Basic Garam Masala

Ingredients: 

Coriander seeds - 1/4 cup
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Shahajeera (black cumin seeds) - 2 tsp

Cloves - 10-15

Cinnamon - 2" pieces - 6

Peppercorn - 10-15
Masala Ilaichi (badi Ilaichi) - 5-6
Black mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Fenugreek - 1 tsp
Bay leaves - 6-7
Nagkeshar - 1 tsp (optional)
Dagadphool - 2-3 (optional)
Oil to fry

Recipe:

Add 1/2 tsp oil to a nonstick pan. Roast cloves, fenugreek and black peppercorns on a medium flame
so that they become crisp. Keep stirring so they don't splatter.
Transfer them to a plate.
Then roast remaining items one by one in the same pan (don't add more oil) so you can grind them in a mixer/blender and store the masala in a tight lid glass jar.

Notes:

1) Be careful while roasting cloves and peppercorns as they can splatter and jump from the pan and cause burns.
2) Store all your spices and masalas in tight lid glass jars in a freezer. This way they don't go rancid and last a very long time.
3) I have 2 masala containers in my kitchen close to my stove. I just take out a little bit of all these spices in these containers and save the rest in the freezer.