[Recipe] How to make a curry anything

Ingredients

* 2 tbsp vegetable oil (canola works best)
* 1 tsp cumin seeds
* 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
* 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
* 2 green chiles (any kind is fine, except habañero, which is too spicy), seeded and diced
* 1 tbsp cumin powder
* 1 tbsp coriander powder
* 1 tsp chile powder or cayenne pepper
* 1/2 tsp turmeric
* 1 can of petite-diced or crushed tomatoes
* something else
* 2 tbsp fresh, chopped coriander

Instructions

* Heat the oil in a sauce pan, wok or pot until it gets really hot (i.e. when a drop of water hits the pan, it sizzles like crazy).
* Add the cumin seeds and fry until they start to brown/pop.
* Add the onion and stir well. Mix it up occasionally. When the onion starts getting soft and translucent, it's cooked enough.
* Add the ginger and chiles.
* Put in the spices (do not use the yellow supermarket “curry powder”; that shit is too bland), stir well, and cook for another minute or two.
* Pour in the tomatoes and stir occasionally. You want to make the tomatoes' water evaporate, so the sauce is thicker. Aim for something roughly as thick as tomato sauce; not too watery and not too thick and pasty.
* Add your anything ingredient. This can be range from canned red beans to zucchini to pieces of leftover chicken. Stir well, to let it absorb the ingredients. If the sauce starts gets too dry, just add some water and mix well.
* Add the coriander as garnish (cooking destroys a lot of its flavor and fragrance) and salt and pepper to taste.
* Serve with long-grain rice (e.g. basmati), plain yogurt (or raita) and chutney.

So, there you have it — a typical “curry” sauce is just (1) onion, garlic, ginger and chiles that have been chopped and fried (2) with spices mixed in and then (3) some mushed tomatoes added.

Indian food is delicious, but don't let it intimidate you — from Rogan Josh (some cardamom) to Madras (lots of chile) to Vindaloo (vinegar and lots of chile) to Tikka Masala (lemon juice and more turmeric), most Indian dishes you're familiar with are just nuanced variants on the above.