Madras Curry Powder Recipe

Madras curry powder really stands out amongst the plethora of curry blends on the market at the moment. This blend is truly aromatic and great for adding some depth to your dressings as well as your curries.

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Madras Curry Powder in a white bowl with a teaspoon of powder on the side.

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What is Madras?

This curry blend is named for the city of Madras, now known as Chennai. The heat of Southern India is ideal for growing chilli peppers, and as a result, many Southern Indian foods are heavy on the chillies.

This spicy and piquant Madras curry ended up being a big hit with British colonists in the region, and as a result, it is readily available in Britain.

Classically, people think of this type of blend as being much hotter than other curries, but we all know that the heat can vary depending on who makes it 😉.

Let’s Talk Seeds & Spices

I always like to buy my spices whole, toast them and then blitz them in a spice grinder and turn them into a powder. You can use powdered versions and warm them up to release their aromas to save yourself some time.

Coriander Seeds - have a mild floral, lemon-like taste and more often than not feature in curry blends.
Cumin Seeds - have a slightly sweet, warm earthy flavour with a slight nutty element, they are another curry blend staple.
Ground Turmeric - a wonderful golden colour with a slightly bitter, citrusy taste. This is what gives curry its characteristic golden colour, but be careful when using it as it stains everything yellow.
Ground Ginger - sweeter and milder than fresh ginger with a slight spiciness.
Fenugreek Seeds - look like a miniature bean pods and add a distinctive sharpness to curries.
Ground Cinnamon - usually made from Ceylon cinnamon sticks they have a pleasant, light and somewhat sweet taste, with just a smidgen of spice
Chilli Powder - this is what is going to bring the heat to your madras curry blend, you get to control how hot you would like it.
Cloves - are dried unopened flowers of an evergreen plant, a pungent spice with an “antiseptic” note. Great as a breath freshener.
Green Cardamom Seeds - have a fresh, zesty taste and can simultaneously be slightly sweet and spicy. Refer to Common Questions section on how to use cardamom pods instead.

Labelled spice powders and seeds needed to make Madras Curry Powder.

Mild Madras Curry Powder

3 tbsps coriander seeds
2 tbsps cumin seeds
1 ½ tbsps ground turmeric
½ tbsps ground ginger
½ tbsp fenugreek seeds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp chilli powder 🔥
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cardamom seeds

Hot Madras Curry Powder

3 tbsps coriander seeds
2 tbsps cumin seeds
1 ½ tbsps ground turmeric
½ tbsps ground ginger
½ tbsp fenugreek seeds
½ tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp chilli powder or more 🔥🔥
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp cardamom seeds

How to Make It

Gather your ingredients, keeping the seeds and powders separate.

Place a small non-stick pan on medium-high heat and add your whole spices (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, cloves and cardamom seeds).

Whole madras curry spices in a pan on the stove.

Toast your seeds on a dry pan over low-medium heat until aromatic, stirring occasionally. approximately 2-3 minutes.

Stirring whole madras curry spices with a wooden spoon in a pan on the stove.

Remove the seeds from the heat, transfer them to a cold bowl to stop the heating process and to allow them to cool, then grind them into a powder using a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Blitzing Madras spices to a powder in spice grinder.

Place the ground seeds and remaining spice powders in a bowl and stir until well combined.

Adding all Madras spices to a white bowl.

Store in an air-tight container until ready to use.

Mixing madras spice powders in a white bowl with a small whisk.

What to Use It On

Add it to your curries with beef, firm fleshed fish or chicken.
Use it in your marinades.
Great as a rub for grilled chicken or pork.
Sensational used in salad dressings.
Perfect for roasting vegetables like potatoes, pumpkin, and sweet potatoes.
Try using it to sauté green beans and cauliflower.
Add it to your next Dahl recipe.
Mix some into meatballs.

Tips and Questions

How Does Madras Curry Powder Differ From Regular Curry Powder?

You may be surprised to know that both do not have Indian origins but were created for western tastes.
While they have similar ingredients such as bright yellow turmeric, aromatic cumin and fenugreek, the Madras curry blend has more chilli in it, making it hotter with a deeper colour than your standard curry blend.

Madras Curry Powder vs Garam Masala

They both are added to dishes to give them an aromatic hit; however, madras is usually added at the beginning of cooking, while garam masala is added at the end to finish a dish.
They also differ in the types of spices that they use; masala has warming spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg, while madras has earthy spices with more heat, such as cumin, turmeric and chilli powder.

How Much Does It Make?

Our gorgeous blend makes a total of 27 teaspoons which is under half a cup of seasoning.

How to Store It & How Long Will It Keep?

Store your Madras curry in a tightly sealed glass container in a cool dark place in your pantry or spice drawer.
If stored as suggested, your curry madras blend should keep for approximately twelve weeks.

I Can't Find Cardamom Seeds Can I Use Pods Instead?

If you can only find cardamom pods then either split open the pods to remove the seeds.
Or use the pods whole grind them into a powder, then sift them as they will be stringy.
Then add the other toasted seeds to your grinder and blitz.

Dietary Information

Homemade spice blends mean that you get to skip out on all the artificial flavours, preservatives, and fillers you find in store-bought blends.
PLUS, you get to control the heat and make it as hot or mild as you like!
It is suitable for all eating styles and contains 4kcals per teaspoon with net carbs of zero per serve!
^{(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate).}