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Curry Powder

A spice blend made from coriander, pepper, cayenne, cumin, ginger, mace, cloves, fennel, celery, cardamom, turmeric, slippery elm, molasses, salt, licorice, and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Coriander and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,866 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Curry Powder

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the spice blend

  1. Mix together the ground coriander seed, white pepper, African cayenne pepper, ground cumin seed, ginger root, mace, cloves, ground fennel seed, ground celery seed, ground cardamom seed, turmeric, and slippery elm thoroughly.

Make and cook the curry

  1. In a separate container, mix the black molasses, salt, and extract of licorice.

  2. Soak the licorice in 2 gallons of water until soft, then add it to the salt and molasses mixture.

  3. Cook all ingredients together until the licorice is dissolved.

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

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

  2. Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Cumin + fenneltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together276 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

  4. Coriander + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Coriander + fenneltop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together426 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

What each ingredient does

Ground coriander seed
Provides the main aromatic, citrusy base flavor of the blend.
Turmeric
Gives the curry its yellow color and earthy, slightly bitter flavor.
Slippery elm
Swells in liquid to form a mucilage that thickens the mixture.
Black molasses
Adds sweetness, moisture, and a dark color, and helps bind the spices.
Extract of licorice
Adds concentrated sweetness and a deep, rounded flavor.

The step that matters

Cook until the licorice is fully dissolved. Molasses is rich in sugar, which can scorch on direct heat and turn bitter. Stirring steadily until the licorice fully dissolves keeps the mixture smooth and prevents burnt, uneven flavor.

Swap the white pepper

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coriander, pepper, cumin, ginger, mace, clove, fennel):

  1. Cardamomfits better
  2. Turmericfits better
  3. Cinnamonfits better
  4. White pepperthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against coriander, pepper, cumin, ginger, mace, clove, fennel. 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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