Curry recipe that doesn't use 50 billion ingredients please!

[Missnearlyvintage]

So I might be exaggerating a bit in my subject but I'm finding it really frustrating that I never have the ingredients in the house to make the curry recipes I find and that it will cost a fortune to go and purchase them all. Does anyone know of a curry recipe that is tasty and doesn't use too many ingredients? Cheap ingredients would also be a plus but I'm not that bothered. Thank you, hopefully you can help me out of my cooking rut!

If you want to make the curry paste fresh this is where you will have the issue but if you buy a jar a curry paste and add the other ingredients to make the curry then you can always be prepared.

I make Thai Green Curry often and I just need to make sure that I have Green Curry paste and coconut milk in my cupboard. Cook up some chicken breast, and set aside. Add some of the curry paste to a pan, and a bit of palm sugar (brown sugar will do if this is all you have in the cupboard). Cook for about a minute. Add in chicken breast and zest of a lime until all chicken is coated. Stir in Coconut milk and simmer till thickened. Add a splash of fish sauce (or soy if you don't have any). Toss in some chopped red chilis for a bit of heat. Squeeze the lime in that you zested and top off with a handful of fresh chopped coriander. Serve with some Thai Jasmine Rice.

My mum used to make instant curry with seafood (also works with pork and chicken):

1. Slice onion, fry till a bit brown.

2. Put meat/seafood in, cook.

3. Add a tablespoon or so (for 2 people) of curry powder (I use the Madras hot curry powder you get from shops)

4. Add a bit of water, cook a bit more till done.

Serve with rice. Not quite the same as proper curry but works pretty well as a quick fix.

Jar of curry paste, yoghurt, creamed coconut, veg/meat/prawns of choice.

I do -

Chop red onion, aubergine, pepper, mushrooms and fry in wok. Dissolve coconut in about 1/4 pint boiling water; add 3 or so tablespoons of curry paste, about 1/2 pint natural yoghurt, stir it all together and stir into veg. Stir a reaspoon of cornflour into a little cold water and add to veg/ sauce to stabilise yoghurt. Simmer for half an hour ish.

I use jars of Pataks curry paste because it is easily available in supermarkets.

Have you tried Lily Kwoks curry recipe from the Good Food channel website? I am a curry fiend and have tried lots of recipes, even the ones with the millions of ingredients and have been disappointed. Lily Kwoks is great, not too many ingredients, a little time consuming but the sauce is freezable so you can make big batches and it tastes delicious! Healthy too:)
Here is the link:
www.uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/580588

Jamie Oliver's curries in his Ministry of Food book are good. He gives you the option of making your own paste (with a billion ingredients) or using jarred paste.

This is how I was taught by my mum - The only spices I use for a curry are cumin, chilli, turmeric and coriander (all ground). I also add cinnamon, bay leaves (1-2) and cardamom (3-4). That's added to fried onions and garlic, and works for most types of curries (fish, chicken, lamb, prawn).

There is a good range called kitchen guru, they give you all the spices you need in the right quantities. It costs around £2 a pack but means you can have variety.

My recipe is much the same as UptoapointLordCopper's
onion
meat
curry powder
water
only I add a couple of dessert spoonful's of Mango Chutney and a bit of bottled squeeze of lemon juice,
Oh and a chopped apple, fried with the onionwhich dd always picks out

Sometimes I add a tiny bit of cornflour to make the mix a bit thicker if I've added too much water

YouveCatToBeKittenMe - great minds! But even for "proper" curry you don't need much more. I always have curry powder in my cupboard, and if you blitz up onions, garlic, ginger + chilli, then with the curry powder and a base (tinned tomato or coconut milk) you can make quite a decent curry.

Cheat: get Japanese curry mix - something like this - if you get the mild version the kids love it!

I made a really nice chicken curry the other day, with just diced chicken breast, chopped onion, plain yoghurt and a (Schwartz?) pilau spice mix.

Fried up the chicken and onion in a bit of oil, added the spice mix then right at the end stirred in the yoghurt to make a creamy sauce. It was one of the nicest curries I've ever made (and I usually do all that heating and grinding whole spices. Everyone wanted seconds. Dead easy. You could add peas and potatoes to bulk it out if you wanted

I am mum of three under 10s, so quick, simple, healthy cooking is a must!

I make curries for my kids without even using onions. I only have a few basic store cupboard ingredients and use these sites regularly:

Healthy Indian Simple Curries:
www.healthyindianrecipes.co.uk/

Madhur Jaffrey is queen of curry with some simple recipes:
www.madhur-jaffrey.com/index.php/category/recipes/

Anjum Anand's recipes are quite simple with few ingredients : www.anjumanand.co.uk/indian-food-recipes-cooking-dishes/

@Missnearlyvintage, one of the websites shows how you can make curries quite cheaply: www.healthyindianrecipes.co.uk/three-course-curry-for-a-fiver/

Good luck, any questions, please free to ask, I am a British Pakistani mum who loves cooking curries for her young brood!

I use the very quick chicken curry recipe from the BBC good food website. Uses ready made paste but is so simple to do and always tastes good. Have also used prawns or done a veggie version using red pepper, courgette, aubergine and chick peas. You can vary the amount/strength of paste and amount of yoghurt to suit the audience

I use a pressure cooker to make my curries and it is so quick and easy.
Have a look here ,this is a good easy and quick recipe to follow

Being a busy mum I find my pressure cooker invaluable as I can throw everything in the pot and usually within a half hour or so dinner is ready.

That said, though, if you ever fancy making a billion-ingredient curry, if you live in an ethnic area the best place to get your spices is in an Asian grocer - I would never pay the prices in the supermarket, it's too expensive. You could get all the spices you need for a few quid.

Plus also they sell the freshest onions, garlic, chilli and ginger, plus great big naan breads (delicious), and also big bunches of herbs. I usually get the lamb in there as well. And usually buy a load of exotic looking sweets (danger). I reallly recommend it, it makes buying those great big shopping lists so much cheaper, and once it is done you have got all you need for 6 months.

I think also there are spice shops online which might be helpful.

...James Beard's " Curry-in-a-Hurry".
1/2 cup Milk or Light Cream. 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
1-2 T Curry Powder. A bit of Garlic,to taste
Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring it well. Now combine with one of these-
2 cups diced Chicken,Beef,Veal,Pork or Ham
8-12 Hard-Cooked Eggs,Halved
Variation: Use Cream of Chicken Soup and add Mushrooms and hard
cooked Eggs