For me, there's nothing more intoxicating than the aromas of freshly ground spic...

For me, there's nothing more intoxicating than the aromas of freshly ground spices—they're heady and complex, and change throughout the cooking process. I prefer to dry roast all my spices than frying them in oil. When dry-frying spices the flavors changes in fundamental ways. Eruptive aromas begin to cook off, while compounds in the spice recombine to form new flavors that are often deeper than what you started with.
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If you burn the spices, you’ll have to throw your mixture out and start again, as the burnt flavour will ruin your whole dish. The key to dry frying is heat control.
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