Recipe for a basic curry

This recipe could be use for all kinds of meat chicken, beef, lamb, pork or fish.


To make a good curry you need to have the right spices. All depending of what king of curry you are looking for depends on the spice blend. This curry recipe works just as well with meat, fish, or vegetables. And as a starting block you could make it your own persona dish as you decide what to finish it with.

For the spices you will need.

2.5cm/1in piece of root ginger
2 to 3 garlic cloves
1tsp ground cardamom
½tsp ground cloves
½tsp ground chilli
½tsp ground black pepper
2tsp ground cumin
1tsp ground coriander
½tsp ground turmeric

This as a basic starting block is all that you need. Now what you do with it is another thing. You can dry fry your spices in a pan with no oil or butter. This gives a nutty texture to the dish. Or you can cook them in the oil first to get all the flavours working before you add the rest of the ingredients. Once you have done that add it to your meat.

For the curry you will need

675g/1½ld of meat, chicken works best if you are in a rush.
2tdsp of oil
2 onions
400g/14oz chopped tomatoes
100g/3½oz coconut cream, yoghurt or mayonnaise.
Bunch of fresh coriander.
Salt to taste.

Now you can add the meat to the cooking pot straight away. Or you can add the spice mix to the meat and let it marinade for a while before you cook it. It you marinade it you do get a beeper flavour to the meat.

Add your meat to the spices or the marinade to a pan with the oil and the onions. Cook till the meat is browned and the onions are soft. Then add the tomatoes. Now all depending on what meat you are using you might want to add some water. If you are cooking chuck stake it will take a lot longer then chicken. The longer the cooking the more it will reduce. So you will need to add water as you cook it or it will just burn to the pan. So you will have to be the judge of that. Then cook the meat till it is tender.

Once the meat is cooked then you just finish it with ether cream coconut, yoghurt or mayonnaise. Yes mayonnaise is great to finish a curry with as long as it is out of a jar. And then add the fresh chopped coriander at the last moment. And season with salt to taste.

Once you have the basic spices then you can experiment and make other curries. Add a little brown sugar, fresh chilli, more vegetables. The variations and choices are endless.