George and I drove up to Seattle on the weekend, so I could replenish my east-Indian spices - asafoetida, armchour, ajwain and anardana are best purchased fresh, rather than selected from prepackaged spices on a rack at the Indian Bazaar. Some, like the garam masala, have to be ground into a powder, and another spice, besar, was so fragrant that I'll find a use for it!
I usually have all my spices inside a cupboard near my stove, but the collection has gotten so abundant that I've put all of them on a tray which I keep in my bedroom, away from the light and heat in my kitchen. 
I bought an eggplant at the open Market, and made a roasted eggplant chutney.
The chutney is served warm on a potato dosi, a type of pancake. 
Once the eggplant is roasted, the spices are organized, heated, and added to the chutney, which is served warm. Today, I'm planning to grill another eggplant, and hope to serve it with lamb koftas and basmati rice mixed with split black matpe beans.
