A curry dish may sound intimidating for a home cook but I bet you’ve already made one and didn’t even know it.
As a matter of fact, Indian food in general might not be your typical style of cooking but it is always flavorful because the main focus is on the spices.
Personally I have had some confusion understanding curry dishes so I understand if you have too.
What Is Curry Powder?
For starters, curry powder may be found in your spice drawer finely ground or visually, in powder form. You’ll definitely find it in mine.
What you may not know is that curry powder is a combination of many different spices.
The mix of spices will differ from cook to cook when you make it yourself. Or country to country, ranging from India and Pakistan to Indonesia, Thailand or the Caribbean.
The curry powder I have from Penzey’s Spices includes a combination of: turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, nutmeg, fennel, cinnamon, white pepper, cloves, cardamom plus black and red pepper.
There is no standard for the ingredients used to create curry powder. Based on the pepper used in the mix, a curry powder can range in degree of heat.
This is one reason why when you eat at an Indian restaurant, they will ask you the degree of hotness you can handle because it depends on which curry spice mix they will use.
What About Curry Leaves?
All of this is not to be confused with curry leaves, which are used in Southern Indian cuisine. Curry leaves are a cross between lemongrass and tangerines and can be found in most Indian grocers. However these leaves have little, to anything, to do with curry powder.
How To Make A Curry Dish
The thing is when you make a curry dish you aren’t just seasoning proteins and vegetables with curry powder or curry paste.
A curry dish typically refers to a sauce-based dish that can vary in spices, heat and the type of dish.
The sauce for this paleo pork curry is created using a combination of sweet potatoes and tomatoes. The longer you let this dish simmer on the stove top, the more time is given for the seasonings will blend together.
