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Make your own curry powder
1. Make your own curry powder
What is curry powder?
A wonderful array of herbs and spices
When I started making curries as a teenager, like many people I reached for the readily available
commercial curry powders. There are several varieties, but the ones most easily obtained are the
Madras curry powders - they come in mild and hot strengths.
The mild and hot Madras curry powders differ in the amount of chili powder in the mix. But hey, if
chili powder is all there is to it, then it would be called chili powder, not curry powder. So what else
goes in to make the distinctively delicious flavor of a curry powder?
In a typical Madras curry powder, you will find a combination of spices: cumin, coriander, turmeric,
pepper, mustard, garlic, salt, fenugreek, fennel and cassia. When making your own, use cinnamon
instead of cassia. Cassia bark is normally used instead of cinnamon commercially because it is
cheaper.
It's fine to use curry powder - Don't think of it as cheating!
2. I still use curry powder because it's really convenient and quick. For special occasions and for
special guests I like to make my own spice mixtures. If you want to try a ready-made curry powder,
have a go with one of these:
Cinnamon
Tuj or Dalchini
Cinnamon is a relatively expensive spice, and is commonly replaced by cassia bark in commercial
powder mixes. If you use the raw spice and buy cinnamon sticks, there is a fairly easy way to tell
whether you are buying genuine or the cheaper cassia. Cassia bark rolls up from both sides and
forms a kind of 'scroll' whereas genuine cinnamon simply rolls all the way up in one direction. Often
you'll find that stores tomato powder recipes will sell you 'cinnamon' but actually it isn't; it's cassia.
It is used in many meat recipes and has a strong impact on the flavor of a curry. It is not necessary
to dry fry cinnamon for use in curries, but the flavor is somewhat enhanced by doing so, and then
powdering into the curry mixture.
