Curry Powder

The herbs and spices in curry powder may include cumin seeds, coriander seeds, curry leaves, cardamom pods, cinnamon, black pepper, chillies, fennel seeds, onion seeds, fenugreek, mustard seeds, ground turmeric, ground ginger and dried red chillies.
A very basic Indian curry mix is as follows:
6 dried red chillies
3 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
10 fresh curry leaves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp ground turmeric
Adjust the heat by altering the number of chillies. Dry fry the whole spices until they smell fragrant and grind using a pestle and mortar or an electric coffee grinder (which is much easier). Mix in the other ingredients and you have the basis of your curry.
You can experiment with quantities and ingredients until you find a blend or two which you really like. I have a passion for cumin so I always double the quantity stated in any recipe for curry powder.
Roughly chop 2 tablespoons each of garlic and ginger root and three green chillies and blend with a little water in a food processor. Chop an onion and soften in vegetable oil over a medium heat. Add the paste and fry briefly. Add 1 teaspoon of turmeric, and 2 tablespoons each of toasted ground coriander and cumin and fry briefly again. Then add a 400g tin of chopped tomatoes and 2 teaspoons of tomato paste and a little hot water. Simmer uncovered until the paste thickens, then stir in ground black pepper to taste as well as garam masala