Last week, I shared how I dry my herbs in a bag. One of the advantage to drying herbs this way is that I can easily dry and collect cilantro seeds and use them to make coriander.
When I grind coriander, I only do about 1 tablespoon of seeds at a time. Coriander is most flavorful roasted* and freshly ground.
I place a couple of teaspoons of seeds into a mortar and grind: 
Then I sift the shells through a strainer: 
Then grind again (volunteers are always welcome): 
Then I store the ground coriander in an airtight container: 
See how little coriander I ground up? I only grind up what I think I will use up within a couple of weeks.
*To intensify the flavor you can dry toast the seeds before grinding. To do this place the seeds in a small skillet. Cook over a medium high heat, stirring or shaking regularly. Roast them a little bit longer after they have released their scent into the air, to ensure they are heated to the core. They should be uniformly brown, but not burnt.
This post has been linked to Homemaker Monday.
Maureen says
August 30, 2010 at 9:17 pmGood info. I like the flavor that toasting adds to seeds. Thanks for sharing it.
jacobithegreat says
August 30, 2010 at 9:44 pmSo my mind is a little bit blown. I had NO idea coriander is cilantro seeds! I HATE cilantro but coriander is definitely doable. Completely different tastes. Again, mind blown.
lexi says
September 3, 2010 at 10:34 pmI try to do this too! Granted I use my coffee turned spice mill. I wonder…if I get a mortar/pestle if I could get my son to help? LOL!
My favorite spice to use is nutmeg! I use my handy dandy micro-plane to grate it!
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Laurel says
July 24, 2012 at 11:06 amNice blog – this is my first visit.
I just gathered coriander for the first time this year. I’m a lil worried that the seeds might be a bit mildewed. They taste fine, but they are kind of dark. One plant I hung up on the porch and it stayed there for a few weeks. The other one I left in the garden til the seeds were ready to drop. The porch one’s seeds are a bit darker than the other, and both plants’ seeds are darker than they should be.
There were hundreds of small seeds heads so it wasn’t easy to gather the seeds. Not like dill. Dill is so incredibly easy.