Curry Hack

I love curry and for years I have tried to perfect the Tarka Dhal but it simply lacked a depth of flavour. I recently discovered that flavour is achieved by slow cooking the onions for about 45mins until they are light brown and start releasing the sugars. Even though the outcome is a great Tarka Dhal I have very little patience to stand and stir for 45mins. So I started hunting for a more efficient method for the future to reduce the cooking time of cooking any curry. All Indian restaurants prepare a huge pot of onion and tomato masala and that is the base of the all the curries. It is then used with the right combination of spices to create the required dish.

I was convinced that I could utilise my slow cooker to cook an onion and tomato masala without babysitting it. I nearly gave up searching and was going to just experiment myself then I came across this recipe: https://www.ruchiskitchen.com/slow-cooker-onion-tomato-masala-for-indian-gravies/?fbclid=IwAR3fO1EjsclTwha4jBOz6eQKWSMsgmVFbN_99Puc-flNp29YwZzXN5_yZiM there is also a stove top version: https://www.ruchiskitchen.com/how-to-make-onion-tomato-masala-for-indian-gravies/. I tested both out on the same day, I made half the quantities for the slow cooker and stove top using 350g onions for each method. I also bought large onions so they were easier and quicker to peel, frozen ginger and frozen garlic both pre diced.

I was delighted with the results of both but prefer the slow cooker method as it takes no attention. Once it was ready I set about using the masala to cook a Tarka Dhal and a slow cooked lamb curry both turned out perfect!

So in future I will be cooking a large batch, divide the masala into 1/2 cup quantities and freeze.

My test batch for the slow cooker I used:

350g onions (chopped find using the processor)

52 g Oil

1 Tin of chopped tomotoes (blitzed in the processor)

1 1/2 Tablespoon of frozen Garlic

1 1/2 Tablespoon of frozen Ginger

Cooked for 5 hours on high with lid on, then 90mins on high with lid off.

If you are going out for the day, purchase one of these timers, you can buy digital versions too. Set it for the desired time and it will switch the power off automatically so you don’t need to be concerned you have over cooked it or rush home. Simply cook with the lid off for a further 90 mins when you are home.