Curry sauces too runny

greenfrogs

Hi I made this earlier http://mevsibs.com/2014/08/05/mild-indian-chicken-curry-low-fodmap/. It actually smelt and tasted lovely. I didn't use any asafoetida powder or cinnamon as I didn't have them. Would these have added to the flavour?

Also the sauce was far too runny. I actually cooked the sauce on the hob but then put the sauce and chicken in the oven rather than on the hob. When it came out the oil had separated from the sauce.

It seems whenever I make a curry the sauce is too runny. I know that cornflour can fix this. However how much do I put in? How long do I have to wait until the cornflour is absorbed properly?

Gloomtastic!

You can also add fried onions to thicken up a curry.

harr

For a normal family size curry I would normally blend a teaspoon of cornflour with a drop of boiling water into a paste and then add it to the curry and repeat if needed...
Onions normally work for me,fry them in the pan first and add later when curry is just about done...

The Hill Billy

Use less passata to start. You can always add more if it is too dry.

@G! - I think the whole FODMAP idea is to keep onions out of such dishes.

@OP - If you like curries without garlic or onions search for 'Jain' or 'Sattvic' recipes.

greenfrogs

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Use less passata to start. You can always add more if it is too dry.

@G! - I think the whole FODMAP idea is to keep onions out of such dishes.

@OP - If you like curries without garlic or onions search for 'Jain' or 'Sattvic' recipes.

Yah no onions unfortunately. I'll have a look at those type recipes. I'm on a search for a lovely curry with no garlic and no onion. Thanks.

Thanks for the teaspoon of cornflour tip. Last time I used cornflour in a curry I put in a couple of big tablespoons of it on its own. Unsurprisingly it wasn't nice.

rubadub

harr wrote: »

I would normally blend a teaspoon of cornflour with a drop of boiling water into a paste

I would always add it to cold water, a tiny amount and stir and add more and more water.

If you put it in hot water I find it starts to cook right away and does not mix well.

I use potato starch too, you get it in asian supermarkets.

billythefish99

Onions are the base of curry sauce.

endacl

billythefish99 wrote: »

Onions are the base of curry sauce.

100% right. Except where they're not.

The Hill Billy

billythefish99 wrote: »

Onions are the base of curry sauce.

From Clovegarden (a good source of info on food culture)...

Onions & Garlic and all other members of the Allium genus including shallots, chives, leeks, etc. are forbidden to many Hindu sects and castes. Onions and garlic inhibit transcendence by clouding one's mind with "passion" (rajasic). Others say they cause "odors of the breath" which are offensive to Lord Krishna. Problem: no onions or garlic leaves a huge hole in the flavor spectrum which is partially patched by using the "aromatic" resin Asafoetida.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

floorpie

It's passata based....simply cook it for longer with the lid off. It might take 15 minutes, half an hour, an hour...but it'll thicken.

Elmpark

greenfrogs wrote: »

It seems whenever I make a curry the sauce is too runny. I know that cornflour can fix this. However how much do I put in? How long do I have to wait until the cornflour is absorbed properly?

A few things you can do:
- thicken the sauce with a little cornflour mixed with water, as others have said
- simply take the meat / veg out and reduce the sauce. This will intensify the flavours, so bear this in mind if adding seasoning before reducing.
- thicken with a roux (equal parts of butter and flour cooked together for a couple of minutes). Or dusting the meat with flour before cooking would help as well.

Asafoetida adds a leeky/oniony taste when cooked.

eoinf

Gram flour also works, available in tesco's and the others.

chakotha

I chop up a couple of bananas and stir them in early on. They disintegrate and thicken the sauce lushly.

kingtiger

I would always put in a few semi boiled spuds, leave them cook in the curry for awhile and take them out when the curry is nearly cooked

You have thick sauce and Bombay aloo at the same time

ArtyC

I use ground almond, works a treat

RJohnG

Use potato starch and water. Mix 1 Tbsp starch to 2 Tbsp water.

Always thicken at the end of your cook off. Just a little at a time and you will see the sauce thicken. Trial and error nut once you get it right:)

That's how you can 'correct' a Chinese curry sauce if it's too thin. Indian curry just cook it out and the sauce should thicken. If you put enough onions in your base sauce.