Holy crap, people

I just kicked the snot out of some spices and whipped up a fantabulous garam masala. I sauteed it with some chopped onions and butter and then threw it all into a bowl of brown basmati rice I made last night.

Oh. My god.

When the groceries come home, I'll add golden raisins and sliced almonds and a bit of salt then mix *that* all together. Oh, and peas. Gots to have peas.

Tonight I'll serve it alongside homegrown pork steaks with homemade green tomato chutney and a salad. Husband thinks we need another veg so he'll see what looks good. I'm leaning toward green beans for Szechuan beans, but I'll take what I get. Rhubarb pie and ice cream for dessert. Sort of a mish-mash, but it oughta suffice.

(This would also be really good with lamb added for a main dish. I'd pressure cook the lamb with a leetle bit of onion and garlic, then chunk it and mix with the rice.)

I used 4 c uncooked rice, so I'm prepared to feed an army. That was enough to use the entire batch of masala, though.

Garam masala (Indian spice mix)
1 T cinnamon (Penzey's Vietnamese Cassia)
1 T cardamom
1/2 t cumin
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
lots of ground pepper (didn't measure)
A handful of crushed Szechuan peppercorns

I probably should have added some corriander seeds too, but I ain't. Maybe next time. I think 1 t ground is probably enough. All the above were purchased ground, even though real garam masala is made with whole spices that you grind yourself.