My garam masala recipe:

• 1/2 cup cumin seeds
• 1/3 cup whole black peppercorns
• 1/3 cup green cardamom pods
• 1 tablespoons whole cloves
• 4 cinnamon sticks, in pieces
• 10 bay leaves
• 1/2 nutmeg, optional

Dry-roast the cumin seeds until they begin to smoke. Cool, and then toss all the ingredients into a coffee grinder and hit frappe until all the lumps are gone. You can grind the spices in batches, then combine all in a jar and shake shake.

PS: The most important thing in this recipe is roasting the cumin seeds.