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I have tried countless curry powder blends and none of them have ever tasted “right”. I have a pre-determined idea in my head about how curry is supposed to taste, based on dishes from a few of my favorite local Indian restaurants. None of my curries at home ever tasted the same and it always made me sad, because I love, love, love curry.
Then, when I was on a trip down South visit my sister and her husband (owners of Mighty Grow Organics), she whipped up a batch of turkey vegetable curry and I was blown away. Turns out she makes her own blend and it was just what I had been looking for! This blend makes my curry dishes taste just like my favorite restaurant dishes. That said, feel free to adjust this recipe to suit your tastes. Curry blends vary, depending on the regions, spices available, and tastes of the chef, so most curry blend recipes can just be used as a base for creating your own, special blend.
This recipe is measured in “parts”, so that you can make as big or as little of a batch as you want. Remember to always keep your spices stored in airtight glass jars to help preserve the flavor. I like glass Fido jars for storing herbs and spices. The tight seal works wonders for preserving your spices.
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Homemade Curry Powder Blend
I highly recommend the herbs from my affiliate partner, Mountain Rose Herbs. I find the quality of their products to be superior to other brands I’ve tried.
- 4 parts ground coriander
- 2 parts ground turmeric
- 2 parts ground yellow mustard powder
- 2 parts chile powder*
- 1 parts cayenne powder
- 1 parts ground cumin
- 1/2 parts ground cardamom
* The chili powder that I use (which I get from my health food store’s bulk spice section) is literally that — ground up chili peppers. It does not have any cumin, oregano, or other spices that are typically in chili powders. I realize that this ingredient could be confusing, since what I use as chili powder may not be what others use. You can always skip the chili powder and add in extra cayenne or another form of dried pepper. Or, add in the chili powder you have on hand. It all depends on your taste! 🙂
Place all of the spices in a bowl and stir together until well combined, making sure there are no lumps of any one spice. Transfer immediately to an airtight container, and store in a cool dry place. Use in any recipe calling for curry powder, like my curried chickpeas. or my simple chicken and vegetable curry recipe.
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Hi Jessica,
That blend sounds great but I did have one question. Isn’t “chili powder” a blend? Is that what you meant? Is there a way to make this without using someone else’s blends?
Oops. That was three questions, wasn’t it? Oops, again…four questions. 🙂
Hi Jackie – Yes, chili powder is a blend, and it is going to vary from brand to brand. The one that I use is actually dried and ground chili peppers. It has no cumin or other spices typically in chili powder in there. I should make a note of that on the recipe, as that is misleading. I didn’t even think about it, since this is the type of chili powder that I’ve always used! I’m going to go make a note of that. 🙂
Hello Jessica,
If I may add my 2 cents worth, I think it should be called “Chilli Powder”. I buy this at a local Korean store to use when making Kim Chee.
My understanding is that it is as you mention, just ground Chile Peppers with no other added spices. The two “L’s” may help clear up the confusion with the spice blend that is normally used to make chili soup.
Thanks for the comment Sonny! I actually just found out recently that it should be “Chile” powder with an “e” and not an “i”, so I updated the recipe! Cheers!
I’m so glad you posted this! I lost my own recipe. Haha! Making a huge pot of coconut chicken curry today with veggies harvested 100% from our gardens and greenhouse. Wish you were here!
That sounds like something I would do! 🙂 YUM!!!!! Please enjoy a big plate of it for me! 🙂
I just wanted to say at first I could not wrap my head about the “parts” but then I just inserted “tablespoon” and then I could figure it out. 🙂 By the way, this is my most favorite curry in the world. I have never had any this delicious, ever. Thanks for sharing with us!
Hi Starlene – So glad you liked it! It tastes (to me) just like my fave restaurant. Since I can’t eat there anymore, I am happy to have a homemade sub! 🙂
I am looking to make bulk batches of curry, preferably from whole spices hand-ground in a stone mortar & pestle (to season it). I look forward to trying this blend out and seeing if it’s the cut.
I was drawn to your blend because of the cardamom – which many internet blends seem to be missing. Thank you for posting this!
Hi Brian – I hope you enjoy! Thank you for stopping by and commenting! 🙂
I’ve got two questions,
coriander in the recipe refers to the green leafy part or the seeds?
yellow mustard = seeds?
sorry to sound so dumb, i am new to spices 😛
Hi Annie – It would be the seeds, dried and ground. I buy mine already ground, but you can also grind your own in a coffee grinder. Same with the yellow mustard – I buy mine ground, but you could also grind your own! No worries at all — does this help? 🙂
yes, thank you so much Jessica 🙂
After making a couple of batches with this mix – one chicken, one pork – personally I found too much turmeric, not enough cumin, so for the second batch I reversed the proportions and found a better mix, at least for my tastes. Of course, that’s the advantage to mixing your own spices – you can adjust as you need!
Hi Werrf – Thanks for stopping by! Yes, that is the beauty of making your own spice blends! You can tweak everything to suit your own personal tastes! Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Jesdica,
This recipe sounds so delicious but I have a son that is allergic to mustard!!!…..Do you have any suggestions for a substitute for it?
Hi Laurie – There really is no substitute for it, but you could just leave it out and the mix should still taste fine. 🙂
Thank you so much for this. Made my first curry ever. Turned out so well. DIY spice blends make avoiding allergies so much easier. Yours was the first blend that didn’t contain paprika (allergen for me), and had lots of other spices I do like. My husband and I couldn’t get enough.
Awesome Tina! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! I am really glad you enjoyed this blend — it’s one of my faves! 🙂
Woohoo, I’ve been searching in vain for a curry powder that’s hot enough for my tastes, and this one is it! Thanks so much–I just mixed up a batch and will be using it in a chickpea curry tonight. 😀
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it! You could always kick the heat up a notch if this one is too mild! 🙂
Making your own (good) curry is no easy feat. I like that you use ground chilies in yours. That’s not something everyone knows to do.
Hi Chef! Thanks for stopping by! I am glad you liked this recipe. There are so many different curry blends out there. This is just the one that tastes the best to me! 🙂
I get my spices from an Indian and Pakistani food store and I grind my own and use as I go because it is fresher that way
I agree that fresh is always more tasty! 🙂 Making it ahead is helpful for people who are super busy though, which is why I always keep small batches on hand for when I am rushed and need it fast!
Hello Jessica,
Just dropped in to say THANK YOU So Much.
Got on your page while cruising the eating habits and the spices that people across world consume.
Truly Nice Recipe for Curry Powder, Went through the whole conversation from top to bottom, really worth reading.
I am from India and for us Chile powder is purely grounded Chile powder and nothing else until you don’t find any other ingredients on the back of the packet, if not declared than its not permitted to be there in the packet, its crime, Yes there might be a blend of different kind of Chile’s to controll or to set the spiceness and the fineness after grinding but it has to be Chile only.
One good thing that I got to learn that many people across globe are allergic to mustard & peanuts, might be because of its high oil contents and every body has different tendency to react on oil especially.
Hi Sunil! thanks for stopping by! Yes, there is a bit of confusion here regarding chile / chile powder. I ended up getting so many questions about it that I had to add the note at the bottom! Thanks for taking the time to write! 🙂
Having read so much about spices being recalled for their lead content, not to speak of other contaminants, I’m hesitant, now, to purchase from my local Indian spice merchants in NYC; at the same time, don’t know where to purchase ingredients to make my own curry powder. How could I be sure it’s not contaminated?
Hi Adyta! Yes, this is definitely something to be concerned about sadly. That is why I am SUPER picky about where I source my herbs. I source close to 100% of my herbs from Mountain Rose Herbs: https://www.deliciousobsessions.com/Mountain-Rose-Herbs becuase they rigoursly test and ensure quality and safety of thier products. The taste and quality of the herbs themselves are much better than any other brand I’ve tried too. I will occasionally buy Frontier brand herbs from my health food store, but I don’t find that I like their flavor and quality as much as Mountain Rose. I think with all food products we have to be vigilant in where we source, especially with the growing number of recalls that are happening every month. Hope that helps!
Thank you for this post. I especially liked that you defined the chile powder you use. I like the idea of making my own curry powder so that I can control which spices I use. It gets so confusing with the spice-powders that use the same name but differ in their ingredients and ratios of amounts. Thank you again.
Hi Kathryn! So glad it was helpful! I agree on the confusing spices. Sometimes I deal with teh same thing so I try to be as clear as possible in my recipes. 🙂