Better tasting curry without being spicier?

Question

I love red curry, but when I make it at home, I can never get the right balance. If I add more curry paste, it makes it too spicy. If I add something to cut the spice, it also cuts the taste. Is there anything I can add that will make it taste more like curry without being so hot I can't eat it?

Answer 1

I saute garlic, ginger, shallot and chicken with curry powder to bring out the curry flavor first, then I add one can of coconut milk, one half tsp of red curry paste, added bit by bit because you can always add more but not vise versa- some fish sauce and tamari and a bag of frozen thai veggies- cook until hot and serve with curry powder at the table and chile sauce for added heat.

Answer 2

If you can't cook from scratch, just buy those curry pastes marked 'mild'. You can add more without burning your throat. There's stuff like lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves & cinnamon bark which you can just toss in to improve the taste.

Answer 3

Coconut milk. Not the sweetened kind.

Answer 4

Try mixing one part Turmeric for every two parts Curry powder

Answer 5

What I do is that I make it from scratch from fresh herbs & spices, and by not using curry powder which already has chilli powder as part of the mix.

I blend up a seasoning paste with stuff like shallots or red onions, ginger, lemongrass, garlic, galangal, a bit of turmeric more for the yellow colour, ground coriander & cumin etc. Separately I blend fresh chillies into a paste. So what I've done is to separate the spicy & aromatic components of the curry seasoning. I can then adjust both components independently by using more or less of each paste, you can fine-tune the flavour both during & at the end of cooking. Voila!

The blended pastes, covered with a thin layer of oil, can be kept in the fridge for at least some weeks. Depending on whether you're cooking solely for chilli-lovers, those who can only stomach tomato ketchup or a mix of assorted spicy tolerance levels, you have the absolute flexibility to manage the heat & yet retain the essential curry taste. You could even easily cook both spicy & milder versions at the same time!

This method can be used mainly for curries that employ a pounded or blended spice paste eg. Thai, Malaysian, Indonesian etc. For Indian curries, which mainly uses curry powder & other dry ingredients, it's not impossible. Instead of buying pre-mixed curry powder, you have to know the break-down eg. ground coriander, cumin, fennel, cloves, fenugreek, cardamom, chilli powder etc (different curry powders to cook meat, fish, veggies have variations in the combination). Then you can mix up your own curry powder separate from the chilli powder. The concept stays the same, use more or less of the curry powder & chilli powder as desired.

Alternatively you can also enhance the taste of curries (depending on the type of curry) by adding stuff like curry leaves, a piece of cinnamon bark, 1-2 separate lemongrass spears, some thick coconut milk at the end of cooking etc.

Answer 6

when you start to find things too spicy, just add pure coconut milk. ppl in india do that when they can't stand the heat. however, avoid taking the coconut oil daily as you can get cholestrol.

Answer 7

What a coincidence, I made crockpot curry chicken for dinner tonight. Our 10 year old picked curry over cacciatore.  I looked it up on cooks.com, but I've other items since then. My kids love it, and the older one hates spicy food. What's your recipe that you're using?

Answer 8

Try this one:

mild curry sauceCategories

Vegtime7

Yield

8 servings

Measure Ingredient

1 tablespoon Canola oil

½ cup Yellow onion; diced

1  Clove garlic; minced

½ tablespoon Mild curry powder

1 teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon White pepper

1 pinch Cayenne pepper

4 tablespoon Cornstarch

2 cup Skim milk

½ teaspoon Coconut extract

Heat oil in saucepan. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring, over medium heat until translucent but not brown. Add curry powder, salt, white pepper and cayenne. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup milk or soymilk. Add remainder of milk or soymilk and coconut extract to pan. Add cornstarch mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until sauce thickens. After sauce thickens, cook 3 more minutes. 1 gram fat per 2 tablespoons. | NOTES : Makes 2 cups Recipe by: Vegetarian Times, May 1996 Converted by MM_Buster v2.0l