I decided to share my first recipe post on this blog again, particularly for the Fiesta Friday group. Curry powder blend is usually made at homes in Sri Lanka and therefore differs from house to house in the spices used and the blend ratio. The blend also differs for the type of curry it is used for. Today, I will share my mother’s special blend for vegetarian curries. Interested non-vegetarians can check out these earlier posts for the blend for fish dishes and meat dishes.
The south Indian musician that I am featuring today is P.Unnikrishnan. Trained in Carnatic music, Unnikrishnan has released several Carnatic music and devotional song albums. He was introduced to the playback singing world of South Indian movies by A.R.Rahman in 1994 and his debut song in the movie ‘Kadhalan’ won him a national award. He also has started dabbling in experimental music.
The first clip is an excerpt from an A.R.Rahman concert where Unnikrishnan sings his award-winning debut song.
The second clip is his lovely rendition of a famous poem by renowned 19th century Tamil poet Bharathiyar.
The last clip is of Unnikrishnan’s daughter, Uthara, who sings a short excerpt of one of her father’s famous movie songs. Uthara recently made her debut in the movie playback singing world at the age of 9 with the release of her first song ‘Azhagu.’
Hope you enjoyed Unnikrishnan’s voice! Do try out my mother’s recipe for her curry powder blend!
Amma's Special Blend Curry Powder
Ingredients
- Dried red chillies – 100g
- Coriander seeds(Kothumalli) – 100g
- Cumin Seeds (Sinna seeraham/ Suduru) – 50g
- Fennel seeds (Perunjhseeraham/ Maduru) – 50g
- Fenugreek seeds (Venthayam) – 25g
- Pepper – 10g
- Curry leaves – ½ cup
- Turmeric – 1 piece or 1 tsp (if powder is used)
- Cinnamon – 2” piece
- Cardamom – 4 or 5
- Cloves – 4 or 5
Method
- Chop up the dried red chillies and dry roast them. Keep aside.
- Dry roast the curry leaves separately and keep aside.
- Dry roast the balance ingredients together.
- Combine all and grind them together to make the curry powder mix. Store in an airtight container to use when needed.
- The ingredients can be scaled up for the desired quantity.
Recipe source: Raji Thillainathan.
A Taste of Sri Lankan cuisine 
Unnikrishan s amazing singer and recently I heard uthra’s song from saivam movie and loved her voice. Flavorful powder
Hi Vidya, I agree that Unnikrishnan’s voice is beautiful. I love the song ‘Azhagu’ sung by his daughter, Uthara. Have a lovely weekend! 🙂
Lovely, I’ll be saving this one to make x
Great 🙂 I am sure you will enjoy the blend. Have a lovely weekend, Elaine!
Thank you x
Thank you for sharing your special blend curry powder and the videos, Ahila 🙂 Have a great weekend!
Thank you, Linda 🙂 You too have a great weekend!
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Ahila you just made my day by sharing this awesomeeeeeeeeee song….just soo refreshing…and thanx for the curry powder recipe as well….Happy FF..
Glad to hear that you enjoyed the music, Chitra 🙂 Happy fiesta and a lovely weekend!
Thanx Ahila. ……you tooooo have a lovely weekend. ..
Welcome to Fiesta Friday Ahila! This is such a wonderful combination of flavors that you’ve brought to our table today! What makes this so special is that it’s your mother’s blend…so I know that it’s going to be a winner! I’m just not familiar with fenugreek seeds…but will look them up! Thank you so much for sharing the lovely videos… such beautiful voices! Beautiful music. Thank you so much for sharing this with all of us today… Wonderful post! ❤
Thank you, Prudy 🙂 Delighted that you enjoyed the music and hope you do try out my mother’s curry powder blend. Have a lovely weekend!
Oh, I do love the music you share with us – that little girl is quite something and her father has such a melodic voice – beautiful. Thanks for the sharing your mother’s veg curry powder recipe I can almost smell it from here! Happy FF!
Thank you, Selma! Happy that you enjoyed the music 🙂 My mother’s curry powder does have a lovely aroma. I usually prefer to take her blend with me if I am away from home for months. Happy Fiesta and have a lovely weekend!
This is such a beautiful post! You shared with us one of your mother’s recipe and made me discover a beautiful voice! I could not ask for more, thank you !
Thank you, Catherine 🙂 Glad you enjoyed both the recipe and the music! Have a lovely weekend!
Thanks so much for this gorgeous curry powder recipe, and the music too! I love making my own curry powders and can’t wait to try yours! 🙂
Thank you, Julianna 🙂 Hope you enjoy this curry powder blend as well!
I love your combination of recipe and music Ahila! A lovely way to welcome the weekend 😀
Thank you, Naina 🙂 A good weekend to you!
Thanks for sharing those videos, he has a great voice. And I can almost smell that curry powder, think I might have to have some kind of curry for dinner tonight now!
Nice to hear that you enjoyed Unnikrishnan’s voice, Michelle 🙂 and hope you enjoy your curry this evening!
thanks for sharing this curry powder blend Ahila. It is amazing how much the slight differences in proportions of the spices can render a completely different flavor to a curry. So I shall definitely try this one sometime!
Yes, Indu, I agree… ever since I began looking into what went into making a dish, I have been interested in how the combination of spices and the proportions significantly affect its taste. Hope you enjoy making and trying out this curry powder! 🙂
It wasn’t until an Indian grocery store opened in my neighbourhood that I realised that I didn’t have to rely on commercially produced curry, but could create my own blend. Thanks for adding to my collection, Ahila.
Ahila, thank you for sharing your mother’s special recipe. I’ve always been amazed at the number of ingredients and the specific ratios that are used in curry blends. They are also designed for certain types of food.
You are welcome, Gerard 🙂 I must say that besides baking, the other aspect of cooking that I enjoy is mixing and experimenting with spices… it is quite fascinating.