10 quick and easy vegetarian curry recipes (2024)

FAQs

What veg is best in a curry? ›

The curry base is made with onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, red chilli powder and garam masala. I prefer to go with potatoes, carrots, peas, green beans, cauliflower, corn and bell peppers. Though you can use other veggies like baby corn, sweet potato and broccoli, the curry will have different flavors.

Indian chef Maunika Gowardhan suggests using tomato purée, coconut milk or yoghurt as natural thickening agents to achieve the perfect consistency. Adding ground nuts such as almonds or peanuts can also be a great way to ensure your curry is a knockout.

Sizzle your spice:

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.

A curry can be sweetened by adding honey, syrup, or sugar. These ingredients add flavour and balance to a sour or bitter curry. Add around one tablespoon of either ingredient to your curry while cooking and taste. Continue to slowly add syrup, honey, or sugar to the dish until a sweet flavour is achieved.

Fenugreek (Methi)

This Indian spice is what people say "smells like curry." Of all Indian spices, this spice may be the most essential. You may use up to a few tablespoons in a family size dish near the end of the cooking process, but start with a teaspoon. Fenugreek seeds also have many health benefits.

As we've mentioned, some Indian dishes use a cream-based curry sauce. Usually using a cream is combined with other thickening and flavour-adding ingredients, such as carmelized onions blended into a paste (or simply minced and clarified).

What adds flavor to curry? ›

A curry mix has a warm, robust spicy taste as a result of combining roasted and grounded coriander seeds, turmeric, cumin and chili peppers. Other spices commonly found within the blend are fenugreek, clove, mustard, black pepper, nutmeg or ginger.

So I will put oil and then mix in my spices, In curry I think the strongest taste of "sweet" comes from star anise punched up with ginger. So make sure you get that in good quality. Onions - if you use ones, use white sweet/sugar ones.

Curries can be bland if you haven't used enough of the base aromatics of garlic, ginger, and onion. The onion should be caramelized in oil until well browned and flavorful. Spices should not be old enough to lose potency and preferably should be toasted and ground yourself.

However, other dishes are based on more familiar vegetables, such as beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, corn, eggplant, green beans, various greens, okra, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, radishes, spinach, squash, and tomatoes.

What vegetables go well with Indian food? Some of the most popular vegetable dishes from India that pair with all Indian foods include: Aloo Gobi (Cauliflower + Potatoes), Bhindi (Okra), Palak (Spinach), and a variety of others like Cabbage, Green Beans, Eggplant and Squash.

As you would with any other type of cuisine, you should match chicken or vegetable curries with a fruity white wine with high acidity and meat curries with a full-bodied red. The one thing to pay attention to with Indian food is the level of spice.

Tofu is a great source of protein that contains no animal products – just soybeans. Also known as bean curd, tofu is made from soy milk curdled into a solid block, like a sort of soy cheese. Tofu is great in any curry sauce, as an alternative to either paneer or meat.