Curry Powder
Curry powder is a ground spice blend, typically built from turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, and chile, that originated as a British colonial approximation of Indian spice mixes and has since become its own distinct pantry staple.
How to buy
Choose mild, medium, or hot depending on your heat tolerance. Madras curry powder is a more robust, spicier style, while the curry powder used for Japanese curry tends to be milder and sweeter. Check the color, which should be a vivid yellow-orange from turmeric, not dull or brownish, which signals age.
How to store
Keep in an airtight container away from light and heat. It loses potency within about a year, with the turmeric's color and the blend's aromatic punch both fading noticeably once stale.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Warm, earthy, and slightly bitter from turmeric and fenugreek, layered with the citrusy warmth of coriander and cumin's nuttiness. Heat level varies widely by brand and regional style.
- Texture
- A fine powder that blooms in hot oil, releasing color and aroma before liquid is added, and thickens sauces slightly as it cooks.
- Aroma
- A warm, earthy, slightly musky aroma from turmeric and fenugreek, with a brighter citrus note from coriander underneath.
How to prepare
- Bloomed in oil — Cooked briefly in fat to release color and flavor before other ingredients are added.
- Simmered into sauce — Cooked with coconut milk, stock, or tomato to build a curry base.
- Dusted on vegetables — Tossed with oil and vegetables before roasting for warm, spiced flavor.
- Mixed into marinades — Blended with yogurt or oil for marinating meats before cooking.
Classic dishes
American
- American curried chicken salad — A cold chicken salad seasoned with curry powder and bound with mayonnaise.
Chinese
- Singapore-style curry noodles — Stir-fried rice noodles tossed with curry powder, shrimp, and vegetables.
Japanese
- Japanese curry — A thick, mildly sweet stew made from a curry powder-based roux served over rice.
- Katsu curry — Breaded, fried pork or chicken served with Japanese curry sauce and rice.
- Curry udon — Thick wheat noodles served in a curry-powder-flavored dashi broth.
Indian
- Quick vegetable curry — A simplified home-style curry relying on store-bought curry powder rather than individual whole spices.
Thai
- Thai yellow curry — A milder Thai curry whose paste is built in part on curry powder-style spices.
Vietnamese
- Vietnamese ca ri ga — A Vietnamese chicken curry simmered with coconut milk and curry powder.
German
- Currywurst sauce — A ketchup-based sauce dusted with curry powder, served over sliced sausage.
Caribbean
- Trinidadian curry chicken — Chicken browned in curry powder and simmered until the spice coats every piece.
- Jamaican curry goat — Goat meat slow-stewed in a thick, deeply spiced curry powder sauce.
- Caribbean curry roti — A flatbread wrapped around a curry-powder-spiced filling of meat or vegetables.
Filipino
- Filipino chicken curry — A home-style Filipino curry built on curry powder, coconut milk, and potatoes.
British & Irish
- British-style chicken curry — A home-style curry built on store-bought curry powder simmered with onions, tomato, and chicken.
- Coronation chicken — A cold chicken salad bound with a curry-powder-spiced mayonnaise dressing.
- Mulligatawny soup — An Anglo-Indian soup whose warm spice flavor comes from curry powder.