Sweet Potato Fries

Name: Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients: Kosher salt; 3/4 teaspoon store-bought or homemade garam masala, recipe follows; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; Freshly ground pepper; 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into 1/2-inch slices, then again into 1/2-inch sticks; Olive oil; 3 large cinnamon sticks (if you have the kind you get at Indian stores, it's about 3 tablespoons of cinnamon bark bits); 3 tablespoons whole cloves; 1/4 cup green cardamom pods, shelled, husks discarded (about 2 tablespoons of seeds); 4 large black cardamom pods, shelled, husks discarded (about 1 tablespoon of seeds), optional