While some of us might be tempted to reach for the shop bought pastes and sauces, making your own perfect curry from scratch could not be easier.
With a few simple tips, you can whip up a deliciously satisfying dish better than anything the local supermarket can offer.
Balance the spices
It is a false notion that adding all types of spices will make the curry tastier. In fact, the flavour of the curry lies in striking a balance between different kinds of spices.
Avoid adding too many spices to one curry and stick to the basic ones. Do not go overboard with spices and add them in moderate quantities. Avoid adding all the salt required for the dish in the beginning.
Instead, add some of it in the beginning and some of it in the end, once the dish has been cooked completely. This will give you an idea about how much salt is required and you will never go wrong with the quantity.
Sauces
When making curry at home, it can be difficult to recreate the thick, silky sauces you often find in professional kitchens. Use tomato purée or yoghurt as natural thickening agents to achieve the perfect consistency.
Be patient
It is a fact that delicious dishes can never be made in a hurry. Cooking requires patience and time. The spices and the vegetables need their own sweet time to get cooked.
If you try to cook your curry too quickly by cooking it on high heat, you will end up ruining its taste. It might get burnt and its ingredients will lose their flavours.
Thus, it is best to always cook curries on low-medium heat and avoid rushing while adding the ingredients.
Cook with onions
I believe no curry is complete without onions but we are all not the same. If your curry demands onions, try and dice them finely.
Always give them time to cook thoroughly. This will create the base of your curry and help combine the favours in the spices. The degree to which you fry your onion plays a very significant role. The rule is to fry them until they are golden.
Garnish your dish
When it comes to garnishing, coriander or parsley are an excellent choice when it comes to serving a dish. These should be finely chopped and garnished on the curry. It is important to add any of them after the flame is turned off.
Otherwise, you will lose both the fragrance and the colour of the leaves and the flavour.