Madras Curry Powder Recipe

Learn How to make Madras Curry Powder Recipe from the best whole spices & enjoy cooking the restaurant style Madras dishes at home. This homemade Madras Curry Powder is the secret spice blend that makes any Madras dish bowl licking good. It's Gluten free & Vegan.

Recipe Video

Homemade Madras Curry Powder

Madras Curries - the heart-throb of every British Restaurant is made with Madras curry powder. The spectacular taste of any Madras dish lies in this special blend of spices.

If you enjoy Indian food & if you have a certain amount of weakness towards Madras recipes like Chicken Madras, Lamb Madras or vegetable Madras than don't miss today's authentic Madras Curry Powder recipe ever!

This homemade Madras Curry Powder recipe is all that you need to cook those signature restaurant style Madras dishes at home.

And when it's homemade you know it'll pack the best flavor.

Homemade masalas taste the best & once you begin making your own masalas at home you'll certainly refrain from buying it anywhere else.

It's a fun DIY, tastes much more superior than their store bought counterparts & saves some real money too!

Madras Curry Powder is the only secret spice that makes any Madras recipe finger licking good.

And you can save yourself several trips to the Indian restaurants easily with this homemade Madras curry powder recipe.

It's fragrant, delicious, earthy, has a subtle chili kick & adds the soul to any Madras dish.

Today's recipe gives this homemade masala blend the right amount of balance without making any particular spice taste overwhelming or intense.

It's a great way to kickstart a DIY journey because the end result is quiet rewarding.

I would recommend to begin making small batches first & when you are confident enough you can make big batches & store for later use.

It makes excellent gift too.

Now that you know how to make Madras Curry Powder at home save yourself the trip to the best Indian restaurant in town instead cook your favorite curries at home.

You may even season your regular vegetable stir fries with this Madras Curry powder.

What is Madras Curry Powder?

Madras Curry Powder is an excellent blend of spices or Masalas that has an earthy, balanced taste with mild kick from chilies.

It is easily made at home by selecting the best whole spices, mildly roasting them & than grinding them to a powder consistency.

Madras curry powder is the signature spice blend that's used to cook the Madras dishes that are very popular in the British restaurants.

It is typical to Madras dishes & to the land of UK. Nothing of that sort exists in India.

What does Madras Curry Powder contain?

Today's recipe is made up of 10 ingredients. You can easily get all the ingredients from any Indian grocery store. The names in both English & Hindi are as follows:

1. Green Cardamom or elaichi.
2. Black whole peppercorns or Kalimirch.
3. Black mustard seeds or Rai, Sarson.
4. Cumin seeds or Jeera.
5. Fenugreek seeds or Methi.
6. Coriander Seeds or Dhaniya.
7. Cinnamon or Dalchini.
8. Turmeric powder or Haldi.
9. Curry Leaves powder or curry patta powder (we used ready made but you can easily make it at home).
10. Whole dry Kashmiri Red Chilis or Sukha Kashmiri Mirch.

Pro Tip: You can make Curry leaves powder easily at home. Dry roast the curry leaves until fragrant, the leaves curl up & look roasted. Grind them into a fine powder. Or you can grind the roasted leaves with the other ingredients.

7 Tips not to miss

The below tips are super handy & I learned them with experience.

Today I am super elated to share the same with you so that you can make the most fragrant & authentic version of this homemade masala.

1. Pick the best whole spices: If the spices are sold loose at the store get a good whiff & than buy. The fresh & the best are always fragrant. If buying packaged spices check for the manufacturing date.
2. Don't miss dry roasting the Whole spices: This is super important to bring out the flavors of the whole spices & they are easy to grind too.
3. Medium low heat is the key here: Keep the heat medium-low while dry roasting the spices. The low heat will help in evenly roasting the spices.
4. Stir continuously: Don't miss this or else a few spices might get roasted more!
5. Roast not more than 2-3 mins: You need to be extra careful while dry roasting the spices. If they become burnt you cannot use them. Burnt or over roasted spices will remarkably change the flavors of the Madras curry powder & it might also leave a strong bitter taste.
6. Use a good quality spice grinder: A coffee grinder works great too.
7. Make small batches & store right away: For best flavors make small batches & store in an air tight container right away. Do not leave the freshly ground masala powder open for a long time. It'll loose potency.

Storing tips

For preserving the best flavors of todays homemade masala powder you need to store it correctly. This is what you can do:

1. Store the ground Madras Curry Powder right away. The fragrance will begin to fade if you keep open for a long time.
2. After grinding the whole dry roasted spices preserve them in a clean, dry & airtight container.
3. Store in a dark place. The back of the kitchen shelves works best.
4. Want to store beyond 2 months? Do this: Mix in salt to the ground Masala & store in the fridge.

How long does Madras Curry Powder last?

The Madras curry powder lasts with full potency until 2 months when you store it properly following all the above methods shared in the "Storing tips".

The homemade masalas lose the flavors & become mild with passing time. And today's Madras Curry powder recipe is no different.

Though few people do prefer making large batches & store them for long 6 months.

But, we love enjoying the best flavors of the homemade masalas every single time & thus small batches works for us.

It's a personal preference, choose what you like 🙂

If you choose to store it beyond 2 months fridge is the best place to store.

Pro Tip: Ground spices tastes best until 2 months. After that the fragrance begins to fade & the flavor begins to change or deteriorate. For BEST flavors store them not more than 2 months!

Is Madras Curry Powder hot?

Madras Curry Powder is not super hot, it's mildly hot.

The heat in the recipe comes from the use of peppercorns whereas the whole dry red chilies are Kashmiri.

They provide a gorgeous red color to the masala powder & a very distinct flavor but minus the heat.

Where to buy Madras Curry Powder?

You can buy Madras Curry Powder from your regular supermarket, the ones that carry Asian products.

You can spot it in the Indian or Asian section of your local supermarket.

Here, in the USA almost every American supermarkets stock on Madras Curry Powder.

Is Madras Curry Powder gluten free?

Yes, Madras Curry powder is gluten free because there are no additives in the homemade version.

But commercial masala powder might contain gluten. It's better to check with the manufacturer if you decide to purchase it from any store.

How much Madras Curry Powder to use?

It actually depends on the recipe.

I prefer to use about 3-4 tablespoons homemade Madras Curry Powder to cook Chicken Madras or Lamb Madras for about 4 people.

What is Madras Curry Powder used for?

Madras Curry Powder is typically used to cook the Madras Curry dishes in the famous curry houses in the UK & USA.

You can use it to cook:

1. Chicken Madras
2. Lamb Madras
3. Dal Madras
4. Vegetable Madras
5. You can even throw this Madras curry powder while sautéing your veggies. It works as a flavorful seasoning.

When to use Madras Curry Powder?

While cooking any Madras curry recipes at home add the Madras Curry Powder before adding the main ingredient like the protein or vegetable & fry well until oil begins to leave the sides of the pan.

You can use Madras Curry powder to cook the British Curry House style delicious Madras Curry recipes at home.

How to make Madras Curry Powder? Step by Step

Steps in words below pictures

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