Five major "curry" bases of Indian cuisine

Recently I am really obsessed with curry, especially the Nepali-style curry not far downstairs. Nepali-style curry has a milder flavor than Indian-style curry, and even picky kids like it. But it’s really not cheap, so I decided to study how to make curry-based dishes. Gather the various information on the net, and then experiment one by one:

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DOES I ndian cuisine have mother? Sauces?

Indian cuisine is broad and profound, with hundreds of cuisines in the southeast, northwest, and definitely not just curry and naan. Not to mention that the word curry was actually coined by the British when they colonized India, and was used to collectively refer to "a dish made with a mixture of spices, vegetables and meat."

Faced with such a complex cooking system, is it possible to compile a basic structure similar to the "mother sauce"?

Pooja Makhijani, a columnist from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other major media, couldn’t help but hesitate when receiving the question from FOOD52. She believes that mother sauce is the foundation of French cuisine, including béchamel, brown sauce, white sauce, velouté, red sauce and hollandaise. It would undoubtedly be too simplistic to apply Western concepts to Indian cuisine, and there is no concept of sauces in Indian cuisine. "Although every bite of Indian food is as skillful, sophisticated, and complex as any 'highly regarded' cuisine in the world, the logic of how it handles food is just different." Aarti, author of Indian cooking books and host of Food Network Sequeira said when questioned by Makhijani.

Having said that, Makhijani does not object to using his brain. She wondered if the concept of "sauce" was excluded, was there a basic "curry sauce" or "gravy cooked with spices and herbs" that was indispensable to Indian cuisine and that every chef should know? "I think there are several categories of curry, and everyone extends their development based on these foundations. I think this is the same concept as 'mother sauce.'" Sequeira said.

So Makhijani consulted her family, friends and many Indian cooking experts, including Sequeira; the author of the Indian recipe book "Vibrant India: Fresh Vegetarian Recipes from Bangalore to Brooklyn" and a small-scale producer Chitra Agrawal, founder of the Indian seasoning brand Brooklyn Delhi; and Anupy Singla, author of another Indian cooking book "Indian for Everyone: The Home Cook's Guide to Traditional Favorites"; have summarized the five major Indian curry bases.

As mentioned at the beginning, the word "curry" is just a general term; Makhijani said that among the five basic dishes, when the word "curry" is mentioned, she refers to "vegetable or vegetable based on gravy" "Meat cuisine", of course there is also "dry curry" in Indian cuisine, but this article will focus on thick liquid cuisine.

Tomato "Curry"

Composed of onions, ginger, garlic, red pepper and tomatoes, the flavor is mild and rich, not overly complex.

For spices, you can choose Indian mixed spices (garam masala), coriander seeds, cumin and turmeric, as well as fragrant cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves and cloves. Hundreds of different curries can be made by just slightly varying the amounts. “As an Indian, I know I should say that chicken tikka masala is not an authentic Indian dish, but its roots are in the authentic Indian dish of butter chicken tikka masala,” Sequeira said. Singla uses this tomato-based "curry" to make everything from muttar paneer, a pea and Indian cheese curry, to chana masala, a chickpea curry.

Burnt Onion "Curry"

Rogan josh is a famous dish from Kashmir in North India. It is made with burnt onions or shallots, Indian yogurt, chilli, ginger and whole spices. , a sauce made from cloves, bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon, made by slow-cooking a whole piece of pan-fried lamb. This flavor profile is also common in my home province of Sindh, where my grandma would braise the stick legs in this rich and spicy sauce.

Vanilla "Curry"

Usually based on coriander and mint, or one of the two, it is bright green in color and has the smell of vanilla and earth. In addition, add onions, garlic, ginger and various spices. (Seeing this, do you notice a pattern?) Sequeira believes that this is very similar to Argentine chimichurri, pesto and pistou. Hariyali murgh masala, a North Indian dish, is a Mughal version; there's also papletcha hirwa kalwan, or pomfret green curry from the west coast state of Maharashtra.

Coconut milk "curry"

This recipe is very common in southern India and combines onions, garlic, ginger, black mustard seeds, red or green chillies, curry leaves, and coconut milk. Milk creates sweet, aromatic dishes. Compared with Thai coconut milk curry, Indian coconut milk curry has less soup and a milder flavor. Coconut milk chicken curry (Mangalorean kori gassi) and fish coconut milk cuisine (Keralan meen moily) are respectively extended to the local dishes of the two regions.

Yogurt or fresh cream curry

North Indian korma "curry" refers to the use of yogurt or fresh cream, onions, garlic, ginger and various whole spices. Use it to stew meat or vegetables with a rich, mild, smooth and nutty flavor. Korma is a dish that was born in the royal kitchens of the royal palace. It was served to the nobles during the Mughal Empire in India (about 16th to 19th centuries). Chicken korma and nine kinds of vegetables (navratan) korma are two common dishes. Agrawal has a cucumber curry (majjige huli), which comes from Karnataka in southern India. The herb flavor of this dish is bright, refreshing, and rich in flavor, and it goes well with spicy dishes. It is a South Indian yogurt curry. special variant.

All food cultures in the world are unique and cannot be summarized using the same system. This is also the fascinating thing about cuisine. However, when it comes to dishes from distant countries, we always seem to be looking at the flowers in the fog. With such a classification basis, it is like being "led through the door by a master." Then for a deeper understanding, we have to travel thousands of miles and read thousands of books on our own. Books and thousands of meals!