Colombo powder

Poudre à colombo

What it is

Tamil and Sri Lankan workers recruited to the French Antilles after the abolition of 1848 brought the blend with them, and it kept the name of the Ceylonese capital. What makes it read Antillean rather than Indian is the spoonful of raw rice toasted and ground in with the spices, which thickens the sauce as it cooks.

In the kitchen

Fry the powder in oil with the meat before any liquid goes in, then finish the pot with lime and a splash of vinegar. That closing sourness is what separates a colombo from a curry.

Goes with

Pork Chicken Lime Turmeric Coconut milk Eggplant Mango Garlic

Same species

Quatre-épices

Also used with

Queen conch

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