Curry Powders & Pastes - Eat Drink Love

Last Updated on 14 July 2025 by Adrienne

I list of often used curry recipes.

Table of Contents

Jamaican Curry Powder

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

2½ measures turmeric, ground
1 measure coriander seeds, ground
1 measure cumin seeds, ground
2 measures all spice, ground
2 measures ginger, ground
2 measures yellow mustard seeds
2 measures fenugreek seeds, ground
½ measure black pepper, ground
¼ measure clove, ground
⅓ measure nutmeg, ground
½ measure cayenne pepper, ground

If you are using whole spices, roast them slightly for 2-3 minutes and then it process in a spice grinder. Put in a resealable container.

Red Thai Curry Paste

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

16 dried chillis, 12 of them de-seeded. All of them cut into 1cm pieces.
2 pieces of lemongrass, outer skin removed and cut into 1cm pieces.
2cm piece of galangal, peeled and grated
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp shrimp paste
1 tsp coriander seeds, roasted
1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted
1 Tbsp chopped coriander stem and roots (make sure it is properly cleaned and all the sand is removed)
½ red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp lime zest, grated
60ml reserved chilli water

Instructions

Place the chillis in a bowl and cover with about 250ml boiling water. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes, then remove the chillis and set it aside. Keep the water.

Wrap the shrimp paste in a (single layer) foil parcel and dry fry in a pan, 2 minutes on a side.

Mix the coriander and cumin seeds and fry it in a dry pan until you can smell the spices. Be careful not to burn the spices. Place the coriander and cumin in a pestle and mortar and grind the spices to a powder.

Put all the ingredients, including about 75ml of the chilli soaked water, into a blender. Blend until you get a smooth paste.

Green Thai Curry Paste

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

4 green cayenne chillis, seeds shaken out and cut into 1cm pieces
6 Thai green chillis, cut into 1cm pieces
½ red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 pieces of lemongrass, outer skin removed and cut into 1cm pieces
2cm piece of galangal, peeled and grated
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2½ Tbsp shrimp paste
2 tsp lime zest
7.5 ml coriander seeds
7.5 ml cumin seeds
¼ tsp white pepper
1cm fresh turmeric, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped coriander root and stem (make sure all the sand is removed)
½ cup coriander leaves, loosely packed
3 Tbsp water

Instructions

Wrap the shrimp paste in a (single layer) foil parcel and dry fry in a pan, 2 minutes on a side.

Put all the ingredients, including about 75ml of the chilli soaked water, into a blender. Blend until you get a smooth paste.

Sri Lankan Curry Powder

The original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

4 Tbsp coriander seeds
3 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 Tbsp black peppercorns
2 Tbsp basmati rice
1 Tbsp cardamom pods (only use the seeds – 12 to 15 pods)
3 tsp whole cloves (10 to 15 cloves)
2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds (heaped)

Notes

You can add some curry leaves if you want to or just add the curry leaves separately in the curry.

Use less cloves if you find it too overpowering.

Instructions

Fry the rice in a dry pan over medium heat until it changes colour.

Turn down the heat to low and add the rest of the spices.

Roast for another 3 – 5 minutes until the spices changes colour and becomes fragrant.

Be careful not to burn the spices.

Let the spices cool down and use a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder to grind the mix into a powder.

Mauritian Curry Powder

This is a multi-purpose curry, but it is especially used with fish in Cari Poisson.

Ingredients

4 Tbsp coriander seeds
3 Tbsp cumin seeds
½ Tbsp black peppercorns
½Tbsp fennel seeds
4 cloves
5cm stick cinnamon
4 cardamom pods
2 Tbsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp black mustard seeds
2 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
7 dried chillis (optional)

Instructions

Dry fry all the ingredients, except the turmeric, in a pan until the spices turn colour and become fragrant.

Be careful not to burn the spices as it will make the curry powder bitter.

Let it cool down and the grind the spices, with the turmeric, in a spice grinder until it turns into fine powder.

Notes

The dried chillis are optional, but I prefer some spiciness.

Some recipes will add curry leaves to the powder. I prefer to add them directly in the dish.