Making Indian Curry?

I love indian food and have decided to take matters into my own hands! Eating out indian is simply way too high in calories/greasy for me - all the dishes seem to be drowned in oil or coconut cream or deep-fried.

So I've purchased a bottle of Korma sauce (a mildly spicy tomato coconut based sauce?) sure its probably not super diet-friendly, but it'll satisfy the indian cravings for much lower cals than eating out.

Now I've been looking at recipes online.... and I can pretty much add ANYTHING I want to this sauce (ie. any veggies, beans, meat, etc) and call it Indian curry eh?? I'm thinking butternut squash, zucchini, onions, lentils and tomato with the sauce. How does that sound?

Anything extra I should add for that authentic indian touch?? Cause at the moment nothing sounds "indian" in my recipe plan except for the sauce....

Chickpeas are amazing, and very good in Indian Cuisine. I'd suggest trying them in something.

cauliflower would be good.

There are lots of indian dishes that are easy to make, once you buy the right spices.  Staples are cumin, coriander, turmeric, black mustard seeds, dried red chiles, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves.  You can make tons of different dishes from these ingredients.

What about making a veggie curry? You can find recipes online to make it healthier without going crazy with the coconut milk.

It's even easier to control the amount of fat you put in a curry if you use curry powder and not a ready made sauce, and start from scratch - but great if you managed to find a low fat sauce.On the other hand, you will need some oil, as most of the spices need to be dissolved and fried in oil to release the flavour.

I travelled to India (Goa) four months ago for a holiday, and I was pleasantly surprised with food - it was not greasy at all. You rely on lots of onions and tomatoes to thicken sauces.

My favourite dish in India waas Daal (or Dal or Dhal) - a thick lentil soup. Yummy!

There are many recipes online, but the gist of it is:

Cook yellow lentils (chana dal) in salty water until they disolve into a thick soup. For authentic taste (and if you can find them - I can in London) cook with some curry leaves. I wasn't familiar with curry leaves until I travelled to India, they are aromatic leaves of a tree.

In a separate frying pan, fry one finely chopped onion on a bit of oil. When onions become soft add a couple of tablespoon of curry powder, a chopped tomato and some mustard seeds. Fry for a few minutes and then add to the lentil soup. That's it - delicious, high in fiber and healthy.

It's also about the cheapest dish you can make - here in London it costs me less than £1 to make about five portions.

 

Here are some of my tried and tested, indian-inspired, lower-fat recipes.  Once you have the basic spices... cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, garam masala... you can make pretty much anything.  In indian families being able to make a decent Aloo Gobi (cauliflower and potato curry) is a rite of passage!!!

Aloo Gobi

Channa Dahl (yellow split pea curry)

Gujerati Green beans (a spicy side-dish)

Lamb Dhansak (gorgeous)

Green Lentil Dahl

Tandoori Chicken

I am an indian and i started cooking just a few months back.

The basic recipie for any curry (using veggies) is this.... slice onion really thin...Heat oil in a pan. Add Cumin seeds and wen they start to splutter add the onions and saute them till they are really translucent. Add half of the required salt.You dont have to add too much oil...just a tbsp shd do. Once the onions are done, put 1 tsp of ginger paste and 1 tsp of garlic paste. Saute well. Then add 2 chopped tomatoes. Cook them till they are no longer bright read. The whole thing should be mushy and cooked. Then add papprikka powder or chilli powder for spice. Then u can add 2 tsp garam masala(u can buy it in any indian store or from world market).saute it for a minute. Add the sliced vegetables (best are cauliflower or peas or potatoes or frozen mixed veggies..u can even put hard boiled eggs cut in half) and add just enuf water so that there is gravy. Add the remaining salt. Cover and let it cook till the veggies are done. Garnish with cilantro and eat with white rice or rotis. Try it :)