Curry Paste

Ingredients

• 8 ounces Coriander seed (dhunnia), roasted (Roast until fragrant before grinding)
• 1 ounce Cumin seed (jeerah), roasted (Roast until fragrant before grinding)
• 2 ounces Dry turmeric (huldee)
• 2 ounces Dry red chilies (lal mirritch)
• 2 ounces Black pepper (kala mirritch), roasted (Roast before grinding)
• 2 ounces Mustard seed (rai)
• 1 ounce Dry ginger (soat)
• 1 ounce Garlic (lussan)
• 4 ounces Salt (nimmuck)
• 4 ounces Sugar (cheenee)
• 4 ounces Gram dal (chunna), without husk, roasted (Roast until golden)
• 1 cup White wine vinegar, best quality English (Use as needed to achieve thick jelly consistency)
• 0.5 cup Mustard oil (Preferred over sweet oil; use as needed for frying)

Instructions

1. 1Roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, and gram dal separately in a dry pan until fragrant and lightly colored. Allow to cool completely.
2. 2Carefully pound all the roasted spices along with the turmeric, dry chilies, mustard seed, dry ginger, garlic, salt, and sugar into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
3. 3Gradually add the white wine vinegar to the ground spice mixture, mixing thoroughly until it reaches the consistency of a thick jelly. Ensure no water is used in this process.
4. 4Warm the mustard oil in a large pan until it begins to bubble.
5. 5Add the vinegar-spice mixture to the bubbling oil and fry, stirring constantly, until it reduces to a thick paste consistency. This will take considerable time and attention.
6. 6Remove the paste from heat and allow it to cool completely. Once cooled, transfer to sterilized bottles or jars for storage. The paste will keep for several months.