1851 Curry Paste

When making Curried Chicken & Rice from the RMS Titanic, there was one ingredient that I debated whether to buy or to try and make myself: curry paste.

The original 1911 recipe calls for curry paste specifically, as opposed to curry powder and, although modern Thai curry pastes are available, I decided it would be more authentic to make my own Victorian-era, British curry paste, to go along with my Edwardian-era British curried chicken.

“Titanic” Curried Chicken & Rice

The basis for this recipe comes from Sir James Ranald Martin, a British military surgeon serving during the colonization of India. Something of a Victorian-era foodie, Sir James recorded a number of Indian recipes, including the a curry paste he referred to as, “An old Madras concoction.”

James Ranald Martin - Colonial Military Surgeon/Food Writer

Actress and food-writer Madhur Jeffrey actually comments on this recipe in her book, ‘From Curries to Kebabs: Recipes from the Indian Spice Trail’, stating, “I have no reason to doubt it is from Madras. The roasted coriander, peppercorns, split peas, and cumin attest to a southern heritage. But the paste itself is totally alien.”

Madras (today Chennai), 1921

Like many Indian spice blends of the time, it seems to have been appropriated and modified by the British, possibly for preservation purposes, possibly to adjust for Western palates.

Regardless of its authenticity to southern-Indian cuisine, Sir James’s curry paste is likely similar to curry pastes that were commercially available in the late 1800 and early 1900s, which is why I chose it for my Titanic Curried Chicken.

Yield: 8 - 10

Author: Loyd Mitchell

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1850's Curry Paste

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min

Victorian-era Curry Paste (to accompany Titanic's Curried Chicken & Rice)

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
• 2 tablespoons chana dal or split yellow peas
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1 tablespoon Cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons muscovado, or dark brown sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed or minced
• 4 ounces apple cider vinegar
• 6 tablespoons neutral oil (sunflower, canola; olive oil in a pinch; not something strong like sesame oil)

Instructions

1. Toast the whole spices and split peas in a frying pan on the stove until they darken slightly. You may want to toast the larger spices separately from the smaller ones, like the cumin seeds, if you're worried about burning the smaller seeds & spices.
2. Remove the spices from the heat and let them cool.
3. Once the spices are cooled, grind them with either a spice grinder, or mortar and pestle if you want to do things the hard way.
4. Add the garlic, the rest of the spices, salt, sugar and vinegar, and mix together.
5. Heat the oil in a pan, over medium-low heat, and fry the paste for about 5 minutes, or until it darkens. At this point, you will have a pretty strong apple-cider vinegar scent filling your kitchen, so be prepared for that!
6. Let the paste cool, and transfer to a glass jar, and keep refrigerated.

Video recipe: