Curry

Almost everything I know about curry. A curry is an Indian gravy. Curries tend to use an abundance of spices. Curries use spices and aromatics common to the Indian subcontinent and adjacent Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

Indian Region

  • brown mustard
  • black pepper

Central Asia

  • yellow mustard
  • sesame
  • cumin
  • coriander
  • fenugreek
  • garlic

SouthEast Asia and Spice Islands

  • cloves
  • cardamon
  • cinnamon
  • ginger
  • turmeric

Fresh and Whole. For best and most consistent taste, use fresh and whole if possible. This includes aromatics like ginger and garlic. I make exception for turmeric, which can stain plastic containers, and is used sparingly, even though fresh turmeric is commonly available in supermarkets today.

Shop Bulk. Buy whole spices from bulk dry goods or spice store. Look for Indian or ethic grocery. Don’t buy spices in small bottles from supermarket. Not fresh (low turnover) and expensive.

Spice Grinder. Use high speed blender on highest setting with dry container for fine power. Common coffee-spice grinders, or common blenders, can be used but produce relatively coarse grind. No need for a mortar and pestle.

Toast Whole Spices. Dries prior to grind and brings out aroma and flavor. Use the same toast and grind process for dry chilis.

Fresh Ginger Paste. Use high speed blender or common blender to blend ginger, garlic and possibly fresh turmeric into paste. Avoid blending fresh turmeric in plastic container, it can stain the plastic.

Proportion. Some ingredients are used in much greater quantities than others, while other ingredients are used vary sparingly. Knowing which is which helps blend the flavors without any single flavor standing out too much. Once you get the idea of the basic proportions, you can increase or decrease, substitute or omit, to emphasize or eliminate flavors. This applies to whole classes of spices, so it’s not something you need to know for each individual spice.

  • Tbsp: seeds, aromatics
  • tsp: spices
  • units: sweet spices

Seeds Not Oil. Much traditional Indian cooking uses seed oils like mustard oil and sesame oil. This has two main purposes, to cook fast at high heat and to add flavor. Oil is more expensive than seeds, and seeds are more expensive than vegetables, so oil is a rich food whose use has increased with industry and wealth. Better flavor is actually achieved using whole seeds, toasted, ground and slow cooked, and I imagine this was the original method, except with a motar and pestle and hand labor. Due to a curious US FDA ruling, mustard oil is illegal to sell for human consumption. But not anywhere in the rest of the world, including India. Mustard oil is legal for purpose such as massage, and mustard oil often sold in Indian groceries is labeled not for human consumption. Just use mustard seeds. Far back in tradition, seeds must have been ground by hand using mortar and pestle before mechanical presses were invented. Oils historically have been easily adulterated or counterfeited. Control the quality, flavor and health, know your ingredients, and use fresh whole ingredients.

Thicken. Lentils have origin in India, and lentil flour is often used as thickener. Also vegetable paste such as tomato paste. And my favorite, slow reduction. The difference between many standard curries is the thickening agent. Korma uses nuts-milk like coconut, yoghurt or cream. Saag uses spinach puree. Madras uses tomato puree. Vindaloo uses chili puree.

Finish. Add some acidic flavor, such as lemon or lime juice or vinegar, and salt to taste, perhaps garnish with fresh herbs. Tamarind is another souring agent, often used as paste, that also adds distinct flavor.

Everyday Shortcuts. Once you have plenty of practice, and if you make curries nearly everyday, like traditional Indian households, you might find a couple of shortcuts handy. You can make your own spice mix (garam masala) or spice mixes, and make your own ginger garlic paste. There is no standard garam masala spice mix, but a typical garam masala contains cumin, corriander, black pepper, cloves, cardamon and cinnamon, and a typical sambar powder contains mustard, corriander, black pepper and fenugreek.

Layers. Use layers both to build flavor and to better understand the order and structure of the recipe. Possible layers include seeds, whole spices, aromatics, base vegetables, vegetable broth, thickeners, spice powders, nuts and milks, feature ingredients and finish. Not every layer is always present, but you can see this is what make curries both complex and highly customizable. In general, recipes start with whole spices, and finish with spice powders, salt and lemon or lime juice.

Curry Method

  • Seeds (Tbsp): Mustard seeds, sesame seeds
  • Whole Spices (tsp): cumin, coriander, fenugreek
  • Sweet Spices (1-3 pieces, sticks, pods, buds): cardamon, cloves, cinnamon
  • Heat (<1): chili arbol
  • Armoatics (Tbsp): ginger, Garlic (1/8-1/4-in, 3 cloves)
  • Nut-Milk (Tbsp): coconut, soaked nuts, yoghurt, ghee
  • Acid (Tbsp): lemon or lime juice

Techniques

  • Whole seeds and spices, toasted
  • Grind spices high speed blender
  • Slow cook electric hot plate
  • Turmeric. Can be bitter. Use powdered. Allow simmer and blend in.
  • Finish with salt and lemon or lime juice to taste