Rogan Josh is one of my favorite comfort foods. For years, I made it with Penzeys Rogan Josh blend, which I like very much. Then I got the bright idea to start mixing my own blends, for three reasons: First, it frees up space in my spice cabinet for a wider variety of single-ingredient jars. Second, I don’t use the blends often enough to finish a jar before it gets a bit stale, so everything is fresher when I make it myself. And last, but not least, it’s fun! Now, if I were genuinely trying to be authentic, I would buy only whole spices and toast and grind them myself. That’s really fresh! But I don’t, because spoons. Much of the time, I just don’t have the energy. Every step I can eliminate helps. And if I’m frequently using ground spices but sometimes using whole, then I’d have to stock both, and I just don’t have room for that. So it’s a compromise I can live with.

The exceptions are black pepper and saffron. Both lose freshness pretty fast once ground but take minimal effort to grind. So I only buy the whole threads of saffron and use the same pepper grinder I keep on the table for the rare occasion when something needs a little boost.

I don’t have a particularly scientific method for trying to reproduce spice blends. Well, when I say it’s not particularly scientific, I mean it’s not scientific at all. I start with a list of the ingredients in the blend, opening all the jars on my counter. Then I take a good whiff of the blend and try to identify which ingredients are dominant. Much jar-sniffing ensues. If my nose gets confused, I smell my coffee beans to clear out the previous smells. I start mixing in a little prep bowl, sniffing and taking notes as I go. With most blends, I end up having to cook a dish several (many) times before I’m satisfied, but sometimes I get lucky on the first try! This recipe makes enough for about one to one and a half pounds (454 to 650 g) of lamb.