Sri Lankan roasted curry powder
Vegetarian
බැදපු තුනපහ · bædapu tunapaha
Coriander, cumin and fennel roasted with cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, curry leaves and a spoonful of raw rice until deep brown, then ground fine. Dark, toasty and fragrant, it is the backbone of Sri Lankan meat curries such as black pork curry.
Sri Lankan roasted curry powder is a Sri Lankan condiment, ready in about 35 minutes and made with coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds. It serves 34 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Rest
- 10 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Serves
- 34
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 10
Method
Step 1
Heat a heavy dry pan over medium-low heat. Roast the raw rice and fenugreek (opens in a new tab), stirring, for 3–4 minutes until the rice is golden brown and the fenugreek pale gold. Tip onto a plate.
- 4 min
- medium-low heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
Step 2
Add the coriander and peppercorns (opens in a new tab) and roast, stirring constantly, for 6–8 minutes. They will go from tan to a deep chocolate-brown and smell toasty — darker than for an Indian masala, but stop before any seeds look black or smell acrid.
- 8 min
- medium-low heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
Step 3
Add the cumin and fennel and roast for another 3–4 minutes until they are the same deep brown.
- 4 min
- medium-low heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
Step 4
Add the cinnamon, cardamom (opens in a new tab), cloves (opens in a new tab) and curry leaves (opens in a new tab) for the last minute, until the leaves are crisp and crumble between your fingers.
- 1 min
- medium-low heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
Step 5
Tip the spices onto a cold plate and let them cool completely, about 10 minutes, before grinding — warm spices release oil and turn pasty in the grinder.
- 10 min
Step 6
Grind everything, including the cardamom (opens in a new tab) husks, to a fine powder in a spice grinder in batches. Sift and regrind the coarse remainder. The powder should be dark brown, not black.
How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels
About this dish
- Origin
- Sri Lanka · Well documentedSri Lankan households make two curry powders: an unroasted one for vegetables and this dark-roasted one for meat and fish. Ratios vary by family; this is a typical home proportion.More food from Sri Lanka
- Dish
- Condiments, chutneys & relishes
- Cooking method
- Toasted
- Taste
- aromatic / warmly spiced, smoky, earthy, nutty
- Diet
- Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-sodium · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Budget-friendly · Batch cooking
- Cook more with
- Coriander seeds · Cumin seeds · Fennel seeds · Curry leaves · Long-grain white rice · Fenugreek
- Techniques
- Roasting · Toasting · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Dry grinding
Allergens
None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
10 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 3 g · recipe makes 34
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 12%
- Carbohydrate 54%
- Fat 34%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 10 kcal | 332 kcal |
| Protein | 0.4 g | 13.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 1.8 g | 59.2 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 0.8 g | 27.3 g |
| Sugars | — | — |
| Added sugars | 0 g | 0 g |
| Fibre | 1 g | 31.9 g |
| Fat | 0.5 g | 15.4 g |
| Saturated fat | 0 g | 1.1 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 2 mg | 68 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0 g | 0.2 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 39 mg
- Calcium
- 22 mg
- Iron
- 0.8 mg
- Magnesium
- 9 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 0 µg
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- —
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): curry leaves.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Roast low and slow; the dark colour must come from patience, not high heat.
- Add chilli powder separately in each curry so the same powder works for mild and fiery dishes.
Common mistakes
- Rushing the roast on high heat — the outsides burn while the seeds stay raw inside, giving a bitter, harsh powder.
Serve with
- The essential spice for Sri Lankan black pork curry, chicken curry, beef curry, fish ambul thiyal and lamprais.
Food safety
- Store in a clean, completely dry, airtight jar away from light and heat; always use a dry spoon. Ground blends lose aroma steadily after the first month.
Storage
- Airtight jar in a cool, dark place for up to 3 months.
Variations
- Unroasted curry powder (amu thuna paha): Grind the same seeds raw or barely warmed for a lighter powder used in vegetable and lentil curries.
- Jaffna curry powder: Northern Tamil version with a large share of dried red chillies roasted in, very hot and red.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
About this masala
- Type
- Dry spice blend
- Texture
- Fine powder
- One batch makes
- about 102 g
- Keeps
- about 3 months
- Store
- Airtight jar, cool dark cupboard
- Recipe
- Traditional
Sri Lanka. Makes Sri Lankan roasted curry powder, the ingredient our dish recipes list. All masalas
Used in
Amounts are each dish’s own quantity, for the servings it is written for. “Make enough” opens this recipe scaled for that dish.
- Sri Lankan black pork curryMade fresh in the recipe (dry-roasted very dark with raw rice and ground in step 1) · 42 g for 4 servingsMake enough
- Lamprais2 tbsp · 12 g for 6 parcelsMake enough
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- Long-grain white rice, raw, uncooked; dry-roast first until golden brown10 g
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
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