
