Haroon Waseem - Essential Curry

A curry is defined as a food, dish, or sauce in Indian cuisine seasoned with a mixture of pungent spices by Merriam-Webster. Does that sound vague and complex? Is it the dish or the sauce? Is it only in Indian cuisine? What about Thai curry or Japanese curry?

This definition is one of the reasons why many people are afraid of cooking curry. It seems like a daunting task. Looking at the long list of spices and smelling pungent odors doesnt help either. Think of your favorite curry, whether Indian, or Thai, or Japanese, or any other. Compare it to the ones that you will definitely not try again. There are certain elements that you will be able to pick out that put one over the other.

To me, a great curry is an experience of all five senses. Making curry requires creativity, improvisation, insight, and fun. This is not a book that will detail recipes for 100 different kinds of curries. This is a book that will hopefully allow you to make as many curries as your heart desires. I urge you to implement the concepts in this book after reading it. First, you will notice the curries you used to make will be elevated. Secondly, you will want to make curries that you didnt know were possible before. I hope that this book inspires you to create new curries.

This book will break down four essential elements of curry that make an extraordinary experience. Incorporating these elements will lead you to whip up delicious curries in no time. These 4 elements are:

• Aroma
• Complexity
• Body
• Textures

A curry should entice the appetite and, tease the palette, and flirt with the tongue long before it is plated. The irresistible aroma is one of the key elements of a great curry. It is achieved by sauting the aromatics and tempering the spices. Aromatics are essential to cooking in many cuisines. Aromatics vary by region and season. Tempering spices wakes up their flavors and/or infuse them in oil. This chapter will discuss how they play a part in making curry.

Onions, Garlic, and thyme are used as aromatics in many different cuisines

Aromatics

Aromatics are a combination of vegetables that are sauted or sweated in the beginning as a flavor base. The Cajun trinity, the French mirepoix, and the Italian soffritto are all examples of creating the aromatic base for those cuisines. Typically, the Indian curry version uses onion, garlic, and ginger as the aromatic base. Other ingredients such as chilis, tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, and various other ingredients can be added to supplement this aromatic combination per ones taste.

For a beginner, spending time understanding this process is crucial to yield great curries. The vegetables should be sauted on medium heat. The sliced or diced onions should be sauted first until they turn slightly golden. Finely minced or pureed garlic and ginger should be incorporated next and cooked with the onions, until the desired level of depth and caramelization is achieved.

Many curries are ruined by caramelizing the onions too much, and also by trying to hasten the process and not waiting for caramelization to take place before stopping the process. It is important to take the time to properly sweat these vegetables, before continuing.

A garnish of tempered spices decorates this bowl of lentils and adds aroma and flavor

Spice tempering

Spice tempering is frying whole or ground spices in oil before adding them to a dish. Unlike the aromatics which form the base of the dish, tempered spices are used in different steps to achieve different results.

First, whole spices (such as cumin, chilis, curry leaves etc.) are added to the oil to supplement the aromatics as mentioned earlier. Ground spices (such as curry powder, garam masala, cumin, coriander seed etc.) are also added at the very end of sauting the aromatics to yield a curry where flavors penetrate the core and the aroma penetrates the neighbors homes.

Moreover, tempered spices are also used at the very end of the cooking process. A tarka is an explosion of flavor that is added at the end of the dish. A tarka is made up of a small amount of whole spices (like cumin, chilis, ginger, or chilis etc.) fried in a dash of very hot oil, before being add as a garnish to the dish. Unlike the low and slow frying process before, this is a high and quick method in which spices are allowed to sizzle and splatter.

The sound and aroma of tarka fills the home with liveliness and the diners with anticipation. After the curry is cooked, plated, and served; there is nothing more irresistible than a garnish of sizzling cumin and chilis spooned on top of the curry in front of the hungry diner. With this incorporation of sound, curry truly becomes an experience of all five sense.