This curry powder is a Malaysian style one. The cuisine is a mixture of Indian, Chinese and Malay to name a few. I consider this to be my “house” curry powder when I am cooking Asian. Hope you enjoy the exotic taste as much as we do. It’s pretty darned good in curried butternut squash soup! It’s a great gift for your “cook” friends. You might want to turn your face away from the pan when toasting the cayenne as it might sting your eyes.
Makes Approximately ½ Cup
3 Tbsp. coriander seeds
1 tsp. white peppercorns
½ tsp. black peppercorns
3 (2”) pieces of cassia bark or 2 sticks of cinnamon
1 ½ tsp. whole cloves
Half a whole nutmeg, broken in pieces
2 Tbsp. fennel seeds
4 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. aniseed
1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
7 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. cayenne pepper (or to taste)
½ tsp. black cardamom seeds (desiccated cardamom) (see note below)
6 whole green cardamom pods (see note below)
In a small skillet, toast spices separately as follows over medium-low heat, shaking the pan, until slightly darkened and fragrant:
- Coriander seeds: 5 – 6 minutes
- White & black peppercorns, cassia bark or cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg: 2 – 3 minutes
- Fennel seeds, cumin seeds & aniseed: 1 – 2 minutes
- Fenugreek seeds: 30 seconds
- Turmeric & cayenne, just until a shade darker: 10 seconds
In a clean coffee grinder, used only for grinding spices, grind toasted spices (except turmeric & cayenne), black and green cardamom to a fine powder. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Return the coarse bits to the grinder and grind until fine; add to the bowl; mix in the turmeric and cayenne. Let cool completely.
Note: The cardamom seeds & cardamom pods are not toasted.
