Curries are very satisfying. The aroma alone makes you happy. A diverse range of flavors is possible using the same basic recipe. An old cookbook described curry as “a brown stew with curry powder added to it,” so use your imagination. It’s usually served over rice.
The chart below lists ingredients for 6 fairly random different curries, based on pork, chicken (raw, canned, or rotisserie), chickpeas, and potatoes. These are delicious, but they are not “authentic” in that they use only common spices. If you want to make an Indian or Thai curry using flavorings specific to India or Thailand, see the internet. We also don’t fine-tune every step so that it’s done the way a chef would do it. “Sauté the garlic 15 seconds and remove it with a slotted spoon.” Our focus is on manifesting delicious, healthy, satisfying food in a simple, hopefully non-stressful way.
Start your curry with sautéed onion, garlic, and ginger. Add a spoon or two of curry powder, then make a stew, choosing from various meats (or no meat), various vegetables (tomatoes, potatoes, bell peppers, carrots, peas), various liquids (coconut milk, broth, cream, yogurt), and, if you like, various additional spices (salt, pepper, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, sriracha). Simmer it until everything’s cooked.
When adding the vegetables, keep in mind that you’d ideally like them all to be perfectly done at the same time — not mushy or underdone. You’d want to add potatoes and carrots earlier than you’d add spinach, for instance.
You can use a lot less meat and a lot more veg than most recipes call for.
Most of the work is chopping onion, garlic, ginger, veggies, and maybe meat. Other than that, it’s pretty much putting things in a pan and stirring occasionally.
Here’s our basic recipe. More recipes appear after the chart.
Basic Recipe: Curry
Brown the meat in a little oil over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic. Cook 5 or 6 minutes. (Or you can cook the onion, ginger, and garlic in the oil, and then add the meat and brown it.) Stir in spices and cook 1 minute.
Add vegetables (and beans, if using). Stir in liquid, such as coconut milk or broth, and any sauce ingredients (peanut butter, soy sauce). Bring to a boil, and simmer on low heat until meat is cooked through, veg are tender, and sauce is somewhat thickened (5 to 45 minutes). (You can thicken the sauce by uncovering and boiling, and/or by mashing some vegetables against the side of the pan.)
Serve over rice. Add chopped peanuts and basil or other toppings, if you like. Can be frozen.
Ingredients for 6 Random Simple Curries
| Ingredient | Quick Pork | Canned Chicken | Cooked Chicken, Tomatoes, No Coconut Milk | Indian Chicken Curry | Chickpea Curry | Potato Curry |
| Meat | 1 lb pork, cut in chunks | 10-oz can chicken breast drained & flaked | 1-1/2 cups cooked chicken | 1 lb raw chicken breast (3 cups), cut into bite-size pieces | (2) 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained & rinsed | (optional) 15-oz chickpeas drained |
| Oil | 2 Tbsp | 1 Tbsp | 1 Tbsp | 3 Tbsp | 2 Tbsp | 2 Tbsp |
| Onion | 1 diced | 1 sliced | 1 diced | 1 small diced | 1 sliced | 1 diced |
| Ginger | 1 Tbsp minced | 1 Tbsp minced | — | 1/2 tsp grated | — | 2 tsp minced |
| Garlic | 3 cloves minced | 1 clove minced | 2 cloves minced | 2 cloves minced | 3 cloves minced | 4 cloves minced |
| Spices | 2 Tbsp curry powder | • 2 Tbsp red curry paste | • 1 Tbsp curry powder • 1/2 tsp salt • 1/4 tsp pepper |
• 3 tablespoons curry powder • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon • 1 teaspoon paprika • 1 bay leaf • 1/2 tsp sugar • salt to taste |
• 1 to 2 Tbsp curry powder • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes • 1 tsp cumin • salt & pepper to taste |
• 4 teaspoons curry powder • 1 ½ teaspoons paprika • 1 teaspoon cayenne • 2 teaspoons cumin powder • ½ teaspoon allspice • ½ teaspoon black pepper |
| Vegetables | • 1 zucchini diced or sliced • 1 cup corn |
• 16-oz can sweet potatoes drained & cubed (or 2 medium sweet potatoes, cooked & cubed) • 8 oz can green beans drained |
14.5 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes drained | — | 15-oz crushed tomatoes | • 2 lb potatoes peeled & cubed • 14-oz can diced tomatoes |
| Sauce | • 14-oz coconut milk • 1 Tbsp peanut butter • 2 tsp soy sauce |
13.5-oz coconut milk | • 1/3 cup chicken broth • 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt |
• ¾ cup coconut milk • 1 cup plain yogurt • 1 Tbsp tomato paste • during last 5 minutes of simmering, remove bay leaf & add: • 2 Tbsp lemon juice • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper. |
13.5-oz coconut milk | • 14-oz can coconut milk • 1 cup vegetable broth • 1 Tbsp lemon juice |
| Notes | This curry is very mild. You might like to add: 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp chili powder, & 1 tsp red pepper flakes. | Add chicken along with the coconut milk. | Add chicken along with the broth and warm through to thicken. Remove from heat and add Greek yogurt. | No need to brown the chicken before adding. | Add chickpeas with the coconut milk. | If using chickpeas, add with the coconut milk. |
Substitutions & Additions
- Make with chicken, beef, pork, lamb, goat, seafood, beans, lentils, chickpeas, edamame, tofu, tempeh.
- Use coconut milk, cream, chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, water.
- Instead of red curry paste, use an equal amount of curry powder – adding more garlic, ginger, and chili flakes, if you like.
- Instead of red curry paste, use Sriracha (which has a base of chiles and garlic) with ginger and more garlic.
- Substitute ½ tsp of ground ginger for 1 Tbsp of fresh ginger.
- Vegetables: Use bell peppers, carrots, potatoes, peas cauliflower, spinach, zucchini, sweet potatoes, butternut squash.
Toppings
Chopped peanuts, chopped parsley, chopped cilantro, chopped coriander, chopped basil, lime wedges.
Recipes from Old Cookbooks
Here’s a simple curry from Whitehead’s Family Cook Book, 1891:
A curry may be described as a brown stew with curry powder added to it.
Cut up a chicken, veal, lamb or whatever is to be curried, and fry the pieces in butter until the outside of them is a very light brown, and while frying sprinkle over a teaspoonful of curry powder. Then put in a minced onion, some salt and a little water or broth, cover with the lid and simmer until the meat is tender. Take the pieces out on a hot dish, pour off the grease from the pan and make gravy in it and thicken in the usual way and pour it over the meat. It is customary to serve dry boiled rice with a curry, and a border to the dish may be made with it and the curry dished in the center.
A recipe for chicken curry from The Myrtle Reed Cook Book, 1916
Clean and cut up a chicken and boil it until tender in water to cover. Drain the chicken and brown in butter with two small onions sliced. Sprinkle with two teaspoonfuls of curry powder, pour over the water in which the chicken was boiled, heat thoroughly, and thicken while stirring with a tablespoonful of flour rubbed smooth with a little cold water. Take from the fire, add the beaten yolk of an egg, and serve with a border of boiled rice.