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Bengal Currie Powder

A spice blend made from coriander, black pepper, cumin, fenugreek, cayenne, and turmeric, dried and bottled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Eliza Acton · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and garlic are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,368 recipes. Both carry linalool, which smells floral, citrus. The science ↓

Bengal Currie Powder

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the spices

  1. Reduce 6 oz coriander seed to a fine powder and sieve.

  2. Reduce 3 oz black pepper to a fine powder and sieve.

  3. Reduce 1 oz cumin seed to a fine powder and sieve.

  4. Reduce 1½ oz fenugreek seed to a fine powder and sieve.

  5. Reduce ¾ oz cayenne pepper to a fine powder and sieve.

  6. Reduce 3 oz best pale turmeric to a fine powder and sieve.

Blend and store

  1. Mix the powders thoroughly.

  2. Set the powder before the fire to dry, turning it often.

  3. Withdraw it, let it become cold, and bottle it immediately.

  4. Keep it closely corked.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

688Calories
32 gProtein
40 gFat
49 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Saladnot in our table0
Eelnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Eliza Acton. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. See the original page.

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. Clove + garlictop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,368 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  2. Rice + garlictop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,358 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  3. Rice + clovetop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,982 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  4. Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,645 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  5. Butter + hamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Coriander seed (in the method)
Provides the main citrusy, aromatic body of the blend.
Black pepper (in the method)
Adds sharp, pungent heat that gives the powder its bite.
Turmeric (in the method)
Contributes earthy colour and a warm, bitter note.
Cayenne pepper (in the method)
Adds direct chili heat to the blend.
Fenugreek seed (in the method)
Adds a slightly bittersweet, maple-like aroma.

The step that matters

Drying the powder before the fire. Turning it often while drying helps moisture leave evenly. Powder left damp can clump and spoil, so it must be fully cold and dry before bottling and corking.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, butter, ham, clove):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, butter, ham, clove. 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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