Spice Road Soup

Where would our cooking be without the vast world of spices?

I recently read through the book Cook's Encyclopedia of Spices by Sallie Morris and Lesley Mackley where they give a thorough description of the origins, history, stories, recipes and other uses of fifty spices.  It has already inspired me to get off the couch and put together the Dhal with Tadka found on p.185 of the book accompanied by minted Basmati rice and Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower from Sarah B at My New Roots. 

A few days later, hungry again, I started digging through my cupboards looking to discover what I could make for dinner, and decided it was time to play with spices. 

First, let me say a bit about spices.  I have a cupboard full of them because I love to cook, and find it hard to resist a recipe with a long list of tantalizing spices.  There are regions of the world where cooks are masters at combining spices to create their local dishes, and I have seen evidence of this when wandering the markets of the world.  In Arusha, Hyderabad, Casablanca, and Dubai - I remember tracing my way through the maze of stalls, first noting the presence of new and delightful spells coming through my nasal passages, and then looking around with wonder and perplexity at the peaked mounds of colorful spices positioned mere feet way from the hanging carcasses of all forms of dead animals whose flavor they were destined to enhance.  

Some of the spices had names I recognized:  cardamom, ginger, cinnamon - and the most expensive of them all saffron - a spice I'd first tasted tucked into a saffron roll purchased from a small bakery just out of view of the sea in St. Ives, Cornwall.  Some of them had names I'd heard of but had never seen:  sumac, myrrh, mace, galangal, and the nearly orange turmeric, used for clothing dye and ready to stain everything in its path a glorious shade of gold.  Others I thought I knew, and realized how limited my knowledge was when I was staring down at the various shades of mustard, or when discovering that mace was the outside piece on a nutmeg - something I discovered on a spice farm outside of Old Town on the island of Zanzibar.   Later, dining in the local restaurants in these countries, I tasted and smelled the melding of the spices into a perfect balance in the Indian, African, Moroccan and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Eventually it dawned on me that my cooking was missing a whole new dimension when I limited myself to the (relatively) few spices I'd grown up with.  

I went to examine my own spice cupboard, fresh with the knowledge that dried spices don't actually last forever.  There is no point in buying the quart-sized Costco container of Italian seasoning, especially if you are not cooking a weekly meal of spaghetti or lasagna for a family of 12.  No, Spices have a shelf life, and most of mine were old.  Better to buy in small quantities to ensure freshness and quality.  Out went the old with the compost and off I went on a mission.