Amazing 30 Minute Homemade Curry

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A Quick Meal That Tastes Like You Spent Hours in the Kitchen

If you know curry, you’re probably thinking India. And turmeric, and coriander and Cumin.. probs coconut milk. And you’d be spot on. It’s a dope dish with TONS of spices and rich creamy sauce. There’s lots of varieties, but if you got the sauce and spices, it’s a curry.
Raise you hand if you’ve never ordered Curry before. Picture me raising both hands. Yes, I’m serious. Never in my life have I eaten it anywhere but my home from my own hands. So no guarentees on comparing this quick homemade curry to the authenticity of true Indian cuisine, but it is delish.

Actually, that’s not entirely true. My husband ordered one once and I had a bite. But to be fair, that was years before I even attempted to make it myself. So it kinda doesn’t count..

I couldn’t even tell you what inspired me to try it. I’m guessing I was just desperate for a new food in the rotation and the massive amounts of fresh ginger and garlic probably sold me. Again, no idea if this has even an ounce of “authentic-ness” to it. But it’s flipping delicious, feels like you slaved in the kitchen for hours, is so quick and easy to make, especially for larger crowds cuz it makes a decent amount.

It’s also gluten free, which we were super gluten light when I first made it, so that’s probably part of the inspo as well. Since I know I’d be curious, we went gluten free for a few years after we started to notice some gut issues that lead into behavioral issue with the childrens. Now we just do 90% sourdough when it comes to breads and bread type things. Which is not just gentle on the gut it’s actually beneficial to the digestive system. It’s nice to have bread as a staple again since we didn’t eat it often while we were GF. Not even the alternatives cuz they also are full of processed junk that wasn’t going to be nice to our bellys. So we just opted to not partake for the most part.

Alright, back to the homemade curry. We’ve eaten it with rice noodles and just rice but all of us prefer the steamed rice. Noodles are good, but its hard to eat them around the vegetables. Also, Jasmine rice. Always. Simply cuz it tastes the best… to me anyway.

Here we go, step one: Wash a prep all your veggies.

The vegetebale selection is endless. Pick your faves. We’ve done them all. Literally. Baby corns, carrots, summer squash, zucchini, onion, tomato, cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, cabbage… Choose your faves and plan or grab whats left in the fridge and full send it. I cut them into larger “bite size” pieces. We like a little crunch left to them after it’s all said and done so a bit bigger is better.

While the veggies are soaking is a good time to get the rice steaming. For our family of 5, I usually cook 2 cups with the intent of having a bit left over for myself the next day. This is one meal I WILL eat left over. Full transparency, I’ve also never used a rice cooker. Lol because we like rice. So it gets made often. I’m so used to making it stovetop and I really don’t want another appliance in the kitchen so I’ve never even considered one. Maybe I’m wrong though and our rice game would elevate if we did? Do you use one? Should I consider one?

Moving on to the stars of the show.

Ginger and Garlic.

Was there ever a better combo? Okay maybe… probably. But goodness sake, this one is up there. I’ve always been camp “never too much garlic”. And ginger is basically in the same tent for me. But obviously scale it back if you’re not as obsessed as I am. Pretty sure I used to do half the amounts I do now when I first made it and it was still wonderfully delish. So don’t feel like you’ll loose much flavor if you do scale it back. It is curry after all, and this curry paste is my fave to use.

So, I read somewhere, at some point, that frying up the curry paste open up the flavor so I always start with the paste, garlic and ginger in the pot. With little dollop of tallow till it’s all fragrant and slightly bubbling. Not even sure if that is actually true, but nevertheless, it’s how I do.

Get the small cheese grater -like the size you’d use for Parmesan cheese- and grate your ginger and garlic. It makes it so fast!

At this point you should have a red, goopy, bubble paste in the pot and your house smells like heaven. Or at least the kitchen. That’s how you know it’s time the veggies get added. Mix it up well till they’re all covered in said goop, and then stir occasionally for a few minutes. Not too long, just enough to barely warm the outsides of the veggies. We don’t want them cooking down just yet.

Alright, we’re almost done, but we need to take a minute to check on the rice and shout the praises of whoever invented the ‘Better Than Bouillon’ paste. It’s a kitchen staple of mine. It’s in a jar next to all the cartons of broth. Get some and thank me later. We love the vegetable and beef but especially the chicken. And always organic!!! Never the non organic ones. Compare the ingredient lists and you’ll see why.  Not worth it to me. I’ll just buy some in a carton or use some homemade bone broth if there’s no organic option. Which I will say, if you have an abundance of bone broth, it is the best option here. The rich homemade flavor beats all of it. And basically all my choices are based on flavor once we get passed the trash ingredients… usually. Oh! And if your rice is done, turn off the burner. Or whatever you would do if you’re using a rice cooker. 

Glad we had that chat… take the Better Than Bouillon paste, give two decent teaspoon sized globs and add it to the pot with 3 cups of water. This is your base. 

Now take your can of coconut milk -I prefer full fat but not cream- and add the whole thing. Stir it up, make sure the veggies are covered. If not just add a little more water and pop the lid on. 

Give it a few minutes and as it just start boiling and your done! Any softer vegetables, like tomato, cilantro, etc., I add in at this point and give it all a good stir. If you’re adding any proteins, this is where I would add them too. Cook them separate and add them after. The soup gets hot and stays hot and I dunno about you, but dry, chewy over cooked chicken or shrimp kinda ruins it all for me. 

For serving, we like to scoop our rice into the bottom of a bowl and then top with the curry. Squeeze some lime, a little sriracha and garlic chili paste and try not to burn our mouths being impatient. Delish. 30 minute homemade curry.