Here is a great Cape Malay spice mix to use in Cape Malay curries and other dishes. It is adapted from this recipe on food.com. I only made 1/3 of batch of the original recipe and reduced the amount of fenugreek because I find it pretty bitter for my tastes. In the past when I have made Cape Malay curry, I just threw in some spices, but this time I was excited to find this great spice mix. I will be posting my version of Cape Malay curry soon!

1 teaspoon clove
1 teaspoon fennel seed
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
3 cardamom pods peeled (just the insides)
1 small dried red chili
4 curry leaves
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 tablespon + 1 teaspoonground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Toast all the whole spices in a dry skillet until a little browned. Add the red chili and curry leaves last so they don’t burn.
2. Grind in a coffee grinder with the ground spices (I find that the coffee grinder works best when it is fuller, that is why I add the ground spices in too. Also it gets all the spices mixed together well).
3. Store in a sealed jar.