How to make a simple Indian Curry.

Here is my recipe for a basic Indian style curry, which is suitable for anyone. Curries don’t have to be very hot, but they should always be full of flavour.

I have a sort of a Holy Trinity of ingredients; onions, garlic, ginger. I start every curry and most other cooking with a mixture of these. I use two large onions, red if I have them, four cloves of garlic and about an inch of fresh ginger for every pound of meat.

[my mouth’s watering already] I chop one onion very fine, the other slightly courser, also chop the garlic and ginger very fine. Chop them by hand not in your processor, you can control the chop better that way.

From your local Indian or Asian shop, [where by the way you will find far better fresh food a lot cheaper than the big named supermarkets] you need.

1 tsp cumin, 2tsp coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, 1tsp Kashmiri chilli powder. I prefer fresh chilli. If you can find Kashmiri chillies or powder then this is not as hot as other chillies, but adds colour to your meal. if you want it to be hotter then add more chilli.

How to cook

Heat a large pan or deep frying pan and put the onions in; don’t add any oil yet, just sweat them a little. When they begin to steam, keep stirring them on a middle heat, as they begin to go a little bit transparent put in your preferred oil, ghee { this is clarified butter, and imparts a wonderful flavour.] is the best to use, but grape-seed, olive, or peanut oil is okay too. Let the whole thing gently fry, this will give you a far better flavour [this also applies to gravies too] when they are just turning golden take them off the heat and put aside.

In a small frying pan put the spices spreading them out over the bottom of the pan. Toast with a very gentle heat; as they begin to give off an aroma add two tablespoons of ghee or oil, and then mix with the powder until it forms a paste now also add the garlic and ginger. Be very careful not to have the heat too high. Add water and stir to form a gravy, cook until the oil begins to separate from the rest of the mix.

Now fry your meat, chicken, lamb, beef, or whatever you like. When you think the meat is sealed, add you onions, and then add these to the spices you have just cooked stirring very well. You can add a few chopped tomatoes or even a tin [don’t spoil it with a cheap tin, there are some good quality tasty tomatoes on the market. Bring it to the boil on a medium heat, then turn the heat down and let it simmer for an hour with a lid on, then fifteen minutes without the lid, but stir well, and obviously don’t let it go dry.

Eat with chapattis, rice or crusty bread. Enjoy!

I hope this will encourage you to try and experiment with Indian cooking, if you want to know how to make chapattis I have a hub on the subject.

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