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Adam Liaw's beef nachos with DIY seasoning and coriander salsa.William Meppem

Chinese five-spice is easy to come by,as is Japanese seven-spiceshichimi togarashi,and ain't nobody got time to make baharat,vadouvan or Moroccan ras el hanout and its more than 12 ingredients. But sometimes it's worth making simple seasonings from scratch.

Homemade spice blends are going to be better value than an impulse-bought jar from a gourmet grocer any day. Stored in the pantry,these DIY mixes (and recipe ideas) are an easy way to spice up dinnertime.

Adam Liaw's Mexican seasoning mix

Karen Martini's garam masala.Marina Oliphant

Put down the yellow Old El Paso sachet and try this onnachos (pictured above) and taco fillings.

1 tsp celery salt,or ordinary salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp hot chilli powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried oregano

Adam Liaw's shichimi togarashi

Shichimi togarashi is a Japanese spice mix. There are lots of variations,but here's how I make it.

1 orange
½ sheet nori
1 tbsp green Sichuan peppercorns
1 tsp white sesame seeds
½ tsp black sesame seeds
1 tsp ground ginger
2 tbsp red chilli powder (preferably Korean)

Heat your oven to 100C. Peel the orange with a vegetable peeler,trying to get only the rind and not the white pith. Place the orange rind and nori on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and dry in the oven for 30 minutes,until the orange rind and nori are both dry and brittle. Crumble the dried nori into a small food processor and process to a coarse powder.
Place the Sichuan peppercorns,white sesame seeds and black sesame seeds in a small saucepan and swirl constantly over medium heat for about 2 minutes until toasted and fragrant. Using a mortar and pestle,grind the peppercorns,seeds and orange peel to a coarse powder (you should still see some whole sesame seeds). Combine with the nori,ginger and chilli powder. Stored in an airtight container,this will keep for about two months.