# How do you make your favourite curry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [December 3, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949 "2022-12-03T00:11:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/41 "2022-12-05T14:54:36Z")
Oh, sweet! I spent a couple of months next door in Wolverhampton back in ‘96, and that’s where my love of Indian food began. Dammit. Now I want a Balti but I’m pretty sure my base curry stock has been depleted. Time for another project some time this week. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/42 "2022-12-05T15:11:22Z")
That’s what we use too for our vaguely Thai-ish curry. The basic recipe is this: One 4 oz can Maesri or Aroy-D (they’re both good) curry paste. We’re partial to the red, the yellow, and the Panang versions. Heat this up in a pan with about 1/2 cup of coconut milk. We like the Chaokoh brand, but any will do. Basically you end up cooking the curry paste in the coconut milk until it more or less melts and gets fragrant. At that point, add the rest of the coconut milk, and then add roughly equal parts of fish sauce and sugar- the balance between the two is to your own taste. 1/3 cup of each is a good start I find. Once the sauce is more or less dialed in,you can add all your meat and vegetables. We tend toward chicken, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, water chestnuts, bell peppers, onions, chickpeas, and mushrooms. You could really use just about anything in there honestly. Cook it until everything’s properly cooked, and adjust your fish sauce/sugar one final time, and serve over rice. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/43 "2022-12-05T16:14:13Z")
Wherever he’s from, he’s got this one cracked. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/44 "2022-12-05T16:29:29Z")
Why? The most thorough and exhaustingly researched English-language book on Thai cooking is David Thompson’s Thai Food. The original American bible on Italian cooking was written by Marcella Hazan. Julie Child for French cookery. Diana Kennedy for Mexican cooking. And so on. There may be better books now, but you can’t really find anyone else who has written anything about British Indian Restaurant (BIR) curries that I know of (ETA: Sorry, there appears to be one other guy: Richard Sayce, who is English). It’s a somewhat niche style, and it strikes me as one of those things that BIR cooks learn on the job, and nothing is really written down that is available outside the restaurant. Now, I have seen videos of BIR cooks showing how to make “base sauce” (and this varies from restaurant to restaurant), but I haven’t seen any of these chefs have their own recipe websites or their own books. Why can’t an enthusiastic and tenacious food lover from another land write a well-researched cookbook? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/45 "2022-12-05T16:44:56Z")
Some years back I ran across this video and was delighted by it and started playing with her recommendations, and it’s pretty tasty. Except I think she says “tablespoons” instead of “teaspoons” at one point: when I first made a recipe following her steps, the result was a stodgy sludge of spice with a little bit of vegetable in it and was inedible. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/U4zVQxPJmnY/maxresdefault.jpg "How To Cook Every Indian Dish Ever") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4zVQxPJmnY) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2022, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/46 "2022-12-05T19:55:16Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh, sweet! I spent a couple of months next door in Wolverhampton back in ‘96, and that’s where my love of Indian food began. Dammit. Now I want a Balti but I’m pretty sure my base curry stock has been depleted. Time for another project some time this week. Oh, score! I had one more pint of base sauce left in the freezer! No Balti for me, today, but for lunch I made his recipe for jalfrezi with some leftover roast chicken breast I had from last night’s dinner and it was divine! My wife even said “Oh, what’s this? This is good!” And _now_ it’s time to replenish the base sauce supply in the basement freezer. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/47 "2022-12-06T00:03:04Z")
I live in a small city a few hours from a big city. High housing prices have encouraged new people to move here. Many Indian restaurants have suddenly opened in the suburbs, though I think a few have closed downtown. One of them is a pleasant Southern Indian place. Quite tasty. But I can’t actually discern any difference between the regular and extremely spicy. In fact all the curries taste essentially the same, despite traditional names. Now at least I know why that is. I’ll have to check out this British restaurant guru. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/48 "2022-12-06T02:47:28Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > In fact all the curries taste essentially the same, despite traditional names. I find this a lot where I am, too. Luckily, it’s all good! ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/49 "2022-12-06T10:46:46Z")
Back in my Birmingham youth, I would frequent ‘balti cafes’ which were really basic restaurants - menus under the glass table top and catagorically no cutlery. The menu would consist of 50 different ways to serve a balti ( chicken and mushroom? Spinach and paneer? Cauliflower and cashew nut? Basically any variety you could think of). They also had a micro side menu serving about 3 other curries such as jalfrezi, and giant naan breads called ‘family naans’ which covered the whole table and served about 6 people. Dirt cheap, and all tasting basically the same. And utterly divine. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/50 "2022-12-06T14:13:16Z")
I note that he too recommends the blended approach, though he blends it once the sauce is assembled, I was told to do so with the onion, garlic and ginger before starting but hey, horses for courses and the texture you get either way is going to be great. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/51 "2022-12-06T14:14:19Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Why can’t an enthusiastic and tenacious food lover from another land write a well-researched cookbook? I’d almost argue that the best cookbooks come from those sorts of sources. When you’re on the inside, you’ve got a set of preconceived notions, expectations, and just a good idea of how things are supposed to look, taste, and smell. When you’re not, you have to learn what those things are, and I feel like that makes for a better written cookbook. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/52 "2022-12-06T14:46:15Z")
He does tend to use blended garlic and ginger for the main curry though, which I guess is in the same vein. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/53 "2022-12-06T15:29:53Z")
I would use fresh ginger to make a vindaloo or Thai curry. I use the bottled stuff making milder curries such as when making it for other people. Both have their place. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/54 "2022-12-07T18:59:08Z")
I think the fresh stuff still tastes much nicer in something like butter chicken or tikka masala. I mean, I use the jarred stuff, but it just doesn’t have the delightful aroma and flavor the fresh stuff has – I’m talking both the garlic and the ginger. In fact, I’m more likely to use fresh for milder curries and jarred for spicier curries because the flavors are more noticeable. If it’s too powerful for you, use less, of course. To me it’s kind of like the difference between a carton of orange juice and fresh squeezed orange juice. The former is just kind of dulled and muted and doesn’t quite taste like an orange (to me). The latter sings. Unfortunately, I introduced my little ones to fresh squeezed orange juice and now they will not drink the carton stuff and insist on me hand squeezing it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2022, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949/55 "2022-12-07T21:33:21Z")
To some extent it is also a question of how much work you want to put in. If the ginger plays a prominent role there is no substitute. If it is one of thirty spices than it is easy to justify the convenience. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-make-your-favourite-curry/975949.md?page=2)