Saying I love curry is an understatement. The history of curry’s origin, spread, and eventual integration and adoption into others’ cultures never ceases to fascinate. The Spice Trade really gifted us with a treat. There are whole comics dedicated to curry (yes…I am referring to Addicted to Curry, no…my food nerdism knows no bounds). Thankfully there are food nerds like myself who can bring the secrets (and roots) to the masses of how great curry is made. All the fodder you need for a feast!

Fundamentally, curry originates in India. Kari, a saucy/gravy blend consumed with rice. All but one of the curries I’m going to share with you today are not historically Indian curries. Not in their truest and purest forms at least. But they are all delicious, wonderful, and have respectful nods to their mother curry–as none of these would exist without the Spice Trade.

And no, I’m not covering Filipino kare kare here. Yes, it is a curry. But, often is loaded with peanuts…which I cannot partake in. Maybe one day I’ll make one that I’m not legume-adverse towards (peanuts are a legume!).

Is mole curry?

No, it’s also not about mole. I firmly believe that while people describe it as Mexican curry, mole would exist without the Spice Trade. Therefore, mole exists as an independent entity that happens to share the same values of a blend of spices into a rich sauce that is meant to enhance a protein. I’m doing a poor job explaining it, but there are nuances in the food history world about things like, “how dumplings integrated into other cultures and now blow our mind to learn samosas stemmed from them” versus the synchronicity in bread developing around the world. One could argue mole and curry are synchronically linked but not dependent on one over the other to exist.

But I want more veggies…isn’t curry rich?

Additionally, before the recipes I’ll slide in my usual array of notes with ways to further “healthify” the dish per a friend’s request. Curry as a whole isn’t as fattening as people might think when homemade (I can’t vouch for restaurants who lean on butter or filler heavy offset).

Since there’s a lot of content in this post, please click on the following if you’re looking for a particular recipe:

Thai Green Curry

There’s something magical about green curry. Loaded with spices that are meant to highlight the peppers, and then calmed by the coconut milk added to simmer in…it’s a delightful play of acid, heat, and fat. Legitimately anything could go into this curry and I would probably enjoy it. Probably. Carrots, snow peas, shrimp, potatoes of any kind, zucchinis, bok choy, tomatoes, asparagus…it’s all been great in there. If you want it thicker, traditional curry, pair with rice. If you want it more soup-like…I still personally pair with rice but it’s optional.

Personally, I have only ever used the Maesri green curry can of paste, as lemongrass is quite hard to come by here. Being a Southeast Asian dish, there’s ample use of fish sauce or shrimp paste to add some extra zing. And I don’t know about others, but the scent of fish sauce always cues to me that a delicious meal is en route.

What is in this magical green curry paste?

Green curry paste is usually a delightful blend of green chilis, garlic, ginger, shallot, lemongrass, limes, salt, sugar, cardamom, cumin, turmeric, and coriander seeds. Even with the paste, I tend to add some extra ginger, garlic, and lime juice as I feel as the paste ages, time mellows out certain flavors in it. No one eats curry because they’re craving nuanced flavors. Curry is all about bold depth of taste made to revive the senses and delight the palate.

And those looking to ensure this is a filling but health forward dish (I feel of the three curries this is probably the most “light” and nutrient dense one) you can always be light handed on the full fat coconut milk (or use light coconut milk) since everything else added is so nutrient dense and marco-light overall.

Ingredients

Makes 6+ servings

  • Neutral oil, for cooking
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • ~1 inch or 2cm stub of ginger, grated or finely chopped
  • 1-2 TBP Maesri Green Curry Paste (or make your own fresh, Hot Thai Kitchen is my recco there)
  • 1/2-1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2-1 cup stock (can use water, more to thickness preference)
  • 1 TBP fish sauce, plus more to taste (can sub with salt if vegan)
  • 1 bunch asparagus, chopped
  • 1 can bamboo shoots
  • 2 Japanese eggplant, sliced into medallions
  • Protein of choice, cut into bite sized pieces (literally every protein source has been delightful in this, if using tofu I recommend pressing before use)

Steps

  1. In a large sauce pan (with a lid set aside for later use) heat oil to medium heat. Brown onion and garlic.
  2. Add ginger and curry paste, cook until aromatic.
  3. Add liquids (including fish sauce) and bring to boil.
  4. Add vegetables and protein and cook covered until tender, about 15-20 minutes.

Japanese Curry Rice

Comfort food for the broke college student. Just kidding this is great regardless of where you are in life. It has a cozy charm, something Coco Curry House (CocoIchi) found a way to make into an affordable chain in Japan that literally was impossible to avoid when in Tokyo. Thankfully, Japanese curry is more than just a chain commodity, because this is a curry known for being thiccc. A lot of homey restaurants stateside offer this as a lunch dish. Often it comes with katsu style protein, creating a wonderful juxtaposition of crunchy protein, thiccc sauce, and fluffy medium-grain rice coated in flavor and joy.

A Curry with Love

Talking about this cues memories of the mom and pop Japanese restaurant I worked all of high school in. Steamy hot katsu curry rice was such a popular menu item in the colder months, it’d be unusual to not leave shift with the linger on my clothes.

If you can’t tell I’m terribly nostalgic about this dish; there are other memories like late nights in Kyoto or college recreations, but I digress. As with thai curry’s premade Maesri canned paste, there’s a roux that you can either make from scratch or get a jump start with boxed roux. I tend to go for the latter–purely because unlike Indian curry that gets it’s extra kick from freshly toasted spices–Japanese curry rice deviates from that regard. Given the dish has been in Japan since the Meiji Era (1868-1912), it’s only natural that culture, time, and local trends, have developed curry rice into the love that it is today.

What makes Japanese curry unique?

Japanese curry has some pretty standardized elements–meat, carrot, potato, onion, and a thick roux-curried sauce. Where it gets unique, even if using a boxed roux, are how people address adding in extra flavor. Honey, chocolate, apples, and even ketchup have known to be added in small doses to create a more nuanced (and yes sweeter) flavor profile than it’s forbearers.

So the secret to “healthify” in a curry so different from other types?

When it comes to making it more health forward, I say follow many parents’ secret for making this dish more nutrient dense (and maybe use a grated apple as the sweet/fresh/acidic additive to the dish)–load it up with veggies! While carrot, onion, and potato are iconic for this dish, it’s not uncommon for baby corn, eggplant, mushrooms, and a ton of other veggies to end up in this dish. Much like omelet rice, this dish is a parental gem for getting stubborn eaters to have a more balanced diet!

Also, for those wanting potatoes without the carbohydrate density, there is a way to do that and still eat potatoes. Soak the potatoes for a half hour in water before cooking. Soaking allows for potato starches to leech out of the potatoes and reduces the starch/carbohydrate content in them. If you’re feeling creative or very “waste not, want not” let the leeched starches dry out to save for other occasions where you need thickeners.

Scroll below for recipe

Ingredients

~6 Servings

  • 1 Onion, medium chopped
  • 1/2 lb Carrot, peeled and chopped into medallions
  • 1 large Potato, chopped
  • 2.5 cups Water or Stock
  • 1/2 Boxed Roux (or if you’re glutton for pain make a roux from scratch)
    • 1/3 cup flour
    • 1/3 cup unsalted butter
    • 2 TBP garam masala (see Butter Chicken for my homemade garam masala blend if desired)
    • 2 TBP curry powder (from curry leaves)
    • 1 tsp cayenne
    • 2 tsp sugar
  • ~1 lb Protein of choice (suggestions include: tofu katsu, beef, chicken, pan fried pork belly)
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Neutral cooking oil
  • Any other vegetables and optional flavorings (suggestions include mushrooms, eggplant, garlic, honey, grated apple, cayenne)

Steps (regular pot)

  1. In a large pot, heat oil to medium heat. Brown onions.
  2. Increase to medium-high heat. Add water and other vegetables (and meat if not doing a katsu or separate preparation).
  3. Stir, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes.
  4. Uncover, lower to medium or medium-low heat, add boxed roux, seasonings to taste, grated apple (if using) and stir until melted and thickened to desired consistency.
  5. Serve on rice. Can also serve on udon as curry udon instead. (If special prepping protein, add prior to serving.)

Steps (Instant Pot)

  1. Set to SAUTE and heat oil. Brown onions.
  2. Hit CANCEL. Add water and other vegetables (and meat if not doing a katsu or separate preparation).
  3. Put on lid, set to MANUAL, High Pressure, 5 minutes. Make sure valve is set to seal. (When done can NPR or quick release.)
  4. Set to SAUTE and add boxed roux, seasonings to taste, grated apple (if using) and stir until melted and thickened to desired consistency.
  5. Serve on rice. Can also serve on udon as curry udon instead. (If special prepping protein, add prior to serving.)

Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani)

One of many things that makes this dish great is the flexibility to make it, and the flavor imparted in it. Touted to be similar to the English heart throb chicken tikka masala (the national dish of England) due to the rich buttery gravy, I would say (as an outsider looking in) that these two curries overlap in a lot of places.

The key to good Indian food is the freshness of ingredients. Freshly grind spices whenever possible, the freshest vegetables make a difference too. This was always stressed to me in my internship days by those who grew up eating and cooking Indian cuisine regularly. I do, however, cheat on freshness with the tomato…canned tomatoes are really a gift and given the canning process ensure nutrients are preserved at peak deliciousness.

Enjoy more vegetables in your curry?

As the least vegetable forward of the three, if you want to “healthify” it, your gravy is your best bet here. If you have a good immersion blender or regular blender (hello Vitamix my one true love) you can lessen the butter used. I know some people add gobs of butter into this dish…but real murgh makhani doesn’t need that much, it’s an enhancer to the dish that allows for a more velvet texture. With a good blender the gravy ends up silky smooth. And with high quality butter (Kerrigold anyone?) you can further impart flavor without drowning the gravy. You can sneak some cauliflower if you’re looking to be “edgy” but I’ve had mixed results on that…and felt so bad deviating from the timelessness of this gravy that you may be better treating it like the chicken in the dish and adding it whole afterwards.

Want to indulge a little?

On the opposite end if you want to be more unctuous, you can add a splash of heavy cream, yogurt, or evaporated milk into the gravy to increase the dairy sweet and savory notes. I, personally, add a splash of whatever dairy milk or coconut milk I have on hand. Butter chicken isn’t inherently unhealthy (contrary to the demonization of butter), and I rather let it be the celebration it’s meant to be as a fulfilling and satiating meal.

Fun fact:

This recipe is saved in my phone as “lazy butter chicken”. I usually eyeball everything and felt it was a relaxed dish. I created the phone file when my roommate asked me to teach her how I make it. As such, treat this recipe as a guide, makhani is made to be flexible! Also, as this is a lazy version, it turns out a bit tomato heavy, so feel free to scale back on the tomato if you’re not necessarily into such a flavor profile.

The vegan/vegetarian version of this gravy is to cook the vegetables in oil and to add cashew cream in for the texture instead and served with vegetables/tofu or paneer (if vegetarian and not vegan). Which honestly it’s so good. Like…wow.

Ingredients

Makes about 4-6 servings

  • 4 TBP Unsalted Butter or ghee
  • 1 medium Onion, chopped
  • 3-5 cloves of Garlic, crushed
  • 1 inch or 2 cm stub of Ginger, grated or chopped into slivers
  • 2 TBP Garam Masala (I use Deep brand garam masala mix or make my own blend of the following, start with 1 tsp of each and tweak to your preference)
    • Cinnamon, ground or whole and removed before blending
    • Turmeric
    • Cumin
    • Fennel seeds, ground
    • Coriander seeds, ground
    • Black Peppercorns, ground
    • Cloves or black cardamom (optional, I add when I’m feeling extra savory), ground or removed before blending
  • 1 TBP Cayenne
  • ~28 oz of Tomatoes, fresh or canned (I prefer whole if canned, if fresh quarter tomatoes)
  • Splash of dairy of choice (anywhere from 2 TBP to 1/3 a cup for anyone who feels antsy at the word splash)
  • 4-6 Chicken thighs (breasts can do too but then I recommend a yogurt marinade overnight to tenderize the meat)
  • Cilantro, chopped for fresh garnish

Steps

  1. In a large pot melt butter or ghee over medium low heat.
  2. Add onions and cook until translucent (don’t crowd the onions), about 10 minutes.
  3. Add ginger and garlic, cook until aromatic.
  4. Add spices, lower heat if necessary and toast until aromatic, be careful not to burn or risk imparting bitter flavor, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add tomatoes, bring pot back up to medium heat, stir occasionally and let stew, about 15 minutes.
  6. Turn off stove and pour into blender (if you’re not sure your blender can handle high heat wait until cooled to room temperature first). Blend until smooth.
  7. Turn stove back onto medium and pour back into pot, add protein of choice and let simmer for 15-30 minutes or until protein is cooked all the way through. (Note a low long stew can be done to further infuse the makhani flavor into the protein.)
  8. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice and/or garlic naan.

So there you have it! 3 Easy curries with loads of flavor and nutrition in return for a smidge of TLC. And with mostly hands off cooking instruction set once you have all your ingredients prepped! Knowing me, I’ll slowly get through making videos of these incase you doubt how easy these dishes are.

Stay Hungry
XOXO
Mish ♥

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