Besides the fact that I have a spice obsession (as outlined in my post, WW Kitchen Stories: Rosemary or Denise’s Spice Issues) and it seems dumb to pay for blends when you already have all the stuff to make the blend, I’m getting to the point after the cumin scare that I’m going to try to make as much stuff from whole spices as I can, so that there’s less chance for adulteration with undisclosed allergens, anti-caking agents, or cross contamination. There’s only a few ground spices in here, but my plan is to eventually only buy whole spices and grind all my own stuff.

I tried to keep it reasonable for non-fire breathers, but you control how much curry powder you add to stuff. Start small and then taste, you can always add more, but you can’t really subtract easily. Also, if you want to make it a bit hotter, add 3 or 4 more dried chiles to the mix.  Be aware that you will need a blender or a coffee/spice grinder to make this.

DIY Curry Powder

Makes about 1 cup.

• 6-8 dried chiles (I used Sanaam, but Arbol or Japones would work fine)
• 5 Tablespoons of coriander seed
• 4 Tablespoons of cumin seeds
• 2 Tablespoons of fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons of black mustard seed
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 1/2 teaspoon of whole cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon of black peppercorns
• 1″ piece of cinnamon stick
• 1 Tablespoon of ground Turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon of ground fenugreek seed
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

Destem the chiles if necessary. Place the chiles, coriander seed, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black mustard seed, green cardamom pods, cloves, black peppercorns, and cinnamon stick in a skillet over medium heat.

Move the skillet around constantly to shift the seeds, spices and chiles until you smell the cumin seed toasting, some of the seeds popping and the spices darken.

Remove the spices, seeds, and chiles from the skillet, and allow them to cool completely.

Once cool, place the spices, seeds, and chiles from the skillet and the ground turmeric, ginger, fenugreek, and nutmeg into a blender, and blend until you have a fine powder. Before opening the blender, let the powder settle for a few minutes so that you don’t gas yourself.

If you are using a coffee/spice grinder, place the ground turmeric, ginger, fenugreek, and nutmeg into a bowl. Grind the spices, seeds, and chiles from the skillet in coffee/spice grinder in batches, adding the batches to the bowl until you have ground all of the spices, seeds, and chiles. Using a wire whisk, mix well so that the ground turmeric, ginger, fenugreek, and nutmeg are fully incorporated into the newly ground spices, seeds, and chiles from the skillet.

Store in an air-tight container and use where you would use curry powder. Stay tuned for some recipes using it in the coming weeks.

Enjoy!