Nutshell's Mexican Spice Blend

Ingredients

2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp black pepper

1 dried bay leaf

2 tsp salt

2 tbsp garlic powder

½ tbsp onion powder

½ tbsp aleppo pepper flakes

½ tbsp ground chipotle

2 tbsp dried oregano

Photo by Andy Holmes

Tips

This recipe calls for some whole spices that need to be ground. This could be done in a mortar and pestle, but I typically use a cheap electric spice grinder. If you have neither of these tools, just purchase ground spices instead and don’t worry about adjusting the quantities.
Depending on the capacity of your spice grinder, you’ll probably have to work in stages and mix the various ingredients at the end. Even if your grinder is huge, start by grinding the harder ingredients, and hold back the finer ingredients for a few light pulses to combine only.
Try not to shake the spices directly over a hot pan, as the steam can make the blend lumpy

Method

Trim the stem out of the centre of the bay leaf. Discard the stem, and keep the two halves of the leaf.

Grind the cumin, coriander, pepper and bay leaf halves with the salt.

If your grinder has sufficient capacity, add the remaining ingredients and pulse a few times to combine. If not, transfer all ingredients to a bowl or jar and stir to combine.

Transfer the blend to a spice jar, and store with the lid tightly closed.