We went looking for cinnamon and guess we just got a good deal that lasted about 200 years.
Do you know what makes the cuisine of India, Thailand, Malaysia and Britain so popular and not to mention palatable? Along with other delicacies, their curry recipe is the star. This stew, simmered with herbs’ goodness, vegetables, and spices in a sauce-like consistency, found its way from India through its colonisers. Then onwards, curry recipes adapted and evolved as per the palate and deliciously complements meat and vegetables.
Regardless of country-specific alterations to the ethnic curry recipe, it remains a celebrity in a spread.
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While there may be tons of curry products or whole ingredients, the lazy generation depends on store-bought curry paste or powder. But hey! You may choose to go with whatever tickles your fancy because the kitchen is your playground. As you traverse through its fields, this article will guide you on making the best vegetarian/non-vegetarian homemade curry recipes.
Put your pot on a simmer and crush those herbs. We are about to have an aromatic blast in the kitchen and a flavour party for your tastebuds with homemade curry.
All the Curry Products You Need
Alright, keep that chef hat and apron away, and slide down your reading glasses. Before you get right to it, know the key ingredients to make homemade curry.
To begin with, curry paste and curry powder are a staple of all authentic curry recipes.
Curry Paste
Curry paste is prepared from a bunch of fresh ingredients and is an aid to cooking. Prepare and store a batch in advance and add a spoonful or two to hot oil and wait. The paste mixes with oil and gives out a savoury aroma, one that reminds you of the exotic lands from where curry flows.
The paste is prepared in a purée like consistency and serves as a versatile flavourful base for all types of curries. To simplify the hassle, packed curry pastes poke their heads out in department stores shelves, ready for you to buy them. But nothing beats the delectable homemade curry paste. Here is how you go about curry paste the traditional way:
How to Make Homemade Curry Paste?
Ingredients:
- Coriander seeds - 3 tbsp
- Cumin seeds - 2 tbsp
- Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
- Fennel seeds - 1 tsp
- Black peppercorns - 1 tsp
- Ground turmeric - 1 tsp
- Ground cinnamon - 1 tsp
- Paprika - 1 tsp
- Dried chillies - 1 or 2 (as per personal taste preferences)
- Salt - 1 tsp
- Root ginger - Freshly peeled and finely grated
- Garlic cloves (finely grated) - 4
- Tomato purée - 1 tbsp
- White wine vinegar or cider vinegar - 4 tbsp
- Vegetable or sunflower oil
Method:
- Take a dry frying pan and palace it over medium heat. Now, throw in all the seeds with the black peppercorns. Stir and cook for up to three minutes until the seeds pop and ooze out their nutty scent. Take that off the stove and allow it to cool.
- Next, turn to prepare ground ingredients. Take a pestle and mortar or a mixer and add dry chillies, paprika, cinnamon and turmeric. Add salt and cooled seeds to the mix. Grind everything to make a fine powder.
- Jump to the wet ingredients and add in the grated ginger, garlic, tomato purée and vinegar. Mix everything into a paste.
- Your curry paste is ready for use! Pour it in a pan for immediate use or bottle it up in a jar. For storage, sloosh the mix in a jar and drizzle oil to form a layer on top. Now seal the jar with a lid. This homemade curry paste mix is good for weeks-long storage.
You are the boss in your kitchen hierarchy, so it’s up to you to decide if you want to go ahead and make a curry paste from scratch or pick up a packed one from the store.
Curry Powder
Curry powder- a harmonious blend of spices prepared to evoke the traditional curry flavour used in Indian dishes. But most importantly, this powder is an easy way to revoke that traditional Indian cooking zing. Just a little bit to anything and reach the Asian heaven. Apart from using it to spice up curry recipes, sprinkle curry powder whenever you want to add an edge to mundane vegetables or salads. A pinch of this magic powder to your salads, soups and kale recipes will make them finger-licking good.
Again, you can either make curry powder at home or purchase one from the store. But, if you are wondering what’s the secret ingredient in Indian curry recipes, we place our bets on the curry powder. Therefore, it is worthwhile to spend time on DIY curry powder.
How to Make Easy Homemade Curry Powder?
To make a robust curry powder with that ground and intense flavour, get your hands on some spices and begin toasting.
Ingredients:
To make homemade curry powder in 5 minutes, pick up the following spices.
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Turmeric
- Black pepper
- Chilli powder
- Ginger
You can use either ground these fresh spices to bring out their authentic flavour or get the spice pre-ground.
Method:
- Mix all these spices.
- Feel free to add or subtract any spice as per your taste.
- For extra edge or hotness, toast the curry powder mix and blend them well.
This earthy bit of goodness that you just whipped up tastes exceptional when added to all types of curry recipes, noodles, salad, veggies and meat.
Top Curry Recipes
Now that you have the essential groundwork to make easy yet fabulous homemade curry recipes begin with these top recipes right away.
Butter Chicken Curry Recipe
Ethnic is Indian. Indian is ethnic. If you have ever had the pleasure to visit India, butter chicken is their most delectable non-vegetarian curry recipe. The foodies there love it as the creamy, saucy richness with butter, almonds, yoghurt and spices weave a different romance altogether.
Ingredients:
- Boneless chicken breasts cut into chunks - 300gms
- Ginger garlic paste - 1tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Oil
- Red chilli powder - 1tbsp
- Onion - 100gms
- Tomatoes - 500gms
- Butter - 5 tbsp
- Cream - 3 tbsp
- Cashew - 50gms
- Garam masala - ½ tbsp
- Curry powder - ½ tbsp
- Sugar - 4tbsp
- Kashmiri red chilli powder - 2tbsp
- Fenugreek - 1tbsp
- Water
Method:
- There are two parts of butter chicken- the chicken and the gravy. Each of them has to be prepared separately to develop their authentic taste.
- Begin with marinating the chicken. Take chunks of chicken breasts in a bowl and add ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder and salt. Give it a nice mix and keep it aside for marination up to 15-20 minutes.
- After the chicken has been marinating for some time, it is time to pan-fry it.
- Drizzle some oil in a pan and add chicken to it when the pan comes to a medium-hot.
- Saute the pieces correctly and take it off the stove.
- Now it's time to prepare the chicken curry or gravy.
- Roughly chop up an onion and put it in the same frying pan with some oil and a spoonful butter.
- Cook the onions until they turn light pink. Now add chopped tomatoes and some cashew nuts to the pan. Mix this well and add some water.
- Along with water, put garlic paste, salt to taste, a tiny bit of sugar, Kashmiri red chilli powder, garam masala powder and curry powder.
- Allow this mix to simmer for 10-15 minutes until it becomes mushy. When done, take it off the heat, let it cool down and pour it into a mixer grinder.
- Churn the mixture in a thick pureé.
- Next, take a strainer to refine the pureé further to make it nice, smooth and creamy.
- Put this gravy on the stove on medium-high flame and put in a spoonful of butter, cream, and fried chicken.
- Finally, crush some Fenugreek between your palm and sprinkle on the top.
- Let the gravy simmer for 5-10 minutes, and your homemade butter chicken curry is ready. Plate it with some fresh cream and coriander while serving.
Thai Red Curry
If there is a colour for ethnic curries, it is red.
The Thai Red curry is one of the best Thai curry dishes. Moreover, it is one of those quick and easy curry recipes to make. Try this delicacy, and it will leave you wanting for more. Not only is this curry recipe easy to prepare but also looks ravishing when served.
Ingredients:
- Tomato sauce - 1 tsp
- Soy sauce - ½ tsp
- Sugar - ½ tsp
- Coconut milk - 300ml
- Vegetables - Mushroom, tofu, broccoli, zucchini, baby corn, capsicum - 1 cup
- Thai Red curry paste - 2-3 tsp
- Chopped garlic - 1 tbsp
- Coconut oil - 1tbsp
Method:
- Heat a pan on medium heat.
- Pour coconut milk into the pan.
- Add 2 tbsp of Thai red curry paste.
- Mix both of them well and bring them to a boil. It should look orangish-red when done.
- Put in ½ tbsp of sugar and soy sauce.
- Along with that add a spoon of tomato sauce/tomato puree.
- Stir it constantly and bring the curry to a boil. When done, put it on a different burner and cook it for 3-4 minutes.
- You can either add raw chopped up vegetables to the curry itself and cook for 10- 15 minutes or garlic-stir fry them for added deliciousness.
- For that, drizzle 1 tbsp coconut oil in a pan and throw in chopped garlic too.
- Throw in the thick chopped mushroom, zucchini, tomato, tofu, and broccoli. Add salt and pepper for seasoning. Cook the veggies for 2 minutes.
- When the veggies are ready, put them in the silky curry we prepared earlier. If you feel the curry is extra thick, drop ¼ cup of water and keep it on flame for another 2-3 minutes.
- Your healthy vegetarian red Thai curry is ready. Serve with some steamed rice for an added ethnic touch.
Are you in curry heaven yet? How about we introduce you to some of its health benefits!
The Truth of Ethnicity- Health Benefits of Curry
The truth is that curries are beneficial for the body because of several reasons, and the first of which is antioxidants. Antioxidants are compounds that help prevent cell damage caused by reactive molecules known as free radicals. Excess of free radicals in the body can lead to oxidative stress, a condition associated with chronic conditions like heart disease. Eating antioxidant-rich foods like curry can decrease the risk of such diseases. The second most prominent benefit of a curry-based cuisine is its anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric is a key ingredient of most curries of ethnic origin. This along with coriander, another featured ingredient of ethnic curries makes the cuisine anti-inflammatory.
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