This spicy treat gives you a little bit of your breakfast back. Try it with eggs and banana pancakes and you’ll think it’s the old days when you ate with wild abandon.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs. ground chuck beef
1 tsp ground anise seed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground fennel seed
1/2 tsp ground mustard
3/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3/4 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (see this video for easy peeling)
1/2 white onion, finely minced
1 large egg, beaten

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix very well. Get yourself some rubber gloves and dive right in.
2. Form thin patties or link shapes.
3. Fry on medium heat for 5-7 minutes per side.

Notes:
Try other meats or add some pork to this recipe if you like.
The egg makes for a more tender sausage, but can be eliminated if necessary.
Fry this up as crumbles instead of patties or links for use in other recipes like pizza or spaghetti sauce (I’d eliminate the egg for this purpose).
Make a bunch and freeze in serving portions for a quick fix.

Ingredients:
2 -3 lbs chicken cut into chunks (important note)
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
2/3 cup water

Sauce:
2 Tbsp fresh ginger root, finely chopped
2 Tbsp garlic, pressed or finely chopped (see this video for easy peeling)
4 tsp homemade garam masala
1-1/2 tsp homemade chili powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black cumin seeds
1 tsp cardamom, crushed
2 tsp ground coriander
1-1/3 cup rich yoghurt

Directions:
1. Melt butter in large saucepan and sauté onions until golden brown.
2. Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl, mixing till well combined.
3. Add chicken to onions and sauté for another 5 minutes.
4. Add water and sauce to pan and stir well.
5. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is done and sauce is thick enough for your tastes.

Serve alone, or over steamed broccoli.
Serves 4-6.

Notes:

Cooking yoghurt will kill the bacteria so don’t consider the yoghurt in this recipe as a probiotic.

This Indian staple comes in countless formulas. It’s warm, complex and compliments many foods. My favorite use is in chicken khorma, but it also goes great on many vegetables. Also used in Bombay Beef.

Ingredients:

4 Tbsps coriander seeds
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
3/4 Tbsp black peppercorn
1-1/2 tsps black cumin seeds (cala jeera)
3/4 tsp black cardamom seed
3/4 tsp whole cloves
3/4 tsp crushed bay leaves
(1) 1 inch piece cinnamon stick or 3/8 tsp ground
1-1/2 tsps ground ginger

Instructions:

If using stick cinnamon:
1. Place all spices except for ginger in a large frying pan.
2. Roast over medium heat, stirring occasionally until spices begin to release their smells. Be careful not to burn spices as that will ruin them. Be patient.
3. Cool completely.
4. Grind to a fine powder with a coffee grinder, adding the ground ginger.
5. Store in an airtight container.

If using cinnamon powder:
1. Place all spices except for ginger and cinnamon in a large frying pan.
2. Roast over medium heat, stirring occasionally until spices begin to release their smells. Be careful not to burn spices as that will ruin them. Be patient.
3. Cool completely.
4. Grind to a fine powder with a coffee grinder, adding the powdered ginger and cinnnamon.
5. Store in an airtight container.

Yields 1/2 cup.

This is a useful mix for a variety of recipes. I use it with hamburger to make a sort of taco filling. I also use it in chicken khorma and refried beans. It has a pleasantly hot, but well rounded flavor.

Ingredients:
4 Ancho chilies, dried and stems removed
8 Guajillos chilies, dried and stems removed
4 Thai chilies, dried and stems removed (see notes)
4 Tbs cumin seed
4 Tbs coriander seed
1/2 Tbs black peppercorn
9 Tbs oregano, preferably Mexican

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 300° F.
2. Put all ingredients except for oregano on large flat pan.
3. Roast for 7-10 minutes or until you begin to smell the spices.
4. Cool completely.
5. Remove stems from chilies
6. Add oregano to cooled spices and grind to a fine powder.

Notes:
Any small, hot pepper can be substituted for the Thai chili.

Yields about 1-1/2 cup.

I use a food processor first to coarsely grind then a coffee grinder to make it fine.I use a coffee grinder that I have reserved for spices only. If you use your grinder for both coffee and spices, you will contaminate both. The coffee will taste funny and so will your spices.

Ingredients:
3 tsp (13g) whole black peppercorn
3 tsp (5.0g) whole coriander
1 tsp (1.0g) whole pink peppercorn
1 tsp (3.0g) whole white peppercorn
1 tsp (0.5g) cracked allspice (just small enough for mill)
1-1/8 tsp (1.0g) whole green peppercorn

Instructions:
1. Mix spices together and put in pepper mill.

Notes:
Yield: 1/4 cup. Doubles well.
If possible, make this mix by weight, as that is most accurate. If you don’t have a digital scale, just use your trusty measuring spoons.

This mix need to go into a pepper mill as the at-the-moment grinding releases the best flavor. If your allspice is a lot bigger than your peppercorns, crack them down to size so they go through the mill.

I like to use Penzeys for buying my spices. The prices are reasonable, and the quality is much better than what I can get at my local grocery.