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Curry Powder

A blend of coriander, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, mustard, cardamom, cayenne, and cumin.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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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

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Dry all the spices properly.

  2. Pound the spices together until well combined.

  3. Store the mixture in a well-stopped bottle.

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. Turmeric + cumintop 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. Turmeric + cardamomtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together667 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Turmeric + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,776 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Coriander + cardamomtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together872 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Turmeric
Gives the blend its yellow colour and earthy, slightly bitter flavour.
Coriander seed
Provides the mild, citrusy aroma that forms the base of the blend.
Cumin seed
Adds a warm, earthy aroma and a savoury depth.
Black pepper
Contributes sharp, pungent heat that lifts the other spices.
Cayenne pepper
Adds direct chilli heat, controlling how hot the finished powder tastes.
Ginger
Adds a warm, peppery, slightly sweet aroma and a gentle spicy bite.

The step that matters

Dry all the spices properly.. Residual moisture makes the powder clump and can let mould or spoilage develop during storage. Thorough drying also lets the spices grind into a fine, evenly mixed powder, and the aromatic oils stay stable when the blend is kept dry.

Swap the mustard

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

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Sweet potatofits better
  4. Mustardthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against coriander, turmeric, ginger, pepper, cardamom, 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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