Spicy experiments- and homegrown turmeric root

The bottle of Garam Masala that I use in my cooking almost everyday, was running out. I needed to make some more soon. I have been making my own garam masala for some time now. However, I used to do it mostly from memory of what my mother used to put together in her masala powder. Occasionally, I would look at recipes online and incorporate ingredients that I thought were interesting. There are scores of websites each with their own version of the spice mix. Sometimes, this resulted in fabulous masalas and sometimes, not so much.

Finally, I decided to look for the exact list of ingredients my mother used, and managed to get a copy of her recipe. When I saw it, I recalled her saying she did not use dry coconut that the traditional recipe calls for, because where we lived while I was growing up, in the tiny state of Goa, the weather was always very humid. That kind of climate leads to a lot of spoilage, and dry coconut tends to go rancid quickly. So she had developed her own mix leaving coconut out. 

I decided to add some coconut this time around. I guess it is okay to experiment with ingredients by leaving out some that you don't fancy very much and adding those that might be beneficial. 

I figured that when coconut is not used, it is called Garam Masala. When it is used, it is the traditional Maharashtrian Goda Masala. Other than the main ingredients, the composition can vary, Asafoetida is almost always used. I decided to leave out asafoetida. I am not too fond of the strong smell. 

Turmeric- as a powder, which is the most easily available form, is another ingredient. I read a note in the famous Maharashtrian recipe book Ruchira, that using turmeric root instead of the ready made powder, adds a nice aroma.
I had pulled out a small piece of turmeric root from the yard two weeks ago.

  It was quite dry now. I decided to use it. 

Here is a list of what I added to the aggregate-

Coriander seeds- 16 oz

Cumin seeds- 3.5 oz

Sesame seeds (brown)- 3.5 oz

Desiccated coconut- 3.5 oz

Caraway seeds (Shahjeera)- 1 oz

Cayenne pepper- 1 oz

Whole Cloves- 10-15

Cinnamon- 2-3 inch stick

Cardamom- 4-5 small

Star Anise- One and a half

Bay Leaf- 3-4 medium sized

Turmeric root- 1 inch

The first three seeds were dry roasted and the rest of the ingredients (except for the cayenne pepper) were roasted over a little oil. 

After letting them cool, all ingredients were ground to a fine powder.