Vindaloo Spice Blend (West India)

Vindaloo Paste — Goa’s Portuguese-rooted paste. Exact quantities — 15–20 whole chillies is a real amount of heat.

• Toast: 1½ tsp cumin seeds, 15–20 whole dried Kashmiri chillies, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 2 tsp black mustard seeds, 1 tsp fenugreek seeds, 6 cloves, 1 tsp cardamom seeds, a 5cm piece of cassia, half a star anise
• Grind, then mix with 6 tbsp cider or palm vinegar, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp jaggery or date palm sugar into a stiff paste

From the dry blend, add the vinegar, salt and jaggery when you make it up. Kashmiri chilli gives it mild heat and a deep red colour.