Which curry paste?

[TowandaForever]

I don’t know a lot about curry. Never ate it as a child as very traditional meat and veg upbringing until I turned vege.

If I order curry I just get vegetable curry.

Which paste would be best to replicate this?

There's no answer to that, we all have different tastes.
I suggest you buy some jars & decide which one you prefer.

@handbagsatdawn33

I was trying to avoid that cos I’m poor! Thankyou though.

Do you like hot curry? Medium? Mild? If I was going for just one paste I choose a madras, but that is fairly hot. A rogan josh is not as hot, and possibly slightly sweeter. I use pataks. They also do a general mild curry paste you could try and if it is not hot enough add a little more chilli powder/flakes or fresh chilli.

Goldfish Curry Sauce (it is a paste which you add to boiling water on the job). Absolutely divine. I eat it with chicken covered in katsu crumb from Aldi and some egg fried rice.

If I wanted to make a vegetable curry I'd probably buy a korma paste. It's mild and won't overpower the veggies. As for brand, Patak's or Sharwoods.

If you're on a budget, it would be cheaper to buy dry spices/spice mixes and fry them off in oil yourself than use pastes. For a super simple veg curry, fry some onions in a generous amount of oil, add garlic and ginger (fresh or tube/powder), then add dry spices and fry off a bit over a low heat until the spices catch the pan, then add tomatoes (the cheapest fresh tomatoes work best) and cook down for a bit, then add cooked/frozen/tinned vegetables and heat through. Add salt to taste. It's better the next day. Add fresh coriander if you have it.

Any curry powder you can get will do, ground cumin and coriander give it a boost.

I'd go for a Patak's tikka masala paste. This is how I make a simple veg curry (not a real one, I know!) :

Fry red chilli, onion, fresh ginger and fresh coriander stalks in oil and butter. Add cubed veg, lightly fry. (Cauli, potato, squash, sweet potato, pepper, halved green beans, spinach.... etc) then add half a jar of paste, mix through. Add 1 tin tomatoes, 1 tin coconut milk, stir, boil then simmer. That's it! Add tin of chickpeas too if you like or red lentils. And scatter coriander leaves to serve.

It's from Jamie Oliver's Ministry. You could use any paste really but tikka masala suits coconut milk. Keep paste in jar in fridge and use within a few weeks. Serves 4.

I tend to use a medium curry powder.
Fry a large onion, 3 garlic cloves, a bit of fresh ginger & a chilli until soft (long and slow). Then add your curry powder, fry for a few mins then add either fresh tomatoes, tinned tomatoes or passata. Add your veggies and then I add a spoonful of mango chutney (this is a vital ingredient to me!) Simmer until everything is cooked.

I sometimes serve it with sliced banana too just because I love the sweet and savoury contrast. Sweet potato is always amazing in curry too.

That sounds delicious Demeyes, and more economical - I'll try that!