Kashmiri Curry

Curry Kashmir from Altes Gewürzamt, dark and robust

Curry Kashmir from Altes Gewürzamt is the house's robustly roasted curry blend, based on turmeric, chili, coriander, and fenugreek. Its dark depth holds up well in a casserole and pairs perfectly with vegetable curry, lentil dal, and hearty stews.

Curry Kashmir is a blend of sixteen spices from Altes Gewürzamt in Klingenberg am Main, roasted for a long time and significantly spicier than its lighter counterparts. Zedoary root, long pepper, and black cumin give it an edge, while mace and cinnamon blossoms round it out softly.

Dark, spicy, and long-lasting

When you open the tin, a dark, almost earthy scent rises, in which the robust roasting is immediately recognizable.

In a stew, the Kashmir unfolds slowly and remains until the last spoonful: profound, spicy, complex. The high chili content provides a distinct heat that warms rather than burns and only fully reveals itself after a few bites.

Chili is listed second, placing it further forward than in the milder Jaipur. That the heat never stings is due to the ground turmeric preceding it. The dried rhizome adds earthiness, a slight bitterness, and that deep yellow color that immediately stains any sauce.

The secret specialty is the zedoary root, which is rarely encountered in a curry blend. As a close relative of turmeric and ginger, it tastes resinier and more bitter than both and was once much more common in Europe than it is today. Its almost camphor-like base note gives the Kashmir its unique character.

In lentil dal and vegetable curry

Hearty, vegetarian cuisine is its home, as legumes, oven-roasted vegetables, rice, and stews carry this dark spice effortlessly. The Kashmir is also very economical, with a heaped teaspoon sufficient for four portions.

In a red lentil dal with tomato and coconut milk, its depth finds its place, and oven-roasted vegetables with chickpeas pair just as well with it. That lentils in particular work so well has a botanical reason: fenugreek is itself a legume and meets its relatives in the pot.

In India, curry powder is often added only at the end. Two tablespoons of clarified butter are heated, the Kashmir is added, the whole kitchen becomes fragrant after twenty seconds, and the mixture is poured over the finished dal. A mild counterpart is Curry Mumbai, which follows a similar basic concept but is significantly gentler.

Robustly roasted at Altes Gewürzamt

The dark depth is created in the pan, because the longer and hotter the spices are roasted, the more full-bodied the aroma will be later. This very long roasting is what Altes Gewürzamt puts into every tin.

The same thing happens during roasting as during bread baking: the sugars and proteins in the seeds combine under heat to form new, dark aromatic compounds. The line is fine, and a few seconds too many cause the fenugreek to tip into bitterness. Anyone who has ever watched seeds in a dry pan knows the moment when nuttiness turns tart.

The long pepper also ranks higher here than in its siblings, specifically in tenth place. These small, cone-shaped fruit clusters were used in Europe earlier than the black peppercorn; they taste sweeter and build their heat with a delay.

The Kashmir is waiting in the curry selection at Altes Gewürzamt, and the assortment from Altes Gewürzamt shows just how broadly this house blends its spices.