A complex blend of toasted whole spices bring all the flavour and aroma associated with the intoxicating cuisine of Sri Lanka. Learn how easy it is to make your own fragrant Sri Lankan curry powder at home.
Measure out all the ingredients first as we'll be adding all to a hot pan at the same time.
In a dry pan over a medium/high heat, add the cinnamon and chillies and stir around the pan. The chillies may puff up a little as they toast. Toast for 1 minute.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and stir to combine. After a while they'll start to dance around the pan. Let them toast for 1 minute then turn off the heat and tip the spices into a bowl. Let them cool slightly for a few minutes.
Using a spice/coffee grinder, grind the spices in batches into a fine powder. Complete with all the toasted spices.
Let it cool completely and then tip into a jar or sealable container.
Notes
Use this curry powder wherever a Sri Lankan curry recipe asks for 'curry powder'.
Generally speaking, you can also replace the total amount of ground spices in any Sri Lankan (or South Indian) curry recipe for the same amount of this curry powder.
Make your curry hotter by either replacing Kashmiri chillies for a hotter dried chilli, or by stirring in a hot curry powder or cayenne pepper to the finished blended curry.
Storage
This curry powder should be stored in a cool, dark cupboard in an airtight container. It will be at its best for up to 6 months. This recipe will yield at least 4 curries.