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Durban Masala

Durban Masala is a traditional South African recipe (from Durban) for the classic spice blend that lies at the heart of many Durban curries. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic South African version of: Durban Masala.

prep time

10 minutes

cook time

10 minutes

Total Time:

20 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurryChilli RecipesVegan RecipesSpice RecipesSouth-africa Recipes

The Durban Masala is a critical spice blend for any traditional Durban curry, such as the famous Bunny Chow or Durban Mutton Curry. In essence, it's Garam Masala blended with both mild and hot chilli powders. The mild chilli powder gives the classic red colour, whilst the hot chilli powder gives the spice blend its classic 'bite'. There are very few recipes for this one the web, and for many Durbanites the precise ingredients are a closely guarded family secret. This version of the classic masala was derived based on a conversation of Mma Gorrima of Gorrima's Spice Emporium. As a result, it's truly authentic and based on a blend used by hundreds of families every day.

The classic Durban masala is very red in colour, so sourcing a good-quality red chilli powder such as Kashmiri chilli powder which will give you the requisite colour without dialling-up the heat.

The secret of the Durban Curry Masala is its blend of intense heat from the chilli powders and its sweetness (due to the presence of cardamom and cinnamon. I'm starting from whole spices here, but you can always substitute pre-ground. This masala also forms the basis for the Durban Garlic and Ginger Masala, the recipe for which is given below.

Ingredients:

6 tbsps mild chilli powder (get the reddest you can find; a good Kashmiri chilli powder works well)
1 tbsp hot chilli powder (cayenne or even better a bird's eye pepper powder) [we make our own birds' eye (piri piri) chilli powder from the garden]
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp cardamom seeds (if you can't buy the seeds, buy green cardamom pods and shell them)
1/2 tbsp cinnamon sticks (in Durban, the hard bark of cassia is typically sold as cinnamon, but real cinnamon is better), broken into small pieces
1/2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tbsp ground ginger
2 cloves

Method:

Combine all the spices in a spice blender (or large coffee grinder) and process to a fine powder. Transfer to an air-tight jar and store in a cool, dark, cupboard.

This spice blend will be good for several weeks. I really like this curry masala and use at least two tbsps in most recipes, typically fried along with our onions. So even at the quantities above, it doesn't last long!!!