How do you thicken curry? (7 options)
In this article, we will explain how do you thicken the curry. We will give you seven alternatives and a simple curry recipe to perfect your cooking techniques!
How do you thicken curry?
Thickening your curry sauce is easy. Depending on your personal preference or what you have in your pantry, you can thicken your curry sauce with very few steps.
- Simmer your curry sauce for several minutes. Sometimes your sauce needs to thicken over time. Remove the lid on your pot or skillet to allow moisture to evaporate, instead of pouring into the sauce. This method is called “reduction” and is an excellent way to thicken a sauce without changing the flavor.
- If that doesn’t work, heat 15 gr (1 tbsp) of butter or vegetable oil in a small saucepan. Do not burn it. Whisk with 5 gr (1 tablespoon) of flour and remove from heat. You will end up with a pasty mixture. Take 1 cup of liquid from your curry sauce mix and whisk into the batter. Combine the flour and this sauce mixture into your original sauce and occasionally stir until the sauce thickens. It will take 5-10 minutes.
- Another solution is to mix 8 gr (1 tbsp) of cornstarch in 125 ml (1/2 cup) of water or until the consistency is to your liking. Melt into your sauce and cook for 5 minutes.
- Instead of flour or cornstarch, dice one potato and add it to the sauce. Cook until the potato begins to break down. The potato’s starch will act as a thickening agent, without diluting the original flavor too much. You can add a well-drained, chopped tomato or 15 to 20 gr (3 to 4 tablespoons) of tomato paste for a similar effect.
Other methods to thicken a curry
While sometimes a little high in calories, dishes with sauce are just delicious. If your ingredients are cooked perfectly, getting too thin a sauce can spoil the preparation’s flavor.
- With a few potato flakes – Measure a tablespoon of dehydrated potato flakes (for instant mash) for about 25 cl of sauce. Pour the flakes into the preparation and mix over low heat.
- With handled butter – Handled butter is a mixture of equal amounts of butter and flour. Take the butter out of the refrigerator and leave it for ten minutes at room temperature. Then knead it with the flour using a fork or your fingers. The resulting mixture should be smooth, homogeneous, and creamy.
Make small balls of handled butter and add them one by one to your sauce. Whisk vigorously and simmer for a few minutes until the desired thickening.
- With roux – Roux is a mixture of flour and fat. Take an equal amount of butter or oil and flour. Melt the selected fat over medium heat in a saucepan.
Pour in the flour and mix for 2 minutes to obtain a basic thickening roux. The roux is ready when it begins to foam. Remove it from the heat and let it cool. Once cold, pour it into your sauce and mix actively. Let the sauce simmer for 20 minutes.
How to make Basic Curry
There is an infinite number of curry recipes. India’s size and the wide variety of ingredients they use make the number of curry varieties grow exponentially. This recipe is intended to be a basic and relatively neutral curry for everyone to like. The protagonist in this recipe is the sauce that gives us the enormous flexibility of being used with poultry, meat, or fish.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the onion and fry for about 20 minutes until it is golden brown. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for another minute. Add the coriander powder and fry for another minute. Add the rest of the spices and sauté for a few seconds (they don’t burn). Add 200 ml of water and the tomato with a little sugar (one teaspoon) and let it boil for 15 minutes. Salt to taste.
This is the basic curry sauce in which we can combine with whatever meat we want. We can use chicken, lamb, pork, browning the pieces previously in a pan with oil, and then cooking them in a saucepan covered in the sauce for the time that corresponds to each one, adding the necessary water always to have a sauce of thick consistency.
We can also cook vegetables cut into small pieces or pieces of seitan in the sauce and clean fish with scales and skin or shellfish.
Ingredients for homemade curry
- Four tablespoons vegetable oil (sunflower, peanut oil, coconut oil)
- Three large onions, finely chopped
- Five tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 cm long fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (or 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger)
- Four garlic cloves, minced
- Two dessert spoons of coriander powder
- Chili powder (optional and to taste)
- 3/4 of dessertspoonful of ground cumin
- Two dessert tablespoon of turmeric
- 3/4 of a dessert spoon of essential Garam Masala mix
- Two dessert tablespoon of sweet paprika (unsmoked)
- Salt and sugar to taste.
Other FAQs about Curry that you may be interested in.
Do Thai restaurants make their own curry paste?
How do you keep curry and coriander fresh?
Can I add curry powder at the end?
Conclusions
There are several simple methods to thicken a curry. Among those mentioned by us in this post are: adding cornstarch, butter, potato or potato flakes, roux, vegetable oil, or merely simmering the curry.
Curry is not supposed to be too watery, but neither extremely thick. You need to find the right balance, one that is tasty and easy to prepare.
If you have any questions or comments on the content, please let us know!
References
Thetakeout.com
Theatlantic.com
Food.com
