Curry powder - homemade store cupboard basic

For as long as I've been making my own curry powder it has generally been based on the following which is out of Pat Chapman's Curry Club book. Seems a bit of a faff when you can buy ready made pastes and powders but this allows you to a) go and find your nearest Asian store and have a good nosey around all the other weird stuff and b) add in or takeaway spices. I quite often add in a teaspoon or 2 of fennel seeds which are good for seafood and game or crank up the chilli powder. 

60g coriander seeds

30g cumin seeds

20g fenugreek seeds

25g gram flour, can substitute plain but useful to have some gram about, once or twice a year/decade!

20g paprika

20g turmeric 

20g garam masala (or a little ground clove, pinch, seeds from 3 or 4 cardamom pods and a small piece of cinnamon)

5g dried curry leaves

5g asafoetida 

5g chilli powder, more if you want it punchy or none if  using chilli in your favourite recipe

5g yellow mustard powder, out of a tin of Colmans

5g whole black pepper

You can roast the first 3 ingredients but the benefits probably wear off after a few weeks or months of storage. The whole spices/seeds then need grinding. 

This is where it is useful to have a spice grinder or a coffee grinder donated to the curry cause. Coffee will never be the same afterwards!  Can use some serious elbow power in a pestle and mortar but these little electric ones are cheap and perfect. Normal food blender is a bit big or handheld is a bit crazy sending curry shrapnel everywhere.

Once blitzed to a powder, don't over blend as it can get very hot and even burn, put in an airtight container mixed in with the other bits and bobs.  Always fry off the powder in oil with some ingredients as just adding straight in to sauce can give a powdery coarse texture.