Curry

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About Curry
Generally speaking, everyone has probably heard what curry is. It is a dish cooked that is automatically assumed to be Indian or Asian in origin. To an extent, this is true because the ideas of curries have largely come from India and other Asian parts. The reason why curries are automatically associated with India is because of the spices that have been used over the years in curries. The taste of curry is automatically assumed to be spicy. To an extent, this is true too. However, not all curries are spicy, as many of them do have several spices in them, but these are to achieve a particular taste.

Generally, one can say that the idea of spices in a curry originates from India, and this cannot be denied because of the fact that there are a number of dishes that may be cooked fiery hot with peppers of various kinds. Indeed, the red and green peppers (chilies) are very common in India, and generally, you may make curries from these two kinds of peppers or a mixture could even be made.

In addition to the use of red and green peppers, there re a number of other ingredients may be required in the making of curries. Some ingredients might include salt, cumin seed or zeera (whole or powdered), saffron or turmeric, coriander, black pepper, cloves, cardamom, ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes, etc. In addition to these, there are a number of other ingredients that may be included to make a curry taste delicious.

In some curries, coconut is common. These recipes that use coconut are normally ones that are used to cook fish curries. Indeed, there are different kinds of fish curries that may be cooked with the wide range of spices or masala in India.

In curries, you may have a wide range of foods cooked. You can cook meats of any kind, fish, lentils and vegetables. Indeed, there is a wide variety of curries that can be made in order to make meats and vegetables taste even more delicious. For this, you need to know the methods for cooking and have an understanding of the strengths of each spice and ingredient used in curries. If you do not know what strengths lie in each spice, you may end up making a curry that is out of the ordinary or you may leave the worst taste in a person’s mouth.

Production of Curry
Curries are very popular in India, and now have also been experimented with in many other parts of the world. This is perhaps because of the fact that these dishes are so delicious and also because of the fact that there are many Asians that have traveled far and wide. These people are responsible for passing on how curries are produced exactly.

Curries are produced in different ways. It depends on what kinds of dishes you would like to make. Let’s assume we want to make a beef curry. Now in a dish like this, you would first of all chop onions or even garlic into small pieces. In a vessel with some measured quantity of oil on low flame, you would add the onions, and stir them around till they are golden brown. The darker you let the onions brown, the darker your curry will turn out.

Once the onions have browned sufficiently, you may add in the beef or any other meat you want to cook. You should fry the meat in the browned onions and oil until the meat changes color. Then you may add in tomatoes and other ingredients like ginger and garlic, and allow the mixture to cook well. As the meat softens, you can add in more spices such as the red chili peppers. Now red chili peppers can be of two kinds. One type is the powdered form that is available in the market, and the other kind is the big red whole chilies and the round red chilies that you crush and grind. You normally will need to mix these in a little vinegar in order to make a paste. This makes a good delicious red curry.

Alternatively, if you want to make a green curry, you need to take big green chilies and grind them. What you get is a delicious green curry with a greenish to yellow color. You could make a green curry paste to add in the same way that you make a red one.

Adding in additional ingredients is up to you, but normally in a curry you most commonly find potatoes added. In addition to these, you may have cardamom, clove peppercorns, etc. You need to watch out for the salt, and keep tasting the curry frequently so that you know if you have added enough salt. Some curries need to be garnished, and it is very common to have an Indian curry garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

Buying Curry
There are several types of curries that can be made. However, not everyone is an expert in making curries. This is the reason why you will find many people going out to buy them. For example, in order to cook a Goan style fish curry it takes some expertise to get the right taste. So, for those people who cannot cook up such dishes on their own the best option is to go out and buy it.

Now, when you buy curries, you will be presented with such an immense variety, especially at restaurants, that it becomes difficult to choose. You may get so many different kinds of curries that are all great. Therefore, you need to make up your mind thoroughly before deciding on traveling out to get a good curry.

Outside India as well, people buy curries rather than make them at home. There are particular Asian dishes such as Nihari for example that people find hard to make at home. So, they go out to get some. However, you need to be aware of particular issues regarding consuming curries made outside your home. Hygiene is a number one issue, and especially if you are a tourist you need to be extra careful because you immunity may not be able to resist the environment and curries cooked outside. One reason you might find that your tummy might be upset easily is due to the fiery content. However, in spite of the risks, you might still be prepared to venture out to but yourself a delicious dish.

Curries are not expensive to purchase. Indeed, many people who cannot cook everyday at home find themselves consuming these foods outside. Therefore, it can be said that the curries consumed in India or in other parts of South Asia are a common man’s food. However, the more elaborate dishes would be a little expensive.

Depending on what you want and are willing to pay for, you can certainly get a wide variety of curries to choose from. If you are a vegetarian, there are also wide varieties of curries for vegetarians. This is because there are so many people in India who survive of vegetarian diets. These are healthy ones, and indeed they have evolved from different vegetarian cuisines in India. These are truly healthy and delicious foods in spite of them containing a significant number of spices. However, you need to see what suits your taste buds better.

Curry Variations
There are several variations of curries available in Asia. These are ones that are cooked under different cuisines, in addition to those that are independently made. These curries depend on what their influences are, and each of them has its special attributes. For example in Assamese cuisine, you will find that there are several tasty dishes you can try out. Many of them are made of fish, curry, vegetables, dal, and have salads too. Curries in this cuisine need not be spicy. They may use green and red chili peppers, but they are added in limited quantities in order to produce mild effects. However, you might have the more fiery side of curries.

Cuisines such as the Goan cuisine would have a wide array of ingredients and spices added in to its curries. Some of these are as follows: peppers, cloves garlic, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, peppercorns, cumin seeds, red dried chilies, vinegar, oil, coconut feni, green chilies, peppers, onion and salt.

With the amount of spices available to be used in just one cuisine, it is obvious that there are would be a great deal of variety of curries available. Indeed, you can have curries in the form of a dal or a vegetable too. This means that the range for making curries is further enhanced.

It also must be pointed out that there is a big difference between curry (saalan) and a qorma. A qorma tends to be thicker or viscous while a saalan is more watery. The spice in these differs too with qormas normally being hotter. This is why qormas are normally consumed with a salad or a raita. The curd in the raita acts a neutralizer right through your meal. It allows you enjoy the spice and at the same time cools your palate down.

Curries (saalan are normally consumed with rice but can also be eaten with chapatti. On the other hand we have qormas that are hardly ever consumed with rice because of the richness of the qorma masala. Also, qormas won’t have particular things that saalans have, and this refers to the presence of potatoes for instance. In saalans you will have potatoes almost always.

Indeed, one can see from the description of curries above that there are several variations and styles in which curries are cooked, and it is up to you what you like best.

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