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Curry Powder

A blend of coriander, black pepper, fenugreek, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne pepper.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Cumin and turmeric match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,698 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓

Curry Powder

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Finely powder each ingredient separately.

  2. Mix all the powdered ingredients together thoroughly.

Dry and store

  1. Spread the mixture in a Dutch oven and place it over the fire.

  2. Turn the mixture often until it is thoroughly dry and cool.

  3. Store in glass bottles and cork them tightly.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cumin + turmerictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,698 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  2. Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,866 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Fenugreek + turmerictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together229 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  4. Fenugreek + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together178 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Coriander + turmerictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,253 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Coriander seed
Provides the main citrusy, warm aroma that forms the base of the blend.
Black pepper
Adds sharp heat and pungency to the blend.
Fenugreek seed
Contributes a bittersweet, maple-like aroma and depth.
Cumin seed
Adds earthy, warm aroma to the blend.
Turmeric powder
Gives the blend its yellow colour and a mild, earthy flavour.
Cayenne pepper
Adds chilli heat to the blend.

The step that matters

Turn the mixture often until thoroughly dry and cool. Spices left with residual moisture can clump, lose aroma, or spoil in storage. Frequent turning exposes all particles to heat evenly so the blend dries fully before it is sealed, which protects its flavour and shelf life.

Swap the fenugreek

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coriander, pepper, cumin, turmeric):

  1. Cardamomfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Fennelfits about as well
  4. Fenugreekthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against coriander, pepper, cumin, turmeric. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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