Curry consistency?

Question

Is an indian curry stew more traditional if it is thick or liquidy?

Answer 1

It's usually quite thick, like a good quality soup (thicker than Heinz-type Cream of Tomato ones; more like Covent Garden soups). Of course this depends on what curry it is; a dry one like a madras will have barely any sauce, whereas a milder, creamier one like a korma will have quite a bit. A korma is usually a bit thinner than normal, as it has coconut milk in it to thin it out. I prefer a thicker sauce, and believe a thick hearty one is more traditional than, say,  the type of curry sauce you get poured over chips.

Answer 2

If you want to make a traditional Indian curry NEVER use flour or cornstarch as a thickening agent.  Indians thicken their currys with ground almonds or cashews, as they add flavor.  The thickness of the curry depends on the dish you're cooking.  Panang, for example, is extremely thick while a Rogan Josh or a cardamom curry are super thin.  Your basic red, green, or yellow curries are generally a thin to medium consistency.

Answer 3

I am a former chef from Canada and cook it quite often and like the one person said it does depend on the cook, it all depends to on the region of India and the UK curry's I have found when visiting my friends in Liverpool vary quite a lot from take-away to take away, and I love curry sauce on chips and that is another kettle of fish. Even had it with haggis, in batter in Glasgow once.

Some are thicker due to potatos, lentil or dal, flour or cornstarch and other runnier as they have no or little starch in them, look at the chinese style they are almost soupy, then there is the Thai, Malay, Japanese and Jamaican styles, all vary a bit. I would say it is the person cooking it, there way of cooking and the ingredients used, and coconut milk is another factor in some as it thickens with cooking also.

Answer 4

I really think it's the cook's preference. I have had curries that were very thick like condensed soup before it's diluted. I make mine the consistancy of heavy cream.