Corner-shop curry sauce | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you make shop bought curry sauce better? ›

Add more spices: Store-bought curry sauces often lack the depth of flavour that homemade sauces have. To remedy this, you can add more spices like cumin, turmeric, coriander, and garam masala. Use fresh ginger and garlic: Fresh ginger and garlic add a lot of flavour to curries.

Preparation and Usage

For a meat or veg curry, heat a splash of oil, then add the paste and diced meat or roughly chopped root veg, and fry for about 5 minutes, before adding tomatoes, passata or coconut milk with a splash of stock to make your sauce. Stir in pulses.

A healthy and natural way to thicken your curry sauce is by adding pureed vegetables. Boil and blend vegetables like potatoes, carrots, or butternut squash, then mix them into your sauce. Not only will they enhance the texture, but they'll also sneak in some extra nutrients.

Add in more dried spices.

Nearly all the Central Thai curry pastes call for a small amount of white pepper, cumin and coriander seeds. To my taste, the aroma from these spices are among the first I notice when I eat green, masaman or panang curry.

The paste is mixed with coconut milk or water plus vegetables, meat or seafood, then served up on a bed of jasmine or sticky rice. You can also use Thai curry paste in warming soups and sizzling stir fries.

The amount of curry paste you use for one batch of curry depends on the strength of your paste and your personal spice tolerance, so taste the paste before you start! If it's really strong, start with about 2 tablespoons of paste for a batch of curry for four.

Curry paste is a wet ingredient made with fresh chilies. It must be dissolved into a liquid during the cooking process. Curry powder is a dry ingredient that must be activated with a liquid or oil. It does not include fresh chilies, so it will be much less spicy than a curry paste.

Curry powders usually consist of turmeric, cumin, ginger, and black pepper. Some blends also incorporate garlic and cinnamon. What all curry powders share is a sweet warmth and pleasant pungency that adds a toasty depth to everything it touches.

It depends on the type of curry you are making. Curry becomes runny if it has more water content, so cook it for few more minutes to let the water evaporate and curry turns thick(this also turns flavors stronger). Also make sure not to overcook the curry. If it is more runny usually I add 1 tablespoon of besan flour.

What is the best thickener for curry? ›

Cornstarch or Arrowroot

Curries can be thickened quickly using starch. You can use cornstarch or Arrowroot starch. These are easily available at home.

The actual sweetness and creaminess of such curries meanwhile, usually comes from fried onions and either cashews and/or dairy products. Instead of (or in addition to) onion, ground coconut may be used. White poppy seeds and/or watermelon seeds are also used in some creamy sauces.

The easiest way to fix a bland and tasteless curry is by adding spices like red chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, curry leaves and turmeric. Just make a quick tempering and pour over the curry to give it a nice punch of spices and herbs.

TURMERIC. That is the go to spice in any South Indian kitchen to enhance a dish.

Just before serving stir in 1-3 teaspoons (or more, especially if frozen) of chopped coriander leaf and stir for a minute more. You will find that you have greatly improved the curry and given it a more fresher, authentic taste compared to the 'jarred' taste you would have got. I like using curry pastes.

Pungent fresh herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and marjoram can liven up tomato sauce with their bold, distinctive flavors. Add 1 to 2 sprigs of one or more of them to your favorite sauce, cover, and simmer at least 5 minutes to allow them to infuse in the sauce.

Kick off your curry by heating whole spices in hot oil to unleash their flavor. Choose from cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and seeds for the perfect base to your dish. Fresh spices are the best choice and will keep for longer in the freezer.

You can also boost the flavor of a store-bought paste that you consider a bit “weak” by adding more of the spices and herbs it already contains. For example, I find store-bought massaman curry paste to be a bit light on the spices, so I add some extra.