The more I cook and fall in love with its creative process, the less I want to rely upon ready-made, store-bought ingredients.
I no longer buy ready-to-use marinades or dressings, preferring to find out what is in them and put a mix together myself.
Aside from the love of cooking and the curiosity to know just what goes into the food I’m eating, I have begun to try to be more conscious of what I’m ingesting. I try to avoid, as much as possible, products that have ingredients whose names mean nothing, or very little to me.
Take monosodium glutimate, for example: I know it’s something added to foods to enhance flavor, and that some say it’s supposed to be bad for you. That’s about the extent of my knowledge regarding MSG – I even had to look up how to spell the full name!
That one’s an obvious example, since many people these days are becoming increasingly aware of food additives that are not good for you.
But there are many other ingredients I have no idea what they even are – like guar gum. I see that a lot on ingredients lists.
But what is? Is it bad for you? Should I avoid eating it? I have no idea.
In such cases, I figure if I can’t answer those questions, I don’t suppose I’ll miss having it in my marinade… or my spice powder… or cake mix… or whatever such item the ingredient happens to be in.
Perhaps all of this would serve as an excellent basis for future blog posts, but at least within the context of this one, that is neither here nor there.
The point is, ready-to-use mixes and ingredients almost always include additives and preservatives that are unnecessary, and can be avoided if you choose to make it yourself. Not to mention the fact that fresh ingredients make food taste so much better!
As far as spice blends go, I have to say I’m not familiar with the details of whether they do or don’t contain additives or preservatives, or ingredients with funny names. A quick look on the back of some spice bottles on your own spice rack at home will quickly give you the answer.
What I do know is this: fresh and homemade usually tastes much better.
So… curry powder! After all, that is what this article is about, remember?
I chose to find out what spices go into a curry powder mostly because, here at home, we’re not that into real spicy foods… and curry is, as a general rule, spicy.
The thing is, we like Indian food, and it goes without saying that some Indian and Asian-style recipes will call for curry powder at times.
Now, curry powder is not made up of only one spice. Rather, it is a mixture of various spices. I decided to find out what goes into it exactly and make my own, so that I am able to control the spiciness of my dishes more precisely, and still manage to enjoy some nice, tasty curry.
If you’re ready to take your own homemade curry powder to the next level, explore our curry recipes: such as easy Indian lamb curry, pumpkin curry, even our chicken curry pot pie.
- 2 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tbsp turmeric
- 1/2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground Ginger
- 1 tsp dry ground Mustard
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp Cardamom
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- Measure all ingredients into spice jar, close lid tightly, and shake it up real well. Your curry powder is now ready to be used.
If you like it spicy, add 1/2 tsp. Black Pepper and/or 1/4 tsp. of Cayenne Pepper. I chose to omit and add them separately to dishes, if I so choose to.
This recipe makes enough curry powder to fill about 1/2 of a regular sized McCormick spice bottle. You can easily halve or double the amounts to suit your personal needs.
Say…its that easy…i totally love it…no need to bookmark, the information has been stored in the head, despite my previous reservations on spices and its related family…i’ll try this out… for starters…smaller quantities will do 🙂
How much of powder do I need to use to have a moderate hot curry?
Interesting, my store-bought curry powder had a few other ingredients that I don’t remember that you don’t have there. But honestly, from experience, to have just a few of these even already tastes like curry, so who are we kidding!
The thing with MSG (monosodium glutamat) is that some people have sensibility to it and then react on it after visiting Asian restaurants (the Chinese restaurant syndrome or something). In itself, there is nothing wrong with it, though people have heard a lot of wrong about it and claim it to be generally bad (which hasn’t been proved on a general scale, but misinformation about food is everywhere). So restaurants write “NO MSG” in their windows to bring in more clientele, even though they use seaweed to get the natural msg that can be found there because without it, you just don’t achieve the same typically Asian flavour (this old umami thing).
Wouldn’t the seaweed still cause people sensible to MSG to react to the food? I have no problem with MSG; however, I still always catch myself buying something with the label “No MSG” on it just because it sounds healthier. I never knew curry powder had some in it. But just like you said, with only a few ingredients curry powder tastes amazing enough!
MSG isn’t harmful in itself – monosodium glutamate is just a great tasting salt molecule. The people to it are sensitive to sodium, and excess amounts of table salt would probably affect them just as well. As an ingredient, a little goes a long way any many people use far too much.
MSG is pretty much a staple in Americanized Chinese food as well as popular fast food like KFC. It’s not any more bad for you than this food is, but it’s the quantity that tips the scale.
I thought MSG is detrimental to one’s health…as long as i have salt in my food…i don’t see the need for more additives..although one can’t be so careful…i love potato chips at the store and am so sure they contain MSG 😉 …and am no quitter in that department 🙂
I think you get a much more authentic taste making your own curry powder instead of buying a premade powder, plus you can add your own unique touch to it too! You can mix and match powders to find an ideal recipe for it too!
What a genius idea! While it seems simple to make you can also alter the amounts to your taste. As you were mentioning earlier in the article you’re not a fan of particularly hot curry powder so you can alter it accordingly. I. personally, would like a tad MORE heat. =)
My husband is going to love you for this. Don’t be surprised if you get a thank you note from him later. Regardless of how hard I try, I have yet to make anything spicy enough for him. Thank you for the recipe!!
I adore the fact that you are honest about not really knowing what certain things are (MSG) but knowing they are bad for you because that is me. Yes I am aware that processed foods should be limited due to all the additives…but I don’t really know what half the stuff is I am trying to stay away from or why really. Everyone is so food smart these days so I’m glad you said it out loud. We all aren’t food scientists. 🙂
With that being said I don’t eat a lot of curry or Indian food but I have ALWAYS wanted to so I am really glad to have a spice recipe that isn’t spicy! I’d love for you to share how you cook with this. 🙂
I had no idea what spices went into making curry powder. Like you, I have started looking into the products I use, and eliminating those that don’t appear to be healthy. I have a specific sensitivity to MSG. Sometimes I might want to use it, and other times, I don’t, depending on the reaction I want from my body. Now that I have this recipe, I will definitely make my own curry powder, if I can ever remember to buy dry mustard.
I got about 2 spoonfuls of store bought curry left. Perfect timing on this post! I am going to the bulk store to grab these ingredients today and trying out homemade version.
I live in an area where there is no good Indian restaurants, I would have to drive an hour to the city to get some. About once a month I get that craving so it’s awesome having it at home.
One point about MSG, the ONE study that said it was bad for you was discredited a long time ago.
There is literally no study (a real study, peer reviewed and double blind) that points to it having any negative effects.
We eat a lot of curry foods and I usually buy a mix from our local Indian store. I never realized that so many spices were mixed to give it that great flavor. I am going to mix my own because I am never satisfied with the flavor I get. They are never quite right. Perhaps I can get it right for myself.
That is a really great idea and so easy to do. I bet the taste its much more enhanced when you make your own. I shall try it sometime and find out if that is true.
I just bought some turmeric today for the first time. I had been reading about the amazing health benefits of it for the last few days and decided to give it a go. I made a vegetable soup and just added some turmeric and lots of black pepper, and it was surprisingly delicious. I’ve never tried to make a curry, but after reading this article, I just might give it a try!!!
Huh, I didn’t think it would be so easy to make. I guess the only hard part would be to track down all of the different spices and make sure they are pure and not cheap. If I want to make a sweet curry power (since I love sweet/spicy flavoring in my food), what kind of sugar would be best used in this recipe that will give me the flavor I want but not take away from the spice?
I make a curry dish almost every week, and all types too. That being said I never considered making my own seasoning. I guess that’s something I should do considering how much I make it. However I’ve always been really lazy in that regard. But since my version will probably taste exponentially better if I use fresh spices I’ll have to get up and hightail it to the market tomorrow. Can I use fresh ginger instead of ginger powder, and can I add garlic powder as well? I love a garlicky kick.
Wow, I never realise that curry was just a combination of spices that I enjoyed in my daily life anyway! Aside from, turmeric, which I was recently introduced to(and has amazing health benefits) I have been using the other ingredients for a long time. I don’t eat curry that often, but now that I know how simple it is to make it, I may give it a try!
I’m not even sure if I should admit this! But I will. 😀 I’ve been cooking for a very long time and absolutely love it. I rarely use curry but when I do and have in the past, it was just a matter of… well, grabbing the curry bottle! hehe See, maybe I shouldn’t have admitted it after all! 🙂
Until today, I didn’t know what curry was exactly, and never even considered that it might be something that could be made! I love this idea, and I suspect I’d use curry a lot more often if I’d have a custom-made mix like this.
I’ve never thought about trying to make curry powder myself. This is really interesting! To be honest, I’ve never thought about seasoning packages including any extra things than the real seasoning so it was good to know. Probably I should try out this recipe and see if there’s a noticeable difference. Thank you!
I love using curry, but when I first bought myself turmeric and started putting together my curry powder it was the best! I never stopped since then.
Sadly you have to be very careful with turmeric because it is painting everything to this nice yellow colour. I mean everything! Marble counter top, glasses, cutting boards, kitchen towels.
This is terrific. My husband has been curious about curry, but we tried a restaurant and he didn’t like it. I think I know why, so with this, I can adapt the recipe to something he will enjoy. I’m happy I found this page.
I also like the idea of being able to adjust how hot (or not) the dish will be. I can make this up and like you said, adjust the pepper to each dish. Very cool idea.
I also want to try the lamb curry that I saw on another page on this site. It sounds delicious.
Hello peoples my name Boris Borzik from Russia. I very much wanting for to making mine own curry. I also liking to say to add good Russian Vodka to many cooking dish!
Thank to you Boris
Vodka in curry- that’s something I haven’t tried, though I do love a good vodka tomato sauce. Enjoy the curry, Boris!