Arnott's Curry Powder

Arnott's Curry Powder is a traditional British recipe, based on Eliza Acton's recipe of 1845, for a classic Victorian blend of spices that was used as the base for the curries of the day. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Arnott's Curry Powder.

prep time

15 minutes

cook time

15 minutes

Total Time:

30 minutes

Makes:

1 jar

Rating:

Tags : Curry Vegetarian Recipes Spice Recipes British Recipes

This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Eliza Acton's 1845 volume Modern Cookery, the first classic Victorian cookbook.

Original Recipe

MR. ARNOTT'S CURRIE-POWDER

                     Turmeric, eight ounces.*
                    Coriander seed, four ounces.
                    Cumin seed, two ounces.
                    Fnugreek seed, two ounces.
                    Cayenne, half an ounce. (More or less of this last to the taste.)

     Let the seeds be of the finest quality. Dry them well, pound, and sift them separately through a lawn sieve, then weigh, and mix them in the above proportions. This is an exceedingly agreeable and aromatic powder, when all the ingredients are perfectly fresh and good, but the preparing is a rather troublesome process. Mr. Arnott recommends that when it is considered so, a "high-caste" chemist should be applied to for it.

Modern Redaction

This is what we would consider a classic Victorian curry powder and apart from the addition of fenugreek leaves and black pepper it's pretty much the base for modern curry powders as well. As Eliza Acton herself comments elsewhere, the amount of turmeric is probably too high, so I have reduced it by half from the original. For myself, I would also add the seeds from half a dozen green cardamom pods to this, but as it's not in the original I have left them out.

Ingredients:

125g ground turmeric
120g coriander seeds
60g cumin seeds
60g fenugreek seeds
30g cayenne pepper (add more or less to suit your desired level of heat)

Method:

Combine the whole seeds in a coffee grinder and render to a fine powder. Mix with the turmeric and store in a jar in a cool, dry place (turmeric is photo-sensitive so should be stored out of the light).

Find more Eliza Acton Recipes Here and more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here.