Why make curry from scratch when there are plenty of ready-made pastes available, as well as thousands of curries that can be found in Singapore hawker centres? Well, I love the amazing aroma of a freshly-made curry and the ability to adjust the heat and spices to my liking. With this simple Indian-style curry recipe, you can add any meat or vegtables to make a complete meal.
Here I added chicken and potatoes to the curry base and simmered for 1 hour. To finish, sprinkle some garam masala ? on top and serve with steamed basmati rice and a dollop of greek-style yoghurt. Garnish the dish with fresh corriander, fresh chilli slices, and a squeeze of lemon juice. Before eating, I like to stir the yoghurt into the curry to give it a creaminess.
Curry base
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
1 Tablespoon coriander seeds
1 Tablespoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 onion, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
Fresh chilli to taste, minced
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
3 tomatoes, skinned (see below) and roughly chopped
2 Tablespoon clarified butter ? or vegetable oil
Salt & pepper
What to do
Heat dry pan and roast cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant. Take off heat and grind into powder.
Sweat onions ? in oil for about 10mins. Add garlic, chilli and ginger and cook for another 5mins. Stir in all the spices and fry until fragrant.
Add tomatoes and simmer for at least 10mins to allow some of the tomato juice to evaporate. Season with salt & pepper. Set aside to cool.
Blend spice mixture until you get a smooth sauce.
Some more curry ideas
Chicken + ground almond + yoghurt + curry base
Prawns + tamarind juice + coconut milk + curry base
Lamb or mutton + pureed spinach + curry base
Stir-fried onions, peppers and tomatoes + curry base
Chickpeas + chicken or vegetable stock + curry base
How to skin a tomato
Use a knife to gently score a cross in skin of tomato base.
Drop tomato into bowl of boiling water for a few seconds until skin starts to curl.
Remove tomato and drop into bowl of ice water - the skin should peel off easily.
