Spices divide into two groups by when they go into the pot, and getting this wrong is the most common reason a home curry tastes flat.
Spices you cook
Whole spices — jeera, mustard seed, cinnamon, cloves, bay — go into hot fat at the start. They need heat and time to release oils that are locked inside a hard seed or a piece of bark.
Ground spices — haldi, dhania, chilli — go in after the onions, with a splash of water so they do not catch, and get about thirty seconds. Raw ground spice stirred into liquid tastes dusty; the sign it is done is the oil separating at the edge of the pot.
Spices you finish with
Garam masala is the main one. Its aroma comes from volatile compounds that evaporate within minutes of hitting heat. Added at the start of a two-hour curry, almost nothing is left by the time it is served. Added in the last two minutes, half a teaspoon changes the whole dish.
Kasuri methi is the same, and goes in after the heat is off, crushed between the palms.
Roasted jeera powder can go either way — cooked into the dish, or sprinkled over raita and salads without cooking at all.
The short version
If a spice needs heat to open up, it goes in early. If heat destroys what you want from it, it goes in at the end. Garam masala is in the second group, which is why the jar lives next to the stove and not in the cupboard.
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