The 12 Best Curries to Cook at Home

Method:

A curry to cook at home

Roasted yogurt-marinated lamb meets a creamy tomato sauce in this home tikka masala. Use boneless leg with sinew removed, rather than the shoulder used for slow curries. Allow about 60 minutes of preparation and cooking, plus 2–12 hours marinating. Browning the lamb separately gives the sauce a little roasted character without needing a tandoor.

Ingredients for four

- Lamb leg (700 g)
- Plain yogurt (150 g)
- Onions (2)
- Garlic (4 cloves)
- Ginger (20 g)
- Oil (2 tbsp)
- Passata (400 g)
- Cream (100 ml)
- Water (100 ml)
- Cumin (2 tsp)
- Ground coriander (2 tsp)
- Sweet paprika (2 tsp)
- Cinnamon (1/4 tsp)
- Cayenne (1/4 tsp)
- Lemon (1/2)
- Salt (1/2 tsp)

Before you start

Cut the boneless meat into 3 cm pieces. Mix with all the yogurt, half the garlic and ginger, 1 tsp each of cumin, ground coriander and paprika, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt. The remaining garlic, ginger, spices and salt are for the sauce. Cover and refrigerate for the marinating time below. Finely chop the onions while you wait.

Marinate for 2–12 hours in the fridge. Heat the oven to 220°C conventional / 200°C fan. Use the remaining tablespoon of oil as the sauce fat in the next step.

At the stove

Cook the onions in the sauce fat for 10–12 minutes until golden. Stir in the reserved garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then all remaining dry spices for 30 seconds. Add passata, water and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. For a smoother sauce, blend carefully off the heat with a stick blender, keeping its head submerged.

While the sauce simmers, spread the lamb on a foil-lined metal tray in one layer, leaving space between pieces and leaving excess marinade in the bowl. Roast for 12–16 minutes, turning once, until browned at the edges. Discard the marinade left in the bowl. Add the lamb and all tray juices to the simmering sauce for 5–8 minutes, until the pieces are cooked through and tender when cut.

Finish and serve

Turn the heat low and stir in the cream. Warm for 2 minutes without boiling hard. Taste; add a little of the remaining lemon juice only if the sauce needs it.

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

Cumin, coriander and cinnamon give a simple alternative to garam masala; no ready-made tikka paste or food colouring is needed. Lamb loin also works in the same weight. Do not swap in shoulder with these short timings. Replace cream with 100 g full-fat yogurt stirred in off the heat for a tangier sauce; do not boil it afterwards.

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.