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When I first began experimenting in the kitchen as a kid, the first thing I took note of when opening the spice cabinet was a large container of an earthy yellow powder, often spilled and staining the shelves. This seasoning blend was very familiar to me, as it was something I regularly watched my mom generously sprinkle into her spicy chicken and coconut shrimp stews.
Many people take pride in using curry powder in their cuisines—from my Haitian family sprinkling it in chicken dishes to my Bermudian side’s inclusion of the blend in green banana and shrimp stew. The pulverized mixture of ground spices, aromatics, and sometimes thickening agents is not only a staple in Caribbean American households like my own but also across Asian, African, and Latin American cuisines.
To truly uncover the myriad ways in which many South American, Caribbean, African, South Asian, and East Asian communities use curry powder in their dishes, I spoke with several food experts, including Devan Rajkumar, a Guyanese cookbook author; Leela Punyaratabandhu, a Thai-American cookbook author; Michelle and Suzanne Rousseau, Jamaican cookbook authors; Pailin Chongchitnant, a Thai cookbook author; Rie McClenny, a Japanese cookbook author; Romy Gill, a British-Indian cookbook author; and Tomi Makanjuola, a British-Nigerian cookbook author. We discussed how this seasoning blend appears in modern Guyanese, Thai, Jamaican, Japanese, Indian, and Nigerian cooking.
Curry Powder Controversy
Before we dive into the uses of curry powder in different cuisines, it's worthwhile to understand a bit about the complicated history of powder and its connection to colonialism. In An Invitation to Indian Cooking, cookbook author Madhur Jaffrey calls the term “curry” degrading. She says that when it comes to curry powder, “the British are responsible for its creation.” By the 1850s, simultaneously while British colonizers continued to ravage India’s thriving culture and economy, British cookbooks started relying on a spoonful of curry powder in many of their dishes, according to Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerers, Lizzie Collingham. This pulverized turmeric-heavy mix, which included spices like coriander seed, cumin, fenugreek, and cayenne, rose as a means to reduce India’s vast cuisines—yep, we’re talking the subcontinent’s regional flavors and cooking techniques—into a sprinkable all-purpose substance.
Curry powder's connection to colonialism and the subjugation of Black, Brown, and Asian people has led many, including culinary experts like Jaffrey and Amirah Islam, a Top Chef Amateurs winner and food historian, to ask whether curry powder still serves a purpose or deserves a place in modern kitchens. But for many communities, it’s a little more complicated than just dumping curry powders for good—especially now that countless cooks from so many different countries use the spice blend in their cuisines. Today, you’ll find Trinidadian people sprinkling the yellow stuff in channa and Jamaicans folding the turmeric-heavy mixture in suet doughs for patties. You may also find it showing up in Thai dishes like curry puffs or Japanese staples like fried rice.
What Is Curry Powder?
“The Western concept of curry powder came from the British who took the idea of ‘spice blends’ they discovered during the colonization of India, and created a blend of their own,” says Chongchitnant, author of Hot Thai Kitchen: Demystifying Thai Cuisine with Authentic Recipes to Make at Home. In the 19th century, British colonization continued to ravage India’s thriving culture and economy. As a result, these degrading systems forced many people from the subcontinent to leave their homes and seek indentured labor in unfamiliar parts of the world, which were simultaneously facing their own levels of white imperial control. During these periods of forced migration, English-produced canisters filled with curry powder infiltrated the markets of many African, Caribbean, South American, and Asian countries, to name a few.
However, over the years, this blend has transcended its bleak origins and usage, and various iterations of curry powder show up in cuisines around the globe. Though formulas vary, the blend typically includes ground spices like turmeric and coriander, aromatics like dehydrated garlic and onion, and sometimes thickening agents like rice or chickpea flour, which promote a hearty texture in stews. “[I grew] up with a spoon of curry in my mouth my whole life and eating it across all our foods,” says Rajkumar, author of Mad Love: Big Flavors Made to Share, from South Asia to the West Indies. He points out a few ingredients that historically are always present in the mixture, “I would say turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, mustard, and black pepper [are typically found in the spice blend].”
Types of Curry Powder and Where to Find Them
Curry powder comes in a range of shades, from bright yellow to deep orange and rich brown, explains Suzanne Rousseau, the co-author of Provisions: The Roots of Caribbean Cooking. Its flavors vary widely—some are so spicy that you only need a small spoonful, while others are delicately floral, with aromas that fill the air as soon as you open the package. You can find curry powder in stores and online sold in cartons, cans, jars, or bags (particularly in Caribbean, East Asian, Southeast Asian, South American, and West African markets). Below is a small sampling—the list could go on and on since there are so many types!—of curry powder brands from different regions, along with their flavor profiles and ingredient makeup. “But keep in mind that every brand has a different recipe,” Chongchitnant points out, so you’ll want to sample a few to find the best one for each dish that you’re planning to make.
Asian Curry Powders
Hand No. 1 Curry Powder
Ingredients: Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Wheat Flour, Salt, Cumin, Fennel, Chile, Black Pepper, Mustard Seed
Flavor profile: Earthy
Waugh’s Curry Powder
Ingredients: Coriander, Cumin, Turmeric, Fenugreek, Mustard Seeds, Black Pepper, Red Chili Powder, Cinnamon, Cardamom, Cloves
Flavor profile: Citrusy, floral, earthy
S&B Curry Powder
Ingredients: Turmeric, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Orange Peel, Black Pepper, Chili Pepper, Cinnamon, Fennel, Ginger, Star Anise, Thyme, Bay Leaves, Cloves, Nutmeg, Sage, Cardamom
Flavor profile: Earthy, subtly spicy
African Curry Powders
Lion Curry Powder
Ingredients: Coriander, Turmeric, Fenugreek, Mustard, Rice Flour, Cumin, Salt, Ginger, Cayenne Pepper, Nutmeg, Fennel
Flavor profile: Citrusy, earthy, subtly spicy
Ducros Curry Powder
Ingredients: Turmeric, Coriander, Cumin, Fenugreek, Black Pepper, Ginger, Mustard, Fennel, Allspice, Red Pepper
Flavor profile: Floral, earthy
South American and Caribbean Curry Powders
Lalah’s Madras Curry Powder
Ingredients: Coriander, Chiles, Black Pepper, Cumin, Mustard Powder, Fenugreek, Garlic, Turmeric, Salt, Bengal Gram Farina
Flavor profile: Earthy, citrusy, subtly spicy
Chief Curry Powder
Ingredients: Coriander, Turmeric, Cumin, Fenugreek, Salt, Fennel, Chiles
Flavor profile: Citrusy, earthy, floral
Chief Hot and Spicy Curry Powder
Ingredients: Coriander, Turmeric, Cumin, Fenugreek, Black Cumin, Star Anise, Chiles, Salt
Flavor profile: Citrusy, floral, spicy
Baron Curry Powder
Ingredients: Coriander, Turmeric, Fennel, White Cumin, Fenugreek, Masala, Corn Starch, Mustard Powder, Black Cumin, Chilli Pepper, Garlic, Onion, Ginger
Flavor profile: Citrusy, subtly sweet, floral, spicy, earthy
Guyanese Pride Curry Powder
Ingredients: Coriander, Turmeric, Cumin, Poppyseeds, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Chiles, Ginger, Chickpea Flour, Salt, Cardamom
Flavor profile: Citrus, earthy, spicy
Maywah Curry Powder
Ingredients: Coriander, Chiles, Black Pepper, Cumin, Mustard, Fenugreek, Garlic, Turmeric, Salt, Bengal Gram Farina
Flavor profile: Citrusy, earthy
Grace Mild Curry Powder
Ingredients: Turmeric, Fenugreek, Coriander, Cumin, Star Anise, Pepper, Pimento, Cloves, Garlic
Flavor profile: Subtly sweet, floral, earthy
Grace Hot Curry Powder
Ingredients: Turmeric, Salt, Dehydrated Garlic, Dehydrated Onion, Red Pepper, Cumin, Coriander, Allspice, Fenugreek
Flavor profile: Subtly sweet, floral, earthy, spicy
Island Spice Curry Powder
Ingredients: Turmeric, Black Pepper, Coriander, Fenugreek, Cumin, Red Pepper, Ginger, Cloves
Flavor profile: Citrusy, floral, earthy, spicy
How to Store Curry Powder
Whether you’ve returned from a trip abroad or just from your local specialty spice shop and finally got your hands on a very special curry powder, you might feel tempted to use it sparingly over a few years. However, Rajkumar recommends using it before its freshness diminishes. He explains that spice blends like curry powder can lose flavor over time, so storing it in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry spot will extend its shelf life and keep its aromas potent. We recommend using ground spices within a year of purchasing. Punyaratabandhu, author of Bangkok: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Thailand, notes you can keep your curry powder in the freezer to help maintain its freshness—just be sure it's tightly sealed to prevent it from absorbing moisture and odors.
How to Cook With Curry Powder
Below are a few examples of how chefs and food experts—representing Guyana, Thailand, Jamaica, Japan, India, and Nigeria—incorporate curry powder into their dishes.
Curry Powder in Jamaican Dishes
To finesse a rich, aromatic Jamaican curry, a generous amount of curry powder is necessary, whether braising chicken, goat, fish, conch, chickpeas, or an Ital stew with pumpkin and plantains. The spice blend began appearing on the island in the 19th century, when Indian indentured laborers migrated to Jamaica. The Jamaican-born Rousseau sisters, authors of Caribbean Potluck: Modern Recipes from Our Family Kitchen, explain that cooks on the island often use seasoning brands like Grace Hot Curry Powder as a marinade. Suzanne notes that you can let your protein sit in this spice blend for hours, or even overnight, before browning and stewing it with vegetables, aromatics, and coconut milk. This method allows for ingredients like oxtail or goat to achieve better moisture retention and come out tender and juicy.
Michelle points out that curry powder is also a key ingredient in cultural gems like Jamaican patties, in which the seasoning gets woven into the pastry’s buttery crust before being stuffed with fillings like curry chicken or lobster. And if you visit a roadside seafood restaurant in Jamaica, Michelle says, you’ll also find grilled shrimp or lobster marinated in the turmeric-based blend.
Curry Powder in Japanese Dishes
Curry powder was introduced to Japan in the 19th century during the Meiji Restoration, according to Curry: A Tale of Cooks and Conquerers by Lizzie Collingham, when the country was forced to sign trade treaties with Europe and the US. Today, McClenny, the author of Make It Japanese, often grinds her own spice blends from scratch—except when it comes to S&B Curry Powder, which she calls the “OG.” “When writing my cookbook, I wanted to include Japanese curry,” she says. “I tried to mimic the S&B curry powder, but I couldn’t.” She explains that the beauty of curry powder lies in its convenience. Not everyone has time to open up “30 jars of spices”—or source orange peels, which are included in the S&B brand’s mixture—to create a blend. Instead of grinding up a bunch of spices, “You can just sprinkle it,” she says. In Japanese cuisine, curry powder is essential in dishes like curry stew, curry udon, and curry bread. The Japanese-born cook details making curry bread, which involves wrapping dough around a scoop of Japanese curry stew, coating it in panko, and frying it until crispy. “And I remember my mom used [curry powder] for fried rice, just a sprinkle,” she says. “I’ve also seen people use it for potato salad.”
