Preparation / Directions:
Most indians do not buy the stuff because it looses so much flavor (much like fresh ground pepper vs packaged ground pepper). instead, what i do is to buy raw cumin (ask them to sell you good quality "zeera" if you go to an indian store). to roast them, in a heavy skillet/frying pan, put in a handful (crushing them slightly by rubbing them between the palms of your two hands) and then over med-high heat roast them dry, shaking the skillet a lot, until they are dark brown in color (but not black, over roasting them will turn them black). use immediately as is. (ps: crushing the raw cumin is really important to bring out the nice flavor of cumin, try a side-by-side some time, and you'll see what i mean. this tip is courtesy of our family cook in india, who likes to load everything he cooks with cumin).
For some dishes, like raita (raita == slightly whipped yougurt + + roasted cumin powder + salt + pepper) you need to powder it. what i do is to put the roasted cumin on my cutting board, and with a roller pin go over it, and they powder with almost no effor
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