How do you make an Indian curry? Well, there are many different types of curry, but the basic Indian-style curry is a slow-cooked, spicy dish in a thick sauce, either oily or creamy.
Of course, there are umpteen thousand variations, and that’s a drastic oversimplification, but if you really get into cooking Indian food properly, there are plenty of experts willing to teach you the finer details.
This is a quick-and-dirty Indian curry recipe from our Men’s cooking manual that you can refine (or roughen) to suit your taste buds.
Step by step how to make an Indian curry
Method
1 Put the butter and oil into your pan and heat it – but don’t let the butter go brown or burn.
2 Sort your spices. Crush the cardamom pods with the flat of your knife, break the cinnamon stick into three or four bits, peel and roughly slice the garlic (see page 44), and chop your onion.
3 If you’re using fish or prawns, skip this bit. If you’re using meat or fish, chop it into 2–3cm cubes.
4 Throw the meat into the pan and fry until brown, turning regularly. Then take it out with a slotted spoon or spatula and put it on a plate.
5 Fry the onion for three or four minutes.
6 Add the garlic and fry for another couple of minutes.
7 Add the cinnamon and cardamoms. Give them a minute. Keep stirring.
8 Add the other spices. Fry, stirring well so they don’t stick or burn.
9 Throw in the browned meat, or fish/prawns, and add the water. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer.
10 After about 20 minutes it should be edible; quicker with prawns and fish. Meat can successfully be simmered for up to an hour longer, until the sauce is rich and thick.
11 Serve with rice or Indian bread like chapattis or naan.
Alternatives and ideas
- You may notice that this version has no chillies at all. If you want it slightly hot, add 2–3 whole green chillies at the same time as the whole spices. DON’T peel or chop them. But keep an eye out in case you bite one later.
- If you want it medium hot, de-seed and chop two green chillies and add them at the same time as the garlic.
- Glutton for punishment? Three chillies, chopped, will produce astonishing, tongue-blasting heat if you leave the seeds in.
- But don’t say you weren’t warned.
- Adding more veg can be a good thing. Try adding diced aubergine, courgette or peppers with the onion, or cauliflower, potato, okra (ladies’ fingers), or frozen peas/beans (no need to defrost), at the same time as the water.
- Replace the water with chicken, lamb or vegetable stock for a richer taste.
- Add a 500ml tin of tomatoes instead of the water. Just watch it doesn’t get too thick.
- Add water gradually if it starts to look solid.
What you need to make curry
- Medium-sized frying pan
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Slotted spoon or spatula
Curry ingredients
- 500g of lamb, chicken, fish or shelled prawns
- Thumb-sized lump of butter
- 1 tablespoonful of corn, groundnut or sunflower oil
- 1 biggish onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 6–8 cardamom pods
- 1 teaspoonful of garam masala
- 1 teaspoonful of ground ginger (or a sugar-cube-sized lump of fresh)
- 1 teaspoonful of ground cumin
- 300ml of water