Why it works: Turmeric and cardamom match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 667 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
A Cheap Curry Powder
Ingredients
Directions
Mix all ingredients together.
Reduce the mixture to a powder.
Preserve in a bottle for use.
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.
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Turmeric + cardamomtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together667 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Coriander + cardamomtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together872 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Coriander + turmerictop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,253 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Turmeric + peppertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,478 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Coriander + peppertop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,949 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
- Coriander seeds
- Provide the bulk of the earthy, citrusy flavour base of the blend.
- Turmeric
- Adds warm colour and a mild, bitter earthiness to the blend.
- Black pepper
- Adds sharp heat and a woody bite that lifts the other spices.
- Cayenne pepper
- Adds direct chilli heat to the blend.
- Cardamoms
- Add a sweet, floral aroma to the blend.
Swap the coriander
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turmeric, pepper, cardamom):
- Cuminfits better
- Corianderthe original
- Gingerfits about as well
- Clovefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against turmeric, pepper, cardamom. 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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