Curry - Tag - vo.rs

Chicken Katsu Curry with a Quick Fruity Sauce

Thu, 26 Feb 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Katsu curry pairs shatteringly crisp panko cutlets with a mellow, golden curry sauce, and it is one of the most comforting plates around. The twist here is in the sauce: grated apple melts down for natural sweetness and a hint of mango chutney adds a fruity, glossy edge. It tastes like the version from your favourite Japanese chain, but made fresh in your own kitchen.

1 Ingredients

Serves 4.

4 boneless chicken breasts
100g plain flour
2 eggs, beaten
150g panko breadcrumbs
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp plain flour (for the sauce)
500ml chicken stock
1 apple, grated
1 tbsp mango chutney
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp honey
Steamed rice, to serve

2 Method

Start the sauce. Soften the onion in a little oil over medium heat for 8 minutes until golden, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for a minute.
Stir in the curry powder, garam masala and the tablespoon of flour, and cook for a minute to toast the spices.
Gradually pour in the stock, stirring, then add the grated apple, mango chutney, soy sauce and honey.
Simmer gently for 12-15 minutes until thickened and smooth, then blend for a silkier finish if you like. Keep warm.
Meanwhile, lay the chicken breasts between cling film and bat out to an even thickness with a rolling pin.
Set up three bowls: flour, beaten egg and panko. Coat each breast in flour, then egg, then press firmly into the panko.
Heat about 1cm of oil in a wide pan to 170C. Fry the cutlets for 3-4 minutes each side until deep golden and cooked through.
Drain on kitchen paper, then slice each cutlet into thick strips.
Spoon rice onto plates, lay the sliced katsu alongside, and pour the warm curry sauce generously over the top.
Serve at once, with extra sauce on the side.

3 The Story

Katsu curry is a star of yoshoku, the genre of Western-influenced Japanese cooking that took shape over the past century or so. Each part of the name tells part of the story. Katsu is short for katsuretsu, a Japanese rendering of cutlet, describing meat that is breaded and fried in the European manner. Curry, meanwhile, arrived in Japan by a roundabout route, introduced through British naval cooking rather than directly from India, which is why Japanese curry tends to be thicker, milder and a little sweeter than its South Asian cousins.

Chicken Tikka Masala with Charred Tomato and Cashew Cream

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Chicken tikka masala is the comfort curry, marinated chicken in a creamy, spiced tomato sauce. Here the tomatoes are blistered under the grill until charred and sweet, lending a smoky backbone, while soaked cashews are blended into a silky cream that replaces the usual double cream. The result is luxuriously smooth, a little lighter, and just as moreish as the takeaway version.

1 Ingredients

Serves 4.

700g boneless chicken breast or thigh, cut into chunks
200g full-fat natural yoghurt
3 tbsp tikka spice blend (or 1 tsp each cumin, coriander, paprika, garam masala)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
500g ripe tomatoes, halved
100g raw cashews
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
200ml hot water
Salt, to taste
Fresh coriander, to serve

2 Method

Mix the yoghurt with the tikka spice blend, half the garlic and ginger, and a good pinch of salt. Stir in the chicken and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Soak the cashews in just-boiled water while you cook; this softens them for blending.
Heat the grill to high. Lay the tomatoes cut-side up and grill for 8-10 minutes until blistered and blackened in patches. Set aside.
Thread the chicken onto skewers or spread on a tray and grill for 10-12 minutes, turning once, until charred at the edges and cooked through.
Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a large pan and soften the onion for 8 minutes until deep golden.
Add the remaining garlic and ginger with the turmeric, cumin and paprika, and fry for a minute until aromatic.
Tip in the charred tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, crushing them down into a thick base.
Drain the cashews and blend with the hot water until completely smooth and creamy.
Blend the tomato base smooth, return to the pan, then stir in the cashew cream and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Fold in the grilled chicken, warm through, finish with garam masala, and taste for salt.
Scatter with coriander and serve with rice or naan.

3 The Story

Few dishes provoke as much affectionate argument as chicken tikka masala. It is often held up as a symbol of British dining: marinated, grilled chicken tikka, an idea rooted firmly in the Indian subcontinent, married to a creamy, spiced sauce that suited British tastes. Several restaurants and cooks have claimed to have invented it, and the truth is probably that it emerged in more than one kitchen at around the same time, as cooks improvised a gravy for tikka that might otherwise have arrived dry. What is not in doubt is its popularity; it has long been one of the most ordered dishes in curry houses across the country.

Thai Green Curry with Roasted Coconut and Kaffir Lime

Sat, 17 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

A good Thai green curry is all about fragrance: lime leaves, basil and fresh chilli singing over creamy coconut. This one adds a Thai trick of toasting desiccated coconut until golden and stirring it in, which brings a nutty, gently smoky warmth. With a generous hit of kaffir lime, it tastes brighter and more aromatic than the usual jar-and-tin version, yet it is just as quick.

1 Ingredients

Serves 4.

4 tbsp desiccated coconut
600g boneless chicken thighs, sliced
3-4 tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
200ml chicken stock
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
6 kaffir lime leaves
1 aubergine, cut into chunks (or a handful of pea aubergines)
100g green beans, trimmed
1 red chilli, sliced
Handful of Thai basil leaves
1 lime, to serve
Vegetable oil, for frying

2 Method

Toast the desiccated coconut in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until deep golden and fragrant. Tip onto a plate immediately so it does not burn.
Heat a splash of oil in a wok or wide pan. Spoon in the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk tin and fry for 2-3 minutes until it splits and smells sweet.
Add the curry paste and fry for another 2 minutes until darkened and aromatic.
Stir in the sliced chicken and turn it to coat in the paste, cooking for 3-4 minutes.
Pour in the rest of the coconut milk and the stock, then add the fish sauce and palm sugar.
Tear in the kaffir lime leaves and drop in the aubergine. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
Add the green beans and cook for a further 4-5 minutes until just tender.
Stir in most of the toasted coconut, reserving a little to finish.
Taste and balance with more fish sauce, sugar or a squeeze of lime as needed.
Off the heat, stir through the Thai basil and sliced chilli.
Scatter with the reserved toasted coconut and serve with jasmine rice and lime wedges.

3 The Story

Thai green curry, or gaeng keow wan, is among the best loved dishes of central Thai cooking. Its name translates roughly as sweet green curry, though the sweetness is gentle and relative; the green comes from a vivid paste built on fresh green chillies, lemongrass, galangal, coriander root, shallots and shrimp paste, pounded together until smooth. That fresh, herbal heat sets it apart from the deeper, drier red and Massaman curries.

Butter Chicken with Smoked Paprika and Fenugreek

Fri, 09 Jan 2026 09:00:00 +0000

Murgh makhani is comfort in a bowl: tender chicken in a glossy tomato-cream sauce. This version leans on smoked paprika for a quiet, woodsmoke depth, dried fenugreek for that unmistakable curry-house aroma, and a spoon of honey to round the tomato’s edge. It tastes slow-cooked but comes together on a weeknight, and the sauce clings to every piece like velvet.

1 Ingredients

Serves 4.

700g boneless chicken thighs, cut into large chunks
150g full-fat natural yoghurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
60g unsalted butter
1 large onion, finely chopped
150ml double cream
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
1 tbsp honey
Salt, to taste
Fresh coriander, to serve

2 Method

Mix the yoghurt, lemon juice, half the garlic and ginger, the smoked paprika, cumin and a pinch of salt. Coat the chicken and leave to marinate for at least 20 minutes, or overnight if you can.
Heat a heavy frying pan until hot. Sear the marinated chicken in batches until browned and charred at the edges; it needn’t be cooked through. Set aside.
In the same pan, melt half the butter over medium heat and soften the onion for 8 minutes until golden.
Stir in the remaining garlic and ginger and cook for another minute until fragrant.
Add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, breaking them down, until thick and jammy.
Blend the sauce until completely smooth, then return it to the pan.
Stir in the cream, honey and remaining butter, then crumble in the dried fenugreek between your palms to release its aroma.
Return the chicken with any resting juices and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes until cooked through and the sauce is silky.
Stir through the garam masala, taste and adjust salt.
Scatter with coriander and serve with naan or basmati rice.

3 The Story

Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is one of the dishes that defines North Indian cooking for much of the world. It is widely associated with Delhi restaurant kitchens of the mid-twentieth century, where the idea of bathing tandoor-cooked chicken in a rich tomato-and-butter gravy reportedly took hold as a way to use up roasted meat without letting it dry out. Whatever the precise origins, the principle is sound and generous: char the chicken first, then give it a luxurious sauce to rest in.

Lamb Rogan Josh with Kashmiri Chilli

Wed, 22 May 2024 09:00:00 +0000

Rogan josh is the aromatic, brick-red lamb curry of Kashmir, and the secret to it tasting right is colour without ferocious heat. The twist here leans on Kashmiri chilli — prized for its vivid red hue and mild warmth — to give that signature glow, while a yoghurt-and-fennel base builds the gentle, perfumed depth the dish is loved for. Whole warm spices and a long, slow braise do the rest, leaving the lamb fork-tender in a glossy sauce. Worth the wait.

Massaman Beef Curry with Peanuts and Potato

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 09:00:00 +0000

Massaman is the gentle giant of the Thai curry world: mild, deeply spiced and richly comforting, owing as much to warm whole spices as to chilli heat. The twist here is to toast those whole spices before they go in, deepening the curry’s aroma, then finish with tamarind and peanuts for a sweet-sour, nutty edge. Beef shin braised low and slow turns silky, and waxy potatoes soak up the fragrant sauce. Serve with plenty of jasmine rice.