Making the perfect curry

I know it's not usual for a curry, but potato does thicken stuff up. I would cut some potato up very small so it cooks down well.

just use less stock ? I brown the onions , fry off the spices , add a splash of stock to loosen everything then highish heat and a good stir add the chicken , and when it is all bubbling turn it down

Cornflour is my friend in the cupboard and for something like this I would make a paste of it and briskly whip it in the mixture, maybe adding a spice colourant ( turmeric ) so it doesn't look anaemic.

I have added blended/ mashed potato to many things ( including curry) as a thickener Mick . Also coconut milk .

I use other veg in my curry , not just onions , in case I'm misinforming you , carrots do help to thicken and add colour , peppers hot and sweet both

I don’t use stock at all.

I blitz an onion to a mush and that is the base, fry that off until soft, and a tin of chopped tomatoes, the spices for that particular curry and simmer over a slow heat or pop chicken in and put in the oven.

Comes out great every time.

My curry base is a large onion, 2 decent sized carrots and a large stick of celery all blitzed then fried off . Yummy.

Thai red/green curry paste and coconut milk with whatever meat and veg or tin of tomatoes and different spices, meat and/or veg for Indian curry. No more liquid in either case does the trick for me.

I often cook beef in the slow cooker and add very little liquid. Onions seem to 'melt' into a liquid after several hours in a slow cooker.

By the way, Jamie Oliver's vindaloo is delicious. It doesn't blow your head off and is tasty like some we have had in Goa.

I agree it may be your slow cooker. Mine turns everything to mush!

In my (limited) experience of making curries from scratch, I find the pastes work best, together with onion, potato, peppers etc in a slightly more solid consistency.

I always add a load of chilli as well.

It's not QUITE the same as my local curry house but a passable imitation.

I never use stock in a curry, though I don't make it in slow cooker. Tin tomatoes and coconut milk or in our favourite at the moment it's tomato puree with cream (from an Indian recipe book). Another nice chicken with coconut recipe uses puree and water.

Should of said I make from scratch, cook the spices etc.

oldgimmer1 I have a book called ‘ The Takeaway Secret’ ( from Amazon) written by a young man who has social anxiety disorder and tried to reproduce his favourite takeaways. The curries involve making and freezing a base gravy, then adding the appropriate spices for the various curries. I’ve found it very good.

Depends what kind of curry you are making. For beef curry I chop and fry the beef and onions, then add the curry spices, made to my mother's recipe and fry those for a minute or two, then add a tin of tomatoes. Bring to the boil and place in slow cooker for 3 or 4 hours. No need to thicken.

I never add stock to any curry, although I may crumble a stock cube into the mix

I use potatoes too, pureed fresh tomatoes and sometimes light coconut milk. You could also add some partially cooked red lentils (a little goes a long way).

Lentils are a good thickener. Or simply pop your stick blended into the pot and whizz it.

My elder son made the best curries I have ever tasted and he swore by two important steps.

1. Add finely chopped cabbage to the veg (preferable) or the water cabbage has been cooked in. It really does make a difference.

2. Leave the curry overnight in the fridge.

If he did the curry in the slow cooker, he left the thickening of it until it was needed the next day. Added lentils, or cornflour, or potato flour to coconut cream (sometimes) or just milk, and as it heated up, it thickened nicely.

Fry onions till transparent. Using a chopper/ mixer, grind ginger, garlic, green chill, coriander leaf and mint. Add this to the oil and fry on low heat for a couple of i minutes. Then add ground spices (coriander, Cummin, turmeric, chilli powder and fry again for a few minutes. Add coconut powder and fry again, then add chicken, turn heat up and brown. Once this is done add kettle hot water , salt and a tablespoon lemon juice. Lower heat . When chicken is done, sprinkle garam masala. ( I make my own). Remove from fire.

Try a little bran. It's very useful for thickening up soups, etc.

I agree with N&G that the onion, and the chillis and the garlic if you are using them, should be blitzed as fine as you can get them. One thing you could try is to coat whatever meat you are using in seasoned (salt and pepper) flour before you fry it (just put it all in a plastic bag with the seasoned flour and shake it up to coat it). This will help to thicken the sauce as it cooks. Some people thicken curry with ground almonds.

I would say red lentils.

Thanks for all your various ways of thickening a curry , will attempt to try next time a decide to make one.
Mick

I make mine the same way as aggie - frying the onions, gently, and then adding the spices and frying them a well seems to be the best way to get a good flavour. If I need to thicken it I use gravy granules - chicken or beef as appropriate. I have never used a slow cook pot - mine is cooked in a saucepan.

I think you are probably simply using too much water in a slow cooker. I would try with the minimum liquid, you can always add a bit more at the end.

I used to make curry often - I got the recipe from an Indian lady who was attending pregnancy classes with me.
Fry chopped onion in oil, add spices and fry gently. These are cummin corriander turmeric chilli powder, cardomum pods.
The add your meat etc and cook for a few minutes. Tomato paste and stock to cover.
For thickening add some creamed coconut - you buy it in a block.
For fish curry add the fish near the end.
I don't think a slow cooker is suitable for curry, you need to fry a little first in a casserole pot with a cover and cook it on the stovetop.
In India their curries are quite different, often just onions certain spices in which the protein is simmered. Not like the thick sauce that we're used to. Much more delicate flavours.