- Hi, I'm Kanchan Koya, the founder of Spice Spice Baby,
and I love curry.
It's dreamy, it's creamy,
it's packed with spices,
you can put whatever you want in it,
and I think everyone should be able to have curry
anytime they want.
So today I'm gonna be showing you how to make
a three-minute curry, a 30-minute curry
and a three-hour curry.
So let's get started.
(light music)
Say, you only have three minutes,
but you really want curry
with as much of the flavor as possible.
This recipe is for you.
It's probably gonna offend some curry aficionados,
but we're gonna be okay with that in the name of efficiency.
First we're gonna create our curry sauce
by using coconut cream.
One of the things I love about curry is creamy texture
which is kind of challenging to achieve in three minutes.
So the coconut cream instead of coconut milk
really helps us do that.
We're gonna add onion powder,
garlic powder and ginger powder.
One of the things I love about curry
is you get to layer aromatics
like onion, garlic, and ginger and oil,
but since we only have three minutes,
we're just gonna hack that
by adding the powders instead.
Then we're gonna add cayenne for heat,
then we add some turmeric,
garam masala for those smoky notes,
cumin and coriander powder.
Now we're gonna add salt to taste
and some black pepper.
Mix this all together.
Sure it's easier than cooking a curry
on the stove for hours.
Finally we're gonna add our canned chickpeas
that have been well-rinsed and drained.
Now we're just gonna cover this.
Now we're gonna put this in the microwave
for three minutes until it's hot
and all those amazing flavors have had some time
to get to know each other.
Curry in a hurry.
(microwave beeps)
That smells really good.
So now we're just gonna take off the cling wrap
and marvel at the fact that we just made curry
in three minutes.
We're just gonna stir in some chopped spinach,
so it's gonna wilt down quicker,
a hint of lime juice for those citrus-y flavor notes,
and then we're just gonna mix this all together.
My mom would be really impressed with this hack.
It truly smells like the real deal,
I'm not even gonna lie.
We're gonna spoon it onto some steamed rice,
we're gonna hit it with some fresh cilantro for vibrancy
and we're gonna taste it.
This is shockingly delicious.
I can taste the citrus, all the spices,
the different notes, the creaminess from the coconut.
For three minutes, this tastes like a legit curry.
This is great for busy weeknights
when you wanna make something
your kids are gonna lap up,
even if your Indian mother-in-law would not approve.
Say, you want something a bit more authentic
and you have a little bit more time,
this next 30-minute recipe is just for you.
While most people are familiar
with North Indian curry recipes,
this particular one is inspired by Southern India.
While I'm technically North Indian,
I have to say this is one of my favorites.
We're gonna start by warning our coconut oil
on medium heat,
to which we're gonna add mustard seeds.
And we're gonna allow these to sizzle
and even splatter a little bit.
It's going to wake up the spices
and add so much flavor.
And now we're gonna toss our curry leaves.
Just as those curry leaves are starting to crisp up,
about 30 seconds or so,
we're gonna add our green chilies.
The green chili is gonna add spice,
it's totally optional, but c'mon.
Then we're gonna add sliced onions
and give that all a nice toss.
It smells so good!
This combination of mustard seeds,
curry leaves and oil can be drizzled
on your favorite salad, on soups,
and really on anything.
It is a classic base for most Southern Indian dishes.
I'm allowing these onions to cook down until soft
for about five minutes.
Now that my onions have softened,
I'm gonna add a tablespoon of minced ginger
and four cloves of minced garlic.
And just allow that to cook until fragrant.
You definitely don't want to burn it.
Once you can smell that ginger and garlic,
and it smells so good,
we're gonna add in two teaspoons of tandoori masala.
So, I'm cheating a little bit with tandoori spice blend
because this is a 30-minute weeknight friendly curry.
Once you can start to smell that spice blend,
it's time to add the tomatoes.
The tomatoes are not just gonna add a sauce,
but they are also gonna give us
these beautiful tangy notes.
At this point we're gonna let this cook
for about three minutes,
and while this is cooking you maybe wondering
how can this be a curry
when it doesn't have curry powder.
Let's talk about that.
We don't really have a thing called curry powder.
Curry is such a broad concept in India,
it really varies from family to family,
region to region and that's why I'm not adding
just straight curry powder to this,
but it's still very much a curry.
Now that out spiced curry base is done,
we're gonna add some chopped chicken.
You can do any kind of protein, like fish,
or you could also go completely plant-based
and do chickpeas again.
We're gonna hit this with salt, pepper.
I'm just gonna toss this chicken to get it
well coated with the spice mixture
and until it's no longer pink.
And then we're gonna add the coconut milk,
some tamarind paste and sugar.
This is looking creamy,
I can smell the tamarind,
and the aroma, and the smoky notes from that spice blend,
this is gonna be good.
We're just gonna cover this on medium heat
and let it cook for about 15 minutes
until the chicken is cooked through.
It's been 15 minutes
and I am just transported back to my childhood.
I can smell those spices and the coconut
and I just want to dive in.
We're just gonna spoon this over plain steamed rice.
We're gonna hit it with fresh cilantro again
because it's just what we do
and because I like heat,
I'm gonna do a little sprinkling of chili powder,
totally optional unless you're me.
A little bit more.
People think curry is so complicated,
but it's really just about layering flavor,
adding a little bit of this, a little bit of that
and this is the result.
I cannot wait to try it.
Don't burn your mouth.
Oh, that is so good!
Like a hug in a bowl.
Comfort food at its best.
We have the sweetness from a little bit of sugar,
we have the tang from the tomatoes and the tamarind,
we have all these smoky notes from the spices,
a little bit of heat.
It is really a party in the mouth.
So I've shown you two pretty quick
and straightforward curry recipes,
but, say, you wanna really up your game,
impress your guests,
this next recipe is gonna blow their minds.
While our 30-minute recipe took inspiration
from the Southern part of India,
today we're gonna be making Rogan Josh,
a traditional Kashmiri meat curry.
Here we have some cubed beef
to which we're gonna add garam masala spice blend
and sea salt.
Give it a good toss to coat the meat with the spices.
Garam Masala is very often used in many Indian dishes,
particularly in Northern Indian curries.
It has smoky notes from clove, cinnamon,
cardamom, bay leaf, black pepper
and host of other really mesmerizing spices.
And it goes so well with any meat dish.
Now we're gonna brown the beef in batches
without overcrowding the pan,
until it is nice and brown on all sides.
Coating the beef in the garam masala
really allows us to get that layering of flavor.
Now that my beef is nice and brown,
I'm going to take it out on a sheet pan
where it can rest.
Don't discard anything from the pan,
it has all the flavor and all the juices from the beef
and now we're gonna use this to saute our onions.
I'm gonna add a little salt to the onions
to season as I go and to help them soften
a little bit quicker.
I'm just gonna saute these onions until they are soft
for about five minutes.
Some people like to really get the onions nice
and golden brown.
Do whatever feels right for you,
it's all a personal preference.
Our onion is nice and softened,
even a little brown,
to that we're gonna add our ginger and garlic.
You can start to see that a lot of curries have
this kind of onion, ginger, garlic in oil base in common.
Now that the ginger and garlic is nice and fragrant,
I'm gonna add my whole spices.
I'm adding black peppercorns,
green and black cardamom,
some whole cloves, a cinnamon stick,
dried red chilies and bay leaf.
We're gonna saute these whole spices
with the onion, ginger, garlic mixture
for just about a minute until nice
and toasted, and fragrant.
And then we're gonna add our turmeric, red pepper, cumin,
coriander, fennel powder
and some dried fenugreek leaves.
Sauteing the spices at the beginning of the curry
as a base here is really activating the flavor,
a lot of the volatile compounds
and just waking up those spices.
So unlike the earlier dish
where we used the preexisting tandoori blend,
here we're really building our own rogan josh spice blend.
Our spices are toasted and beautifully aromatic
and now we're gonna add back our browned beef.
So because spices have antibacterial properties,
they were used back in the day to prevent
meat from spoiling,
almost like a pre-refrigeration refrigeration hack.
So we're getting the beef all nice and coated
with the spice mixture,
and then to this we are going to add
some whipped yogurt.
Some people now actually add tomato to rogan josh, for tang.
We're going with Greek yogurt.
Now that the beef is nicely coated
with that spiced yogurt mixture,
we're just gonna add enough water to cover.
Salt and pepper.
Now we're just gonna let this cook low and slow
for two and a half hours
until that beef is nice and tender
and all the flavors have merged beautifully together.
Now that our rogan josh is simmering away,
we're gonna make roti.
Roti, or Indian flatbread, is a staple in every house.
While it can seem intimidating,
you and me, we're in this together
and we're gonna figure it out.
The first we're gonna add whole wheat flour,
half a cup of warm water,
a little bit of oil and some salt.
So I'm just gonna toss everything together
and then I'm going in with my hands.
So you wanna knead this until the dough comes together
and does not stick to your fingers.
If your dough is a little sticky,
just add a little bit more flour.
My dough has now come together,
I'm just gonna let this rest for 30 minutes
under this damp towel and we'll be back.
Now that our dough has rested,
it's time to roll out the roti.
So we're just going to take a little pice with our hands,
you don't have to be super precise here.
We're gonna make a little ball
and then sprinkle your surface with flour,
so it doesn't stick.
Coat my little circle with flour,
so it's easier to roll,
and then we roll.
Roll a little bit, turn a little bit.
Roll.
Turn.
Roll.
Turn.
That should get you to a perfect circle.
If your dinner guests judging you for your roti
not being a perfect circle,
I think you should send them home.
This is a great activity to get your kids involved in.
Sensory, skill building, resilience building.
'Cause is not gonna be a circle,
they are gonna have to be okay with failure.
This looks great.
So I'm gonna set this guy aside
and roll out the rest.
Now it's time to cook the rotis.
The trick here is to get the pan scorching hot,
almost to the point where it's uncomfortable
to place your hand right above it.
We're gonna place the rotis in the hot, dry skillet
for about two minutes.
You want your roti to puff up
and if it doesn't, don't worry about it,
it's gonna taste just as good.
So I'm just gonna flip it,
wanna let this go for another 30 seconds to a minute.
Okay.
And then we're just gonna top it with a little bit of butter
for extra moisture and deliciousness.
That's our first roti,
I'm gonna cook up the rest,
and once that's done we're gonna be ready
to bring our roti and curry together.
So our roti is done,
our rogan josh is done.
Let's bring it all together.
I'm totally adding the whole red chili
because I will eat it.
As always, a little garnish of cilantro.
So I'm just just gonna go right in,
using the roti almost as a spoon
to pick up my succulent beef rogan josh.
Mmm.
I can taste those rich and warm spices,
the succulent beef, the tangy yogurt.
The roti is just perfect to soak up all those flavors.
This is the ultimate comfort food.
Three hours may seem like a lot of time to make a dish.
But trust me, this rogan josh is worth it.
So there you have it.
Three curries in three different amounts of time.
We have the three-minute microwaved curry
for when you want curry in a hurry.
We have the 30-minute curry for when you want
a really delicious meal on a weeknight.
And then we have the three-hour curry
for when you really wanna impress someone special.
I hope you make them all
and let me know which one is your favorite
in the comments below.
I'm Kanchan and there is always time for curry.
- [Man] Oh yes!
(lively music)
(camera clicks)