Sri Lanka curry powder
Instructions:
- The spices for Sri Lankan curries are dark roasted until about the colour of coffee. Because the spice seeds are of varying sizes they must be roasted separately, otherwise some would burn in the time it takes to cook the others.
- 90 g (3 oz) coriander seeds;
- 45 g (1½ oz) cumin seeds;
- 30 g (1 oz) fennel seeds;
- 15 g (½ oz) fenugreek seeds;
- 1 cinnamon quill, about 5 cm (2 in);
- 1 teaspoon whole cloves;
- 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds;
- 2 tablespoons dried curry leaves;
- 2 teaspoons chilli powder;
- 1 tablespoon ground rice.
- Roast each of the spice seeds separately in a dry pan over low heat, stirring constantly until each one becomes a fairly dark brown. Do not let them burn. Put this mixture into a blender with the cinnamon, broken into pieces, the cloves, cardamom seeds and curry leaves. Blend on high speed to make a fine powder. If your blender is not powerful enough, use a sturdy mortar and pestle to achieve the results. Combine with the chilli powder and ground rice and store in an airtight jar. Use 2 level tablespoons of powder to each 500 g (1 lb) main ingredient.