Is Curry supposed to be watery?

In this blog post, we will answer the following question:  Is curry supposed to be watery? We explain how to make basic curry using simple ingredients. We also talk about curry as a sauce, as a stew, and as a spice. 

Is Curry supposed to be watery?

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. The reason why your curry may be watery is that you are adding too much water/coconut milk too fast or because you use frozen meat. For example, chicken holds a lot of water inside of it that will get released as it is cooked. 

To make sure the curry has the right consistency, you have to simmer for 15 minutes. Also, make sure you do not add more than 200 ml of water or coconut milk.

How to make Basic Curry

There are an infinite number of curry recipes. India’s size and the huge 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.

Basic Curry Ingredients

Ingredients for 6 people:

For the curry sauce:

  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil (sunflower, peanut oil, coconut oil)
  • 3 large onions, finely chopped
  • 5 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 cm long fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped (or 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger)
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 dessert spoons of coriander powder
  • Chili powder (optional and to taste)
  • 3/4 of dessertspoonful of ground cumin
  • 2 dessert tablespoon of turmeric
  • 3/4 of a dessert spoon of essential Garam Masala mix
  • 2 dessert tablespoon of sweet paprika (unsmoked)
  • Salt and sugar to taste

Curry sauce

Curry sauces are appropriate to accompany rice, vegetables, and meats, from chicken breasts to grilled fish. A delicious and easy-to-make sauce is made with an onion, a clove of garlic, a few slices of ginger, butter, white wine, broth, cream, and curry.

Curry sauces are suitable for rice, vegetables, and meats.

To make it, the onion, garlic, and ginger are peeled and cut into tiny pieces. After cooking them over low heat in a saucepan with a little butter, they are removed from the heat, and the curry powder or paste is added. It is essential to make this mixture off the heat so that the sauce does not burn.

When the butter is impregnated with the curry, a glass of white wine is added, and the heat is turned up so that the alcohol evaporates. Next, it is moistened with liquid cream and broth (poultry or fish, depending on how you want to use the sauce), let it boil over low heat for 12 minutes, and add salt.

Other FAQs about Curry which you may be interested in.

How do you fix bland Thai curry?

How do you thicken curry? 

Is Curry Thai or Indian?

Curry as a stew

Some stews are also called “curry,” such as meat stew (veal or poultry) prepared with this spice. First, the chopped vegetables and a little ginger are sautéed with butter or oil, and then all are seasoned with lemon juice and curry. This stir fry is reserved until the end.

The meat is sautéed – if possible, tender – cut into strips or cubes. The idea is that the surface is browned, while the interior is almost raw. Once this texture is achieved, the meat is removed from the pan and the oil with which it has been cooked is removed. With a little wine, the juices that stick to the base are deglazed.

Finally, the meat is combined with the previously prepared curry sauce in that pan. It is covered with coconut milk, just to the edge of the preparation, so that there is not too much liquid, and boils for about 15 minutes until it is a creamy stew. We put it to the point of salt and voila! A “curry of …” is already prepared.

A unique curry dish. When curry stews are served with boiled white rice and then sautéed or with a classic “Pilaw” rice, they become a hearty dish. Therefore, it will not be necessary to think about starters or first courses. With a portion of this gastronomic proposal, it will be enough.

Curry as a spice

Another possibility that curry offers is to use it as a spice. A good option is to flavor rice or legume dishes, such as lentils, which combine in a very natural way with their flavor. In these cases, curry is used as one more spice. However, there are a couple of tricks to get right.

  • The curry should always be added when the rice or stew is already boiling so that it dilutes and flavors the entire preparation equally.
  • It is essential to be very careful with the amount added since its flavor has a lot of presence, and it is advisable to avoid excesses.
  • When buying prepared curry, it should be borne in mind that there are more or less spicy mixtures.

If you want to prepare a homemade curry, you will need a grinder. A mixture of turmeric, cayenne pepper, mustard, cloves, cardamom, dried coriander, nutmeg, and pepper is introduced. All this in proportion to the taste of those who cook.

Although the preparation is very simple, it is advisable to buy curry already prepared, due to its perfect combination of ingredients. Of course, it is important to bear in mind that, among its many varieties, there are more or less spicy mixtures. Therefore, when buying, you should pay attention to the level of spiciness of the chosen preparation.

If you have any questions or comments on the content, please let us know!

References

Thetakeout.com

Theatlantic.com

Food.com