I'm ashamed the I cannot make a decent curry!

[Jezabelle]

I love cooking for friends and like the idea of rustling up a quick, relaxed curry with beer. It's just something I've never made before! (Without a jar )

I have sometimes been put off by long lists of ingredients in many curry recipes. Just want a fairly simple, yummy recipe. Anyone want to share please?

I use a curry mix from a shop on Portabello Rd (The Spice Shop - they do mail order) and I even get orders from some Indian friends to pick up their Curried Vegetable Mix when I go!

Fry onion, throw in mix, stir for a bit then add the meat/soya/veggies...cook a bit longer than add tinned whole baby tomatoes.

I have to say, this is every bit as nice as the curries that I used to make from scratch when my Indiam friend (who taught cookery classes) showed me what spices to mix up and gave me her family spice blend.

You also need to make some decent yoghurt dip and breads too. I love curry!

There's a simple curry recipe in the baby led weaning cook book if you happen to have it lying around.

I recently bought www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1845024958 that book, which has more complicated recipes but they are so worth it. We're now having curry made from scratch about once a week.

I use curry paste pataks do loads of different ones and you can add tomatoes, yoghurt, cream, stock with meat or veg

Most 'from scratch' curries will have a lot of ingredients but they can be v easy. Do a search on here for my name and dahl - it's super easy and v delicious. Or Jamie Oliver does an excellent base recipe which you can make in meat, fish or veggie versions. Hang on - will try to find it...

here

Thanks everyone! I'm inspired. Moomin, I've looked on the Portabello Spice Centre website and I love it! Will definitely get ordering a few things from there. So, I'm getting the idea that you can use onion, spices, meat (or veg) and maybe tinned tomatoes, but if I want another base, do any of you use coconut milk? If so, do you use the tinned variety? I like a coconut base when I go out for a curry.

Thanks for links Jolly and Rumus, I'll get looking.

anjum annnand has a few books with some lovely recipes. We have a curry most weeks.

I make loads of good curries, both Thai and Indian (coughs modestly)

For Indian, must have ingredients
-mustard seeds
-cumin seeds
-coriander seeds
-turmeric (fresh is far, far better than dried)
-fresh chillies

• sugar (preferably brown)

-salt

Optional
-curry leaves
-kaffir lime leaves
-fresh ginger
-onions
-fennel seeds
-clove
-cinnamon stick
-cardamom pod
-mace
-allspice
-astheofeda (sp?)

-tomatoes/creme fraiche combo or coconut milk

I heat the oil/ butter mix or ghee
Add coarsely crushed whole spices (bang them a bit with a pestle)
Add the curry or kaffir leaves if I have them
When the fragrance is sublime, add a dollop of wine
Then add fresh ingredients -chillies, garlic, freshly grated turmeric (tiny bit). And onions and ginger if you want to.
Add either fresh chopped tomatoes or coconut milk
Mix and cover for three minutes
Add veggies and or meat and some hot water and salt and sugar
At the end add creme fraiche if you are not going the coconut milk route

I hate tinned tomatoes, so I use either tinned coconut milk or tubbed coconut cream for my base.