The Curry Secret (GPT Enhanced)

The Curry Sauce

This is the most closely guarded of all the secrets of restaurant cooking.

Once prepared, it has a very smooth texture and a pale golden colour. Taste it and it is pleasant with a subtle curry flavour. Every good restaurant has a large pan of the sauce always at hand, with the recipe varying only slightly from chef to chef. It forms the base of all the restaurant curries, from the very mild to the very hot and spicy. It will keep in a refrigerator for up to five days, although the best restaurants will prepare no more than three days’ requirement in one go. Together with your spices, the prior preparation of the curry sauce, and whatever meat or fish you propose to use, a selection of dishes can be made in a matter of minutes.

You will see that the making of the curry sauce is in fact simple, with no special equipment required other than a blender. It is essential, though, that you follow strictly the instructions for blending and skimming as these are the two procedures that can make the difference between a good curry sauce and a poor one.

The quantities I have given are enough for six to eight people. If you do not require so much, you may halve the quantity of each ingredient, or alternatively freeze the remainder of the finished sauce. I have included freezing instructions where applicable. Although Indian restaurants do not normally do this, it is a perfectly good way of taking advantage of your freezer at home.

How to Make the Curry Sauce

Serves: 8 main course dishes
Preparation & cooking time: ~1 hour 45 min (slightly longer due to onion browning)

Ingredients

2 lb (900 g) onions, thinly sliced
2 oz (50 g) fresh ginger, peeled
2 oz (50 g) garlic, peeled
1½ litres water (or half water, half unsalted chicken/veg stock)
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
400 g passata (or good-quality chopped tomatoes)
⅓ cup vegetable oil + 1 tbsp ghee (optional, for finishing)
1½ tsp tomato purée
1½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2–3 green cardamom pods
Pinch dried fenugreek leaves (methi)

Method

Stage 1

Heat 1–2 tbsp oil in a large saucepan. Add onions and cook gently for 10–15 minutes until lightly golden.
Meanwhile, blend ginger and garlic with ~1 cup water until smooth. Add to onions, stir, and cook 2 minutes.
Add the rest of the water (and stock if using), salt, and cardamom pods. Simmer covered 30–35 minutes until soft. Remove cardamom pods, then cool slightly.

Stage 2

Blend the onion mixture until velvety smooth (work in batches if necessary).
Reserve ~4 tbsp for pre-cooking chicken if following related recipes.

Stage 3

Blend the passata or tomatoes until smooth (if not already).
In the cleaned saucepan, heat the remaining oil. Add tomato purée, turmeric, paprika, cumin, coriander, and fenugreek. Cook for 1–2 minutes until aromatic.
Add the blended tomatoes, bring to a gentle boil, and simmer 8–10 minutes.
Stir in onion base. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes, skimming off froth. Add a little water if too thick.
For richness, stir in 1 tbsp ghee before serving (optional).

Storage: Cool and refrigerate up to 4 days, or freeze in portions for up to 2 months.

Chicken Dishes

The Right Equipment

A restaurant chef always uses a large frying pan with deep sides (approximately 4 inches or 10 cm) for cooking curries. This ensures a large amount of food is in contact with the hot surface at one time and provides a wide area for evaporation. Not only does this speed up cooking, but it also allows more rapid thickening of sauces without overcooking the meat, fish, or vegetables. If you do not have such a pan, use a large enough saucepan to achieve the same benefits.

How to Prepare the Chicken

For our curries we have always used only breast portions of chicken cooked in a special way. Some restaurants use the whole chicken, but their methods of boiling and removing the flesh from the bones can leave an unwanted boiled taste and some less savoury bits of meat in the finished dish. I strongly recommend following my method, as the end result is worth it — the chicken is extremely tender.

Serves: 6–8 (makes ~900 g cooked chicken for multiple dishes)
Prep time: 15 minutes + 30 minutes marinating
Cook time: 15–20 minutes

Ingredients

5 large chicken breasts (approx. 2 lb / 900 g, skin and bone removed), cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika (or Kashmiri chilli powder for colour)
1 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 inch piece fresh ginger, finely grated

Method

Marinate the chicken
- In a large bowl, combine yoghurt, lemon juice, oil, turmeric, coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, garlic, and ginger.
- Add the chicken pieces and mix well to coat.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to 2 hours is ideal).
Cook the chicken
- Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a large, deep frying pan or saucepan over medium heat.
- Add the marinated chicken pieces in a single layer. Cook for 3–4 minutes, turning once, until lightly coloured.
- Add 4 tbsp of the reserved curry sauce (Stage 2 from the base recipe) and stir well.
- Reduce heat, cover, and cook gently for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender and just cooked through.
Finish & store
- Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon, leaving behind any thick sediment in the pan.
- Cool, then use immediately in curries, refrigerate up to 4 days, or freeze in portions for up to 2 months.

How to Make the Curries

Once you have the sauce, making curries is extremely easy.

In all the following recipes I have allowed for 3–4 servings. If you have frozen half of the sauce and chicken after following my recipes, your next Indian meal will be as quick and simple as going to your favourite restaurant. If you wish to cater for twice this number, use the full quantity of sauce — enough for up to eight main dishes.

Do not reduce the amount of oil during cooking; if necessary, skim excess from the finished curry. Oil is essential to bring out the flavour of the spices and create the right sauce texture.

Restaurants often use food colourings (red and yellow) to give dishes their expected appearance, though they do not affect flavour. You may substitute natural colourings (e.g. paprika or turmeric) or omit them altogether, but be aware that some traditional dishes, such as tandoori chicken or chicken tikka masala, are strongly associated with specific colours.

Chicken Bhuna Masala

This spicy dish is a firm favourite. (Spicy does not necessarily mean hot!)

Serves: 3–4
Preparation and cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

1 lb (450 g) cooked chicken breast (pre-prepared as in chicken method, or use freshly cooked pan-seared pieces)
2 oz (50 g) mushrooms, sliced
½ green capsicum (bell pepper), sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil (or 1 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp ghee)
400 ml improved curry sauce (about 2 UK cups)
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
½ tsp chilli powder (more if you like it hot)
1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped
1½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin (to toast in oil at the start)
½ tsp dried fenugreek leaves (methi), lightly crushed
½ tsp paprika (for colour, optional)
Juice of ½ lemon (for freshness)
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Method

Sauté vegetables
- Heat oil/ghee in a large deep frying pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the cumin and paprika, fry for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add mushrooms and capsicum, cook 4–5 minutes until softened and lightly browned.
Build the sauce
- Stir in the curry sauce, salt, chilli powder, and green chilli.
- Bring to the boil, then simmer 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add chicken & spices
- Add cooked chicken pieces. Stir to coat and simmer gently for 5–7 minutes until heated through and the sauce thickens slightly.
- Stir in garam masala and fenugreek, cook 2 more minutes.
Finish & serve
- Add lemon juice and check seasoning.
- Spoon off any excess oil if desired.
- Garnish with fresh coriander and serve immediately with rice or naan.