I have a great book "The Spice Bible" so I thought I would share

[Sniper-T]

I work in WPG daily, so will be starting to stop by some of the ethnic grocers on the way home

from that intraweb thingee:
Whole Fancy Green Costa Rican Cardamom Pods Product# Description Price Qty
50742 Cardamom #2 Green Pods 4 oz. bag $14.75
50755 Cardamom #2 Green Pods 1.7 oz. 1/2 cup jar $7.49
50739 Cardamom #2 Green Pods .6 oz. 1/4 cup jar $4.25

[Sparrow]

Yikes, 900 g = 31.7465 oz ... for 20 bucks. I knew I was getting a deal!

But I have to add that is whole green cardomon - not just the seeds, or the powdered seeds. Once you expose the seeds to air they loose their taste quick. Powedered looses the taste in just a day or two. So I would suggest buying whole, green pods. They should be very green. If they are light green, or shades of brown or yellow - they are old and don't bother with them.

They should be this colour:

[ak474u]

Yeah, I hit the middle eastern and asian food stores for bulk buys. The prices are ridiculously low there. Example: Sambal Olek Chili sauce at the grocery store is 6oz for 3.98, at the Ali Baba Food Store, 5.00 per gallon. Some of the little stores have bags of dried whole spices that can be ground at home. I use a Mr. Coffee coffee grinder for mine, mostly chili powder I use hatch, guajillo, New Mexico, and Ancho chilis for my powder and I can get most of those from local places.

[ladyhk13]

Nigella is a black seed that has a slightly bitter, peppery taste. It is used in Middle Eastern and Indian cooking and can be used with vegetables like winter squash, eggplant and potatoes. It is also used in the making of Naan which is similiar to a pita bread.

Naan:

makes 10

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c milk
2 tsp instant dried yeast
2 tsp nigella seeds
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp melted, cool ghee, or oil
heaping 3/4 c thick, creamy plain yogurt

Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Heat the milk over low heat in a saucepan until it is hand warm (the milk will feel the same temp as your finger when you dip your finger into it).

Add the yeast, nigella seeds, baking powder, and a pinch of salt to the flour. In another bowl, mix the egg, ghee, and yogurt. Pour into the flour with 1 cup of the milk and mix to form a soft dough. If the dough seems dry add the remaining milk. Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Put in an oiled bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place to double in size. This will take several hours.

Preheat the oven to 400. Place a roasting pan half filled with water at the bottom of the oven. This provides moisture in the oven, which prevents the naan from drying out too quickly.

Punch down the dough, knead it briefly, and divide it into 10 portions. Using the tips of your fingers, spread out 1 portion of dough to the shape of a round, about 8 inches in diameter. They are traditionally tear drop in shape, so pull the dough on one end. Put the naan on a greased baking sheet. Bake on the top shelf for 7 mins, then turn the naan over and cook for another 5 minutes. While the first one is cooking, shape the next one, If you sheet is big enough, you may be able to fit 2 naan at a time. Remove the cooked naan from the oven and cover with a cloth to keep it warm and soft.

Repeat the cooking process until all the dough is used. You can only use the top shelf of the oven because the naan won't cook properly on the middle shelf. Refill the roasting pan with boiling water when necessary.

Enjoy!

[sidewinder]

Sniper your list must have come out of our cabinet. We use all those on a regular basis. Cumin is one of our favorites, it goes with so many things.
Sparrow the wife uses Cardamon hear and there. Nice taste.
We also use several spice mixes. One of our favorites is KC master piece bar B Q. It makes a great dry rub or just sprikle it on before throwing some meat on the grill. There are several Cajun mixes, fajita mixes, and several others.
We make our own vanilla extract. Take a pint of Vodka and put a split vanilla bean in it, seal it back up and leave it in the dark for a couple months and there you go.
Cinnamon is a very useful splice, supposedly helps lower blood pressure.

I take cinnamon capsules everyday.