Madras curry powder substitutes

The direct answer, because Madras is essentially ordinary curry powder with the chilli turned up.

Best for

chicken and lamb Madras, curries and stews, curried rice and lentils, Madras-style sauces and soups, British-Indian restaurant style cooking

Start at a quarter teaspoon per tablespoon and taste, because the heat of both curry powder and cayenne varies a lot between brands and a Madras is meant to be hot but not punishing. What you may still miss is the colour, since Madras blends are noticeably redder, and a slight sourness that some versions carry from tamarind or amchur. Half a teaspoon of paprika fixes the colour and a squeeze of lemon at the end covers the sourness.

Built from single spices, which gives you control over exactly how hot it is.

Best for

Madras curry, any dish where you want to dial the heat precisely, cooking for a mixed table, curried mince, fish and vegetables

Coriander is the backbone and should always be the largest part by volume, which is the mistake people make when improvising, leaning too hard on turmeric and ending up with something bitter and muddy. Toast and grind whole coriander and cumin if you have them, since it makes a bigger difference here than any other change. A curry leaf or two fried in the oil alongside pushes the whole dish toward South India, which is where the style comes from.

The no-extra-shopping answer, accepting a milder dish.

Best for

curries for children or heat-sensitive eaters, creamy or coconut-based curries, curried soups and rice

This is a good dinner, just not a Madras. It will taste of the same spices, coriander and cumin forward with turmeric underneath, but it will be gentler, paler and slightly sweeter, and a dish that is meant to have a fierce edge will read as mild and rounded. Serve chilli flakes, hot sauce or fresh green chilli alongside so anyone who wants the heat can add it. Use slightly more than the recipe says, about a quarter more, since Madras blends are generally more concentrated in flavour.

For kitchens that keep garam masala but no curry powder at all.

Best for

curries and braises, lamb and chicken, lentils

Workable, and it will make a good curry, but understand the shift. Garam masala is a warm finishing blend heavy on cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and black pepper, so the dish comes out more fragrant and sweeter-smelling, closer to a North Indian curry than a South Indian one. The added coriander and turmeric drag it back toward Madras territory and are worth including. Add garam masala earlier than you normally would, since here it is doing the work of a base spice rather than a finish.

Another curry blend from a different tradition, close enough in structure to stand in.

Best for

goat, chicken and beef curries, curried vegetables and chickpeas, one-pot rice dishes

The base is recognisably related, since both lead with coriander, cumin and turmeric. Jamaican blends carry much more turmeric and usually allspice, so the dish comes out distinctly yellower and with a warm, faintly clove-like sweetness that a Madras does not have. It is a good curry, tasting Caribbean rather than South Indian. Jamaican curry powder is often meant to be fried in oil at the start, which suits a Madras recipe well anyway.

A wet equivalent that many cupboards contain, and often sold in the same Madras style.

Best for

curries and braises, marinades, a fast weeknight version

Flavour-wise this is often the closest match of all, since Madras pastes are made from the same blend, and the spices are already bloomed in oil so they taste rounder and less raw. The differences are practical: pastes contain oil, salt and usually vinegar or tamarind, so reduce the oil and salt in your recipe and expect a slightly tangier, deeper result. It also cannot be used as a dry rub or sprinkled over a finished dish, and it will thin a sauce rather than thicken it.