The 12 Best Curries to Cook at Home

Method:

A curry to cook at home

This home version of chicken dhansak uses red lentils to make a generous, softly thickened sauce. Lemon and brown sugar give it a gentle sweet-and-sour finish. Allow about 65 minutes. The lentils should almost disappear into the gravy: a useful trick for making a modest amount of chicken feed four comfortably.

Ingredients for four

- Chicken thighs (700 g)
- Onions (2)
- Garlic (4 cloves)
- Ginger (20 g)
- Oil (2 tbsp)
- Tinned tomatoes (400 g)
- Cumin (2 tsp)
- Ground coriander (2 tsp)
- Turmeric (1/2 tsp)
- Sweet paprika (1 tsp)
- Cayenne (1/4 tsp)
- Water (550 ml)
- Salt (1/2 tsp)
- Red lentils (100 g)
- Lemon (1)
- Brown sugar (2 tsp)

Before you start

Measure the ingredients before starting. The chicken quantity is the weight after removing skin and bones. Keep the lemon and any finishing ingredients beside the stove rather than mixing them into the dry spices.

Rinse the red lentils in a sieve. Choose split, hulled red lentils, which soften quickly.

At the stove

Use skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into 3 cm pieces. Finely chop the onions, crush the garlic and grate the ginger. Heat the oil in a wide, deep pan and cook the onions for 10–12 minutes until golden. Add garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then the dry spices for 30 seconds, stirring so that they do not burn.

Add the lentils and water, bring to a simmer and cook partially covered for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Add the chicken, tomatoes and salt. Simmer for another 20–25 minutes, stirring along the bottom, until the lentils are very soft and the chicken is cooked. Mash a few lentils against the side of the pan to thicken the sauce.

Check a thick piece with a food thermometer: the centre should stay at 75°C for 30 seconds. If it has not, continue cooking and check again. Add a little hot water if the sauce becomes too thick.

Finish and serve

Add the sugar and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Taste before adding more juice from the lemon: you want a gentle tang, not a sugary sauce.

Taste for salt and let the curry stand for 5 minutes. Serve with plain rice or warm flatbread, bought ready-made if that makes dinner easier. Put a little plain yogurt on the table for anyone who wants to soften the heat; it is an optional accompaniment.

Everyday substitutions

No specialist dal or tamarind is required. Instead of the dry red lentils, use 250 g drained tinned lentils: reduce water to 250 ml, skip the first 15-minute lentil simmer and add them with the chicken. Mash half for a similar thickness; the texture will be less smooth. White sugar replaces brown in equal quantity.

Use sunflower, rapeseed or mild olive oil; ghee is optional, in the same quantity. Use pure cayenne or ground chilli, not a chilli-con-carne seasoning blend. Start with less if you prefer gentle heat. All spoon measures are level; spices are ground unless stated otherwise.