About the Recipe
If you are willing and able to put in the time, making your own of anything always comes with a sense of accomplishments. Many of the spice variations we buy can easily be made at home. This one involves drying and powdering vegetables but many are simply creative blends that someone has taken the time to experiment with.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons of tomato powder
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 ½ teaspoon of white sugar
3 ¼ teaspoons of powdered red bell pepper
1 ½ teaspoons of powdered carrot
½ teaspoons MSG
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of celery seeds
½ teaspoon of chili powder
¼ teaspoon of cinnamon
¼ teaspoon powdered oregano
¼ teaspoon powdered thyme
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
â…› teaspoon of dry mustard
Preparation
Simply mix the ingredients in the indicated proportions. You can tweak the quantities to suit your taste.
Mixing everything together doesn’t take long, if you can find all the ingredients in your local stores or online. Otherwise, the indicated preparation time as well of the level of effort will increase.
This recipe calls for powdered tomatoes, carrots and bell peppers. Making the powdered vegetables is easy enough, but it can take a considerable amount of drying time.
Dried Carrots
Fully cook the carrots (boil)
Drain and chop into small pieces
Oven dry at 175 °f on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
It may take a few hours for the carrots to dry completely. Check periodically. It is essential that the carrots are fully dried or you will not be able to powder them.
Once dried, mill in a food processor or blender and, if necessary, finish with a mortar and pestle.
Depending on the quality of your equipment, the blender might be best suited for this task. I tried with both methods and the blender was much more efficient.
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Dried Peppers
Chop into small pieces
Oven dry at 175 °f on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
It may take a few hours for the peppers to dry completely. Check periodically. It is essential that the peppers are fully dried or you will not be able to powder them.
Once dried, mill in a food processor or blender and, if necessary, finish with a mortar and pestle.
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Dried Tomatoes
Spread tomato paste on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Oven dry at 175 °f.
It may take a few hours for the tomato paste to dry completely. Check periodically. It is essential that the tomato paste is fully dried or you will not be able to powder it.
Once dried, mill in a food processor or blender and, if necessary, finish with a mortar and pestle.