Grind any whole spices you're using in a mortar and pestle (or spice grinder) from largest to smallest. Putting in 1-2 at a time, grinding to a powder, then add more. For us, this was star anise, cardamom, bay leaf, fenugreek seeds, thyme and sage.
3 tsp fenugreek seeds, 1 star anise, 1 tsp thyme, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tsp sage, 1 cardamom
Scoop out the ground spices from the mortar and place into a small bowl alongside the remaining ground spices. In our case, this was turmeric powder, ground coriander, cumin, dried orange peel, black pepper, chilli powder, cinnamon, fennel, ground ginger, ground cloves and nutmeg. Mix it all together until well combined.
6 tsp turmeric powder, 4 tsp ground coriander, 3 tsp ground cumin, 2 tsp orange peel, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground fennel, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp nutmeg