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
Grind
Combine all ingredients in a mortar.
Pound them very fine.
Sift the mixture.
Store
Store in a tightly corked bottle.
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 + cumintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,698 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Coriander + cumintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,866 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Turmeric + cardamomtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together667 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Cardamom + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,299 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Ginger + turmerictop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked 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
- Coriander seed
- Adds a citrusy, floral aroma that forms the base of the blend.
- Turmeric
- Gives the powder its yellow colour and an earthy, slightly bitter flavour.
- Mustard
- Contributes a sharp, pungent bite to the blend.
- Ginger
- Adds warm, peppery pungency and aroma.
- Pepper
- Provides sharp heat and a biting edge.
- Cardamom
- Contributes a sweet, floral, aromatic note.
The step that matters
Pound them very fine. Finer particles have more surface area, so the flavour compounds release more evenly and the spices blend into a uniform powder rather than gritty pockets of single spice.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ginger, pepper, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin):
- Carrotfits better
- Capsicumfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ginger, pepper, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, 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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