Curry Pantry Essentials
Whether following an Indian, Thai, Japanese or Indonesian curry recipe, curries are a wonderful way to bring a warm and nourishing meal to the table. They’re also incredibly easy to make and terrific on a budget, requiring only basic everyday ingredients. Listed here are some of the staples to have on hand for when a curry craving hits home.
1. Seasoning, fats and oils
- Curry powder
- Curry pastes
- Chillies
- Coriander
- Cumin
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Coconut cream
- Peanut, coconut, olive and sunflower oil
3. Meats
While just about any cut of meat can be used, curry recipes are the perfect opportunity to use cheaper cuts of meat as the slow cooking process helps to tenderise tougher cuts for delicious, succulent results.
- Beef: chuck steak, flank steak, beef brisket
- Lamb: boneless shoulder, neck fillet, lamb leg
- Pork: shoulder, tenderloin, belly
- Chicken: thighs, breasts, legs
- Seafood: any white fish fillet, flake, prawns, shrimp, squid
4. Vegetables & Fruit
Curries are generally slow cooked and offer an ideal medium in which to cook vegetables. Typically, the following veggies can be used to add delicious flavour and texture to meat curries. Vegetable curries are also ideal as a budget-friendly or vegetarian option.
- Potatoes
- Eggplant
- Cauliflower
- Onion
- Sweet potato
- Pumpkin
- Mushroom
- Green capsicum
- Carrot
- Peas
- Tomato
- Sultanas
Pulses
Pulses make a healthy inclusion in any curry recipe. Add them for their nutty flavour and texture, or to boost the protein and fibre content of a vegetarian curry.
- Red lentils
- Chickpeas
- Runner-beans
- Kidney beans
- Spilt peas
- Mung beans
Buying: Pulses can be sourced in a variety of ways including fresh, dried, canned and even frozen. Dried, canned or frozen pulses are inexpensive and keep for long periods of time.
Soaking: Generally the larger the seed, the longer the soaking time required. And the longer you soak the pulse, the less the time required for cooking. For beans, chickpeas and whole dried peas, 'overnight' soaking need only be 6-8 hours.
Quick soak method: Forgotten to soak the beans? Try quicker soaking method by adding three parts water to the pulses and bring to the boil for a few minutes. Next, remove from the heat and let sit for an hour. Throw out the soaking water and you’re ready to cook. The boiling water 1 hour soak allows the seeds to absorb water much more quickly then they do when cold.
Note: Red lentils are the fast food of pulses and do not need to be soaked before cooking.