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Authentic Indian Curry - An overview
Every Indian household has the kitchen racks filled with jars containing ingredients used in making curry. While curry powder is an ingredient that is in use in the western world, it is a poor cousin of the ingredients that are included in a curry. The curry can be made with both vegs as well as non-veg items. Numerous spices can go into making the authentic Indian curry that is famous globally.
Each region across the country has its own cuisine, and so the curries made in the different areas are also different. The different tastes are ideal for making any loving to cook to try out for themselves.
Astonishing Health Benefits of Curry You Probably Didn't Know
Boosts the Immune System
The ingredients of the curry and mainly the spices help to boost the immune system. The ingredients like paprika, red chilli and garlic are effective against cough and cold. Scientists have also found that curcumin – found in turmeric, which is an ingredient of curries, increases the levels of a protein that boosts the immune system and helps to fight bacteria.
Prevents Chronic Diseases
It is also known to prevent chronic diseases and acts as an anti-cancer agent. Curcumin can also fight against cancers. The curry powder also helps in improving the condition of the heart. The blood flow is also improved and reduces the cholesterol level too. It could also have a positive effect on blood pressure as the associated conditions show improvement.
It Has Anti-Inflammatory Properties
Curry has ingredients containing anti-inflammatory effects and boosts metabolism in humans. Turmeric helps to fight inflammation by regulating TNF-alpha and IL-6 proteins. Even research shows that turmeric prevents rheumatic arthritis, osteoarthritis, etc. Coriander has also been used in traditional medicines due to its properties.
Powerful Antioxidants
Antioxidants prevent cell damage caused by free radicals. Oxidative stress can lead to heart diseases. The ingredients used to make Indian curries such as cumin, turmeric, ginger, coriander and the complex mix of other spices known for their superfood like qualities have a plethora of anti-oxidants like pinene, cuminal, lutein, etc. that help to reduce oxidative stress and the risk of diseases.
8 Must Try Indian Curry Recipes from Across India
Fish Kofta Curry
- This specific fish curry is quite famous for people living along the coasts. You will need a fish without the skeleton and, if required, debone the fish fully. If you take the fish out from the deep freezer directly, you must ensure that it is defrosted first. The fish balls are cooked in a thick gravy that provides a unique flavour to the dish. The tasty spicy gravy along with the freshly cooked fish is ideal with steamed rice.
Ingredients:
For the koftas
- 400 grams of tuna soaked in oil or brine
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup coriander, finely chopped
- 2 spoons mint leaves, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 1 onion finely, chopped
- 1 spoon garlic paste
- ½ spoon cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon amchur powder
- ½ spoon coriander powder
- ½ cup sooji
- 1 spoon ginger paste
- ¼ spoon garam masala
- Salt to taste
- Cooking oil to pan fry the koftas
For the gravy -
- 2 onions, cut into four
- 3 tomatoes, cut into four
- 2 green chillies
- 1 spoon cumin powder
- ½ spoon turmeric powder
- ½ spoon red chilli powder
- 1 spoon garam masala
- 2 spoons coriander powder
- 2 spoons ginger paste
- 2 spoons garlic paste
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Add salt to taste
How to Make:
- First, you must boil the fish and remove the bones completely.
- Cut the green chillies, onions, coriander leaves, mint, and blend with the fish along with salt, bread, and garam masala powder.
- Mix all the ingredients to make a mixture. From the mixture, make small balls and fry deep to a golden brown colour.
- Ground together the remaining spices to a fine powder.
- Ground the onion, ginger and garlic to a paste.
- Heat some ghee as needed and fry the ground paste to a golden brown colour.
- Add the spices and fry for a few seconds. After that add the tomatoes and curd.
- Add two cups of water, mix nicely and cook over a low fire and dry out all the liquid.
- Mash to a smooth paste and add two more cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for five minutes.
- Put in the fish balls and simmer for five more minutes and it is done.
Madras Lamb Curry
The curry is made by mixing a large number of spices while the lamb pieces add to the taste. The delightful curry hogs the limelight in most occasions like marriages and birthday parties down south. The lamb pieces are roasted dry with the spices first, and then marinated. The meat is tender, and the curry is served with steamed rice.
Ingredients:
For the Spice -
- 2 spoons Coriander seeds
- 2 spoon Poppy seeds
- 1 inch Cinnamon Stick
- 1 spoon Yellow Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 spoon Fennel seeds
- 2 Cloves
- 2 Red Chillies
- ½ spoon Mustard seeds
- 1 spoon Cumin seeds
For the chilli paste
- 1 inch Ginger
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 2 Green Chillies
For the Lamb Curry
- 300 grams Lamb, chopped
- ½ cup curd
- 1 onion, chopped
- ½ cup tamarind water
- 10 curry leaves
- ½ spoon turmeric powder
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 spoon sugar
- 1 spoon mustard seeds
- Salt – as needed
- Mustard oil – as needed
How to Make:
- The spices must be dry roasted till it gives out a pleasant smell. Then cool them down and grind into a smooth powder.
- Into the washed lamb pieces, add the curd and five spoons of the ground spice powder and marinate the meat for at least half an hour.
- Grind the garlic, green chillies, and ginger to a coarse paste. Warm the mustard oil and add mustard seeds and allow it to splutter. Next, add the curry leaves.
- The chopped onions must be added and allowed to sauté till they turn translucent. Similarly, the ground garlic, green chilli, ginger, and paste and sauté again.
- The chopped tomatoes are added along with some salt and turmeric powder and cooked till mushy.
- The tamarind water and the marinated lamb pieces are added next and stirred well.
- Add a cup of water to cook the curry and check for salt according to your taste.
- The curry is cooked in a pressure cooker for at least four whistles and check if it is done.
Spicy Malvani Chicken Curry
The dish is native to the Konkan region, and you find the Konkani spices in abundance. The meat is cooked with a coconut gravy along with malvani masala. The favourite malvani curry is famous for its authentic rustic style of cooking.
Ingredients:1 Kg chicken
For the curry -
- 3 onions, chopped finely
- 3 spoons refined oil
- 80 ml of water
- Coriander leaves – as needed
- Coconut, grated
For the malvani masala -
- 6 dry red chillies
- 1 bay leaf
- 10 Black peppercorns
- 6 Cloves
- ½ Nutmeg
- 1 spoon cumin seeds
- 1 spoon red chilli powder
- ½ spoon turmeric powder
- 1 large cinnamon stick
- 1 spoon coriander seeds
For the coconut masala paste -
- 5-6 Garlic cloves
- 3 Green chillies
- 3/4 inch ginger
- 1 coconut, grated
How to make:
- Roast the ingredients of the Malvani masala and grind them.
- Next, grind the ingredients of the coconut masala into a paste.
- Heat oil and add the onions and the coconut masala paste.
- Stir and cook for ten minutes. Then add some of the ground Malavani masala, as required, along with the red chilli powder. Also, add salt as needed.
- Mix in the chicken and then water.
- Cover and cook on low flame for about forty minutes till the gravy is thickened and the chicken is tender.
Paneer Butter Masala
Paneer preparations are a favourite among the vegetarians. Paneer butter masala is a delicacy of pieces of paneer in a curry of tomato, crushed cashew with an abundance of butter. The tang and the sweetness of the dish are due to the presence of tomatoes. It can be served with roti as well as rice.
Ingredients:
For frying paneer -
- 1 Tbsp Oil
- 1 Cup Paneer cubes
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp red chilli powder
For gravy -
- 2 cubes of butter
- Cashews, as needed
- 1 Cup tomatoes, chopped
- Green chillies, chopped
- ½ cup onions, chopped
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 spoon red chilli powder
- 1 spoon cream
- ½ spoon cardamom powder
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ½ spoon honey
- ½ spoon coriander powder
- ¼ spoon black pepper
- 1 cardamom
- ¼ spoon garam masala
- ½ spoon cumin powder
- 1 spoon Ginger
- 5 green cardamom
- 1 spoon Garlic
- Salt, as needed
- Oil, as needed
How to make –
- Heat oil in a pan and add the paneer cube along with red chilli powder and some salt.
- Pan-fry the paneer cubes.
- Add oil into the pan and heat. Next, add some butter.
- Add green cardamom, cinnamon and black cardamom. Stir for some time, add garlic and ginger and mix well.
- Add the chopped tomato and onion and mix again. After that, add green chilli and cashews and puree the mixture. Then add butter and let it simmer.
- After that add cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, salt, red chilli powder, and black pepper.
- Keep stirring the mix and let the gravy simmer. Add kasoori methi followed by honey.
- The fried paneer cubes can now be added to the simmering gravy. Then add milk and mix thoroughly.
- Once it simmers, add the cream along with cardamom powder and mix well.
Gobi Manchurian Gravy
The dish involves making deep-fried cauliflower balls in a spicy corn flour-based gravy, making it a wonderful fusion between Indian and Chinese cuisines. While most Chinese dishes use Ajinomoto, it is advocated not to use it in making your dishes.
- Ingredients –
For Gobi Manchurian Florets:
- ½ cauliflower
- 1 spoon ginger-garlic Paste
- 4 spoons cornflower
- 2 spoons maida
- ¼ cup of water
- Salt – as needed
- Cooking oil – as required for frying
For Gravy
- 2 spoons cornflower
- ½ spoon finely chopped ginger
- ½ spoon chilli sauce
- ½ spoon pepper powder
- 2 spoons garlic, finely chopped
- 2 green chillies, split lengthwise with the seeds removed
- 2 spoons tomato ketchup
- 3 spoons spring onions, finely chopped
- Cooking oil – as needed
- Salt – as needed
How to make -
Gobi Manchurian Florets:- Break a clean cauliflower into big florets and boil in plenty of water for 3 minutes. Then remove the water and pat dry them.
- Take cornflower, maida, ginger-garlic paste and salt and add ¼ cup of water. Then mix all the ingredients and make a batter, ensuring it is neither very thick nor watery.
- Add the cauliflower florets to the batter and mix well.
- Heat cooking oil in the pan and carefully put 7 to 8 batter coated florets and deep fry till they turn golden brown. Once down, absorb the excess oil using a kitchen tissue paper.
The Gravy -
- Mix 2 spoons cornflower in ½ cup water and keep aside.
- Heat oil and add garlic, green chilli, chopped ginger, and chopped spring onion. After that, sauté on medium heat for a minute. Add chilli sauce, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, salt, and pepper powder and cook for a minute.
- Pour two cups hot water and bring mixture to a boil for a minute. Add the dissolved cornflower while continually stirring to avoid forming lumps. Next, add the deep-fried cauliflower florets and cook over medium flame till it is ready.
Traditional Fish Curry
Fish is a staple food along the coastline of the country, and each state has its recipe too. We will stick to the traditional fish curry recipe. The tender fish is complemented with east Indian spices like panch phoran and red chillies as with most cuisines. It is usually served with boiled rice.
Ingredients –
- 1 kilogram fish, cut into slices
- 2 large tomatoes, cut into smaller pieces
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 3 to 4 spoons coconut powder
- 8 dry red chillies
- 2 cups hot water
- 1 spoon panch phoran seeds
- Few curry leaves
- 1 large onion, as a paste
- 1 poon ginger paste
- Tamarind - soaked in hot water
- 1 spoon garam masala powder
- Coriander – chopped
- 1 spoon garlic paste
- 1 spoon mustard seeds
- 1 spoon turmeric powder
- Vegetable oil – as needed
- Salt – as needed
How to make
- The soaked tamarind well to remove all the pulp.
- Roast the mustard, dry red chillies, and cumin seeds till they release their aroma. Cool this mixture and grind it to a fine powder.
- Grind the garam masala, toasted spice powder, turmeric, tomatoes, and coconut into a smooth paste.
- Heat the oil in a pan and add the curry leaves and panch phoran till they splutter. Then add the onion paste into it and fry until light brown.
- Next, you add the garlic and ginger pastes and fry for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the spice paste and tomato. You will need to fry until the oil begins to separate from the masala.
- Next, add two cups of hot water and the tamarind pulp to the masala and mix well.
- Gently add the pieces of fish to the gravy and cook until done.
Butter Chicken
Butter chicken is a favourite dish across the dhabas along the major highways. The tangy curry and the juicy chicken are the characteristics of this dish. You can make it tangy or spicy according to your wishes, but most patrons love it rather mild. It can be served with either roti, naan or steamed rice.
Ingredients:
For marinating the chicken -
- 800 grams boneless chicken
- 1 spoon ginger, minced or finely grated
- 1 spoon red chilli powder
- 1 spoon ground cumin
- 2 spoons garam masala
- 1 spoon of salt
- 1 spoon turmeric
- 1½ spoons minced garlic
- ½ cup plain yoghurt
For the sauce:
- 1 onion - sliced or chopped
- 400 g crushed tomatoes
- 2 spoons ghee
- 1 spoon sugar
- 1½ spoons ground cumin
- 1½ spoons garam masala
- 1 spoon ground coriander
- 2 spoons olive oil
- 1 spoon ginger, minced or finely grated
- 1½ spoons garlic, minced
- ½ spoon kasoori methi
- 1 spoon red chilli powder
- Salt – as needed
- 1 cup of heavy or thickened cream
How to make
- Marinate the chicken for at least thirty minutes to an hour, ideally overnight.
- Heat oil and when it sizzles, add the marinated chicken pieces. Fry it until browned for only 3 minutes on each side. Keep it aside.
- Heat the butter or ghee and fry the onions until while removing any browned bits stuck on the bottom of the pan.
- Next, add the ginger and garlic and sauté for a minute until there is a characteristic fragrance. After that, add the garam masala, ground coriander and cumin. Stir and cook for around 20 seconds until fragrant.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chilli powder and salt. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes, occasionally stirring until sauce thickens and becomes a deep brown colour.
- Remove from heat and put the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Do add some water to help it blend.
- Pour the puréed sauce back into the pan and stir the cream, sugar and crushed kasoori methi through the sauce.
- Add the chicken with juices back into the pan and cook for ten more minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick and bubbling.
Murgh Rezala
Rezala is a Bengali delicacy that has a characteristic white gravy that differentiates from other chicken dishes. It is made by using an assortment of spices but does not contain any red chilli but has a sweet aroma and the fried onions that make the gravy quite rich.
Ingredients –
- 1 kilo boneless chicken cubes
- 300 gram white onions
- 150 gram khoya
- 250 gram curd
- 250 ghee
- 50 gram cashew nuts
- 20 gram Coconut - desiccated
- 20 gram ginger
- 5 gram white pepper
- 10-12 green cardamoms
- 20 gram garlic
- 2 silver leaves
- 2 drops mitha ittr
- 2 drops kewra jal
- Salt – as needed
How to make –
- After washing and cleaning the chicken pieces, blanch them in a pan of boiling water and remove the scum and keep aside.
- Extract the juice of garlic and ginger and keep aside. Grind the onions, cashew nuts and coconut separately to a fine paste.
- Place the chicken in the pan with enough water to cover. Also, add green cardamoms and salt and bring to boil, then simmer.
- With the chicken being half cooked, add the ginger-garlic juice and the ground onions. Cook until it is dry and then add the beaten curd and the ghee. You need to fry till the meat is dry.
- Add the coconut and nut paste; fry for 2-3 minutes, while preventing the masala from turning brown.
- Then add the white pepper and enough water for a thick gravy. After removing from fire add kewra jal, mitha ittr and mashed khoya while blending it well.
- Finally, add the cream and serve.
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Don't shy away from oil and ghee
Another top tip for cooking a great curry is to ensure that you don't scrimp on the oil (or ghee, if you want to be really authentic). Spices must also be fried thoroughly to prevent them from tasting harsh and gritty, but be careful not to let them burn. Good fats like ghee are an important component that help the body better assimilate the ingredients. If your spice mix is looking dry, add more oil or some water – be sure to add only a drop at a time as you want the spices to fry, not boil.