Advice to improve my curry?

Question

I made an Indian curry from scratch using powders. It was OK, but the flavour lacked a certain "depth" it wasn't creamy enough I guess. Though it was spicy enough. I tried adding a little bit of butter, a stock cube and some oil but it didn't resolve it.

What am I forgetting?

Answer 1

Did you try yogurt? Here is a recipe that I use that I found on the web. I change it up to whatever I need it for.

Basic Curry Sauce Yields 4 Cups

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 tablespoon margarine

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 tablespoons ground coriander

2 tablespoons ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tomatoes

2 serrano chile peppers, seeded

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 cup yogurt, whisked until smooth

3 cups water

Heat oil and margarine in a small skillet or wok over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until very brown, 10 to 15 minutes. (Note: This is an important step; if onion is not cooked well, sauce will taste funny.)

Add ginger and garlic to onion and saute for an additional 2 minutes. Process onion/ginger/garlic mixture in food processor until smooth. Do not rinse food processor.

Place onion mixture in a large saucepan. Stir in the cinnamon, black pepper, coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne pepper and cook over low heat until mixture is thick and has the consistency of a paste.

Puree tomatoes, chile peppers and cilantro in food processor until smooth. Add to onion mixture and stir well over low heat, cooking off moisture from tomatoes and cilantro. Add yogurt a little bit at a time, stirring constantly to avoid curdling.

Blend the whole mixture in food processor to puree it (for a very smooth sauce). Return to saucepan, add water and increase heat to high; bring sauce to a rolling boil. Cover saucepan and boil for 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat and simmer until desired consistency is reached.

To serve with meat, cook the meat first separately, then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes in the sauce before serving over rice or with bread. To serve with vegetables, steam raw veggies first 4 to 5 minutes, then simmer for 5 to 10 minutes in the sauce before serving.

Answer 2

Did you put the ground spices in raw or did you"roast them for a few seconds to release their aromas and flavours?

You can also try adding some fresh coriander leaves at the end of cooking.