Mild Homemade Curry Powder
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This mild homemade curry powder is a simple, customizable spice blend that’s perfect for people who want great flavor without too much heat. It’s made with common pantry spices, costs less than store-bought blends, and can be adjusted for sensitive palates—including kids.
This blend is intentionally mild, but you can easily increase the heat if you prefer a spicier curry powder.
Do you (like me) just like making your own homemade seasoning blends to save time and money (no more scurrying off to the store to get something you could just make yourself)?
For years, we used a certain brand's mild curry powder, and we loved it, but I decided to try my hand at making my own mild homemade curry powder recipe.
Well, one morning, with a bit of trepidation, I did a blind taste test using my family as the judges, and the result was 100% unanimous. My blend won over the ever-popular brand that we have been using for oh, about 6 years now.
And it is a LOT cheaper. Yippee!
This homemade curry powder is perfect for use in this Ground Beef Curry recipe (my most requested recipe), this Butternut Squash Pear Soup, and also in this Chicken Thigh Curry.
I recommend making your own Homemade Seasoning Blends for a number of reasons. But curry powder is an especially great blend to make on your own since you can control the amount of spicyness.
A lot of curries are just plain too spicy for children, but this curry powder recipe is not. But if need be, you can even cut the cayenne in half or leave it out altogether.
But I don't think you'll have to since we've never had a complaint about the “heat” of this blend, even from those who are a “neko jita”, which means cat's tongue, in Japanese.
In Japan, they call those with tongues that are sensitive to heat, “neko jita”. “Neko” means “cat” and jita come from “shita” for “tongue.”
Ingredients
- turmeric – loaded with anti-inflammatory qualities
- coriander
- cumin
- cinnamon
- ginger
- yellow mustard
- white pepper (hard to find. Omit if necessary.)
- fenugreek (organic ground mustard can be substituted if need be)
- cardamom
- cloves
- nutmeg
- cayenne pepper
- black pepper
How to Make Curry Powder Spicier
This blend is intentionally mild, but you can easily increase the heat to suit your taste
| Heat Level | Cayenne Amount |
|---|---|
| Mild | Use recipe as written |
| Medium | Add 1/8 teaspoon cayenne |
| Spicy | Add 1/4 teaspoon or more cayenne |
- Increase cayenne gradually to control the heat level.
- Add red pepper flakes for a sharper, more noticeable heat.
- Add black pepper for warmth without too much spiciness.
- For even more heat, add fresh chili when cooking dishes with this curry powder
Recipes That Use Curry Powder
Here are some recipes that you definitely should try using this curry powder in.
- Ground Beef Curry – our favorite recipe hands down
- Butternut Squash and Lentil Soup – hearty comfort in a bowl
- Indian Lentils – a super fast, delicious dish
- Butternut Squash Pear Soup – a lovely soup that can be made festive too
- Thai Green Curry Chicken Thighs – delightfully crispy outside and juicy inside
More Homemade Seasoning Blends You Will Love
- Taco Seasoning – much better than packets!
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Chaat Masala – a wonderful “goes-with-everything” Indian blend that was the results of a kitchen mistake.
- Vegetable Broth Powder – a great substitute for broth that has a special way to use it!
Mild Curry Powder
Ingredients
- 3 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons coriander
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 3/4 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper (hard to find. Omit if necessary)
- 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients (all are ground spices) in a bowl.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
I'd love to hear what you think about this curry powder!
I will try this since I just ran out of my favorite Penzey’s Sweet Curry powder and the other brand I can get locally is a bit too hot for my taste. I had been making a lot of Forbidden City Chicken (it also works with pork), which the fam voted as the new favorite way of having baked chicken. (it is like a cross between curry and teriyaki)
Hi Davette! So nice to hear from you again! I would LOVE that recipe – is it on your blog?
OMG! What good timing! I saw this recipe and thought “How weird is that? I am using curry powder in tonight’s dinner!” Then I went to my cupboard and I was out of curry! I wasn’t about to driving into town just to buy a bottle, and I didn’t want to change the menu. I didn’t have a few of the spices your recipe calls for so I decided to just experiment with what I have. It may not be curry, but it still smells good. At least dinner won’t be bland. Thank you for saving dinner!
Yea!!!
Thanks for the Great Recipe! It smells great and I’m sure it will taste just as great! 🙂
🙂
Thanks, I used this powder last night and I’m making more to stock up today! I’m new to cooking and it was so empowering to be able to make a concoction like this on my own! I used it to make the Pakistani Kima, and it was awesome
That’s great! I know what you mean about empowering! Try the Moroccan Carrots next – if you haven’t already :)!
So excited to start making my own spices. Did not know all these spices were made up of others (curry, allspice, chili powder)!
I *love* curry and recently noticed that some curry I’d bought bulk did not have nearly the same strong delicious smell that I love, and now reading your post about this being a more mild curry, I’m wondering if that’s what’s “wrong” with it. If that’s the case, how would you recommend making this stronger? The curry I love I have never noticed as being particularly hot – so don’t think it would be a matter of increasing the peppers.
I just poked around and it looks like hot red pepper and ginger are what makes it hotter – try that :).
Oh, I’m afraid I wasn’t clear. I don’t really want it *hot* – I just want it with a strong curry taste. :/
Did you try this one? I really like the flavor. It just is a nice curry flavor but not too hot for kiddos and others who don’t like the heat.
I still have not figured it out.
I see tsp for nine of the ingredients.
I see t for the rest.
Are they all for teaspoons?
Used to tsp for teaspoon
Tbs for tablespoon
Please help!
Cannot wrap my old brain around this :o)
Hi Amy. “t” is the same as tsp – but I have changed it to make it all the same. Sorry about that! 🙂
I too could not figure out what the t meant until I got all the way to the bottom of this page and saw Danielle’s post. If there were T’s, then I would have guessed that t meant teaspoon and T meant tablespoon, but I didn’t see any T’s.
I just went back and made it more clear. There were small “t’s” there. 🙂
When you have the “t” for the measurements, what does it mean? Tablespoon or teaspoon? I’ve used your mix recipe before and wow it was good, just need to figure how to keep the “gravy” thick at the end of the cooking time.
t is for teaspoon and T is for Tbsp. Glad you like it! What gravy do you mean?
Nice fun to make curry. The beauty is having control over the curry. I like mine a little hotter, so in goes more cayenne. Also made the Pakistani Kima using ground turkey. Very tasty, especially with the Chat Masala. Thanks!
So glad you liked it :-). I was just over at a friend’s house who was cooking the Kima adapted for allergies (no tomatoes for their littlest one) and w/ mixed veggies instead of peas and potatoes. Not nearly as pretty but it sure smelled good :-)!
I featured you in this week’s JAQS “Made by ME” Linky Party Features 🙂
Thanks you so much for Linking!
Thank you for the feature!