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Calcutta Curry Powder

A spice blend of turmeric, coriander seed, poppy seed, ginger, red chili, and cumin seed.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 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 ↓

Calcutta Curry Powder

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

  2. Ensure the seeds are of the finest quality, well dried, and pounded.

  3. Mix thoroughly.

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

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Coriander + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,505 recipes

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

  5. Turmeric + coriandertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,253 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

Turmeric
Gives the blend its yellow colour and earthy, slightly bitter flavour.
Coriander seed
Provides the main citrusy, floral aroma that forms the base of the blend.
Poppy seed
Adds a nutty flavour and a slightly thickening texture when ground.
Ginger
Adds a warm, pungent, peppery note.
Red chili
Adds heat to the blend.
Cumin seed
Adds an earthy, toasty aroma.

The step that matters

Dry and pound the seeds finely. Seeds that are damp or coarsely ground can spoil or taste dull and gritty. Thorough drying preserves aroma, and fine, even pounding lets the spices blend evenly and release their flavour.

Swap the poppy seed

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

  1. Cardamomfits better
  2. Oreganofits better
  3. Cinnamonfits better
  4. Poppy seedthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against turmeric, coriander, 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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