Name: Curry Powder, No. 3.— E. R.
Ingredients: 1½ ounces mustard seed; 4 ounces coriander seed; 4½ ounces turmeric; 3 ounces black pepper; 1¼ ounces cayenne pepper; 1 ounce lesser cardamom; ½ ounce ginger; 1 ounce cumin seed; Optional: 1 ounce cinnamon, ½ ounce cloves, ½ ounce mace

Why it works: Turmeric and cumin 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, No. 3.— E. R.

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Scorch and finely powder the mustard seed.
Pound the coriander seed until fine.

Combine and store

Combine all powdered spices in a bowl. Mix well to ensure even distribution.
Store in a dry place.

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.

Turmeric + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,698 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,866 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Turmeric + cardamomtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together667 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Cardamom + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,299 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Turmeric + gingertop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,776 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

Mustard seed: Provides sharp, pungent flavour when scorched and ground into the blend.
Coriander seed: Adds a citrusy, warm aroma that forms the base of the blend.
Turmeric: Gives the powder its yellow colour and an earthy, bitter note.
Black pepper: Adds sharp, lingering heat and aroma to the blend.
Cayenne pepper: Contributes chilli heat to the finished powder.
Cumin seed: Adds earthy, warm aroma characteristic of curry flavour.

The step that matters

Scorch the mustard seed. Scorching is the step most likely to go wrong: too little heat leaves the seed raw and harsh, while overheating turns it bitter and burnt. Toasting gently releases aromatic oils that give the blend depth before grinding.

Swap the cinnamon

The recipe marks cinnamon as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mustard, coriander, turmeric, pepper, cardamom, ginger, cumin):

Saffronfits about as well
Cinnamonthe original
Fennelfits about as well
Allspicefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against mustard, coriander, turmeric, pepper, cardamom, ginger, cumin. 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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Curry Powder, No. 3.— E. R.