Instructions: For someone who considered herself an adventurous eater, I sure changed when I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from India last year. Suddenly, I became picky. Nothing tasted right. I was either trying new foods with foreign flavors and strange smells, or I was eating Indian food that was equally foreign.

After eight months, two flus and one allergy, I made friends with the food here.

But my exploration was still peppered with intermittent longings for the familiar. I missed the aroma and taste of my mothers freshly ground masalas, or Indian spice blends. In a new country, running my own household and pressed for time, I grudgingly turned to store-bought versions. Though I learned to adapt to some of them, it became clear that if I wanted real garam masala - one of the backbones of Indian cooking - I would have to learn to make it myself.

Ready-made garam masalas had a somewhat stale quality and were almost devoid of the characteristic sharp flavor I knew. More important, they failed the acid test of a masala: When I used them in food, they didnt make much difference.

Garam masala - Hindi for hot spice - is a unique mixture that accentuates the taste of numerous foods but doesnt require heat to activate its own aroma or flavor. There are as many variations as there are cooks, and there is no standard proportion or set of ingredients. It can have as many as 20 ingredients or as few as three. Deciding which spice to use at the expense of another and determining proportions depends on the nature of the dish, the season, personal taste and habit.

Garam masala is made differently in various regions of India, and each state tends to have its favorite ingredients. People in Rajasthan, where I come from, prefer more red chili, while Gujaratis add coconut and peppercorns of different types. South Indians like to add fenugreek seeds, Maharashtrians go for sesame seeds, and in Uttar Pradesh, cooks add pomegranate seeds instead of cinnamon.

Most people agree on certain key ingredients, including coriander, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon. But there are countless variations.

Rakhee Choudhuri, a caterer in Sunnyvale, confesses to playing favorites. Not too fond of cloves, this fanatic spice-grinder uses allspice, star anise, saffron and dry ginger in her garam masala. Maria T. Kinard, owner of Brindavan restaurant in Sunnyvale, uses the basic spices of cloves, cinnamon, coriander and cumin.

Once I decided to make my own garam masala, I knew my starting template would be my mothers. My mother believes you should combine no more than six or seven ingredients in garam masala, and she typically chooses coriander, cardamom, cloves, mint, chilies and cinnamon. I talked to friends here who had wrestled with these same decisions, and I searched the Internet. I had little trouble finding ingredients, which are readily available in local Indian groceries.

Most cooks settle on a variation after some trial and error, as I did. But there are a few rules of thumb: Too much clove and cinnamon will create a deep brown masala. More coriander seeds will make it light green and not particularly spicy. I like to add fennel and cardamom because I find they aid digestion and freshen the mouth. And my grandmothers secret for keeping garam masala smelling fresh even after weeks is to add saffron threads and raisins.

When cooking with garam masala, you want just the right amount. Too little and a curry is not smooth. Too much and it will taste acidic.

But youll never run out of ways to use it. Add garam masala to plain yogurt.

Sprinkle it over basmati rice or grilled chicken, or use it to spice up salad dressing. Add small amounts to meat sauces, pasta sauces, soup, gravy, stuffing mixes, stir-fries or barbecue marinade. I particularly like garam masala with cooked mushrooms, in placid lentils and in curry dishes.

Vijay Bist, owner of Mountain Views Amber restaurant, says chefs at Amber use different garam masalas for different dishes. The garam masala used in non-vegetarian dishes has more nutmeg, mace and bay leaf. For seafood and curry, the blend includes grated coconut. And for soups, the garam masala contains basil and mint.

Bist advises against substituting cheaper ingredients such as coriander and cumin powder for more expensive ones, such as cardamom, mace or nutmeg. He says home cooks shouldnt roast fenugreek seeds too much or they will give the masala a bitter taste. And go easy on the saffron and anise, he says.

Though ready-made garam masala is widely available, the taste of homemade is worth the half-hour of toil every few months. Just ask Choudhuri, who says, I am a freshness freak. I would rather cook without my masalas than buy ready-made masalas.

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