I'm on a cooking kick again and I'm starting to think that, much like dried pulses, the spices available in my local Sainsbury's have probably been sitting on the shelf for a while and have lost a bit of their pzazz. The cardamom pods I bought from there last time looked distinctly anaemic, and I figure if I want to really kick my masala up a notch I probably should source my cinnamon sticks, coriander seed and cloves somewhere less Jack-of-all-trades. So, where's best?
That said, I know there are some cheflads here so I'd be grateful if they'd contradict me and tell me it really doesn't matter where I get my spices from or how long they've been sitting around on a shelf, and that my curries just don't satisfy me because I'm a shit cook. Does it matter? I really don't know.