What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you think of Indian food? I am sure it's some kind of curried dish, be it Chickpeas or Chicken Tikka Masala or curried Indian Cottage Cheese to name a few. Indian curries became known to the world for their aromas, flavors & rich taste. Different kinds of curries are made across the various states of India. North Indian curries are different from the South Indian Curries which are different from the curries found in the Eastern and Western parts of India. A lot of folks think making Indian curries is an elaborate process with a lot of ingredients, but honestly it's not if you just have the dry ingredients. Today I will share with you my goto curry recipe. which is ready in 30 minutes. 
What I love about ts curry is that it's restaurant style, thick, creamy & loaded with flavors but without all the extra calories. A lot of recipes require you to add cream, yogurt, coconut milk or nuts to thicken the gravy, however I keep my curry lite and healthy without compromising on the flavors. My curry is dairy free, gluten free & vegan. Is that really possible, you wonder??? Yes, it is absolutely possible!!! You are going to love the sweet, spicky and tangy flavors of this curry. The best part is that it is ready in just 30 minutes. 
Although I make other curries too, but at any given point in time, I always have this curry stocked in my freezer. It surely comes in handy when I have unexpected guests or when I am on a time crunch and I didn't work on my meal plan that week. On such days, this curry is my savior. I just thaw the curry, toss in some veggies, paneer, koftas (meatballs) or protein of your choice and voila dinner is ready. Goes so well with Basmati rice or Indian flatbreads.
I recently used this curry with Lauki / Squash Koftas which turned out to be so delicious. I am a lover of curry so I keep making different permutations and combinations. A wide variety of veggies go well with this curry too, like cauliflower, peas, carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, zucchini & broccoli.
Do you have a favorite curry? Tell us about it by leaving us a comment. If you know of someone who will enjoy this recipe, please feel free to share it with me and spread the love :)
30 Minute Indian Masala Curry
Instructions
Chop the onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger and keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan and temper it with asafoetida, cumin seeds, cloves, star anise, mace, black cardamoms & peppercorns.
Add the onions, ginger, garlic, salt and cook until the onions turn translucent.
Add tomatoes, paprika, coriander powder, turmeric cook until the oil starts separating.
Remove the black cardamoms, star anise and mace from the mixture.
Add mixture to a blender and make a smooth puree out of it, add a couple table spoons of water if required.
If you are making a larger batch and would like to store it, you can store the mixture in containers and freeze it at this point.
If you are making a curry, add in your veggies & protein at this point. If adding koftas or meatballs add them once the curry is completely cooked.
You can dilute the curry with water to your desired consistency. If you like it thick and creamy you can just add a couple tablespoons of water or if you would like it to be like the consistency of a sauce then double the water and bring it to boil.
Garnish with cilantro and serve warm
Products Used
Marcia says
I'm new here... I don't see the actual recipe - only what to do with the ingredients.
Laurie Rasor says
Have A Good Day
Mary says
Indian food is my downfall! It's so delicious. I need to pin this to try and make it at home.
Sabrina Barbante says
Didn't imagine there Are so many kinds of curries! I love it but it' s frustrating to be aware maybe I've just tasted the more commercial ones... The one you prepared seems easy... But I'm not sure I'll be fully able to prepare it! I'll try
TheBellyRulesTheMind says
Sabrina,
You are right there are so many different kinds of curries. This one is the most generic one which is healthy and you won't have to compromise you taste. Feel free to add, veggies, or your choice of protein and you won't be disappointed. Let me know how it goes. It's pretty straight forward, barely any scope to go wrong with it :)
Nikka Shae says
I love curry!! Can you come over and make this fabulous dish for me? lol
TheBellyRulesTheMind says
Nikka,
If I land up starting a meal in a box, sure i will send some your way. In the meantime you are welcome to come here :)
Anvita
William Sweeney says
This sounds amazing!!! I love a good curry but have never tried to make it at home.
TheBellyRulesTheMind says
William,
I am sure your will not be disappointed and will relish it more than the one's you have had. Using fresh ingredients totally changes the taste. Let me know how it goes, if you get around trying it.
Echo says
I have never tried curry, but this looks like a recipe that I could handle. I may have to try to make this.
Eugenia says
This looks amazing and so delicious, seems so easy to make! I’d love to try it as I am a huge fan of curry!
Niesha Byln says
I want to try this at home. i ate a chicken curry but not an Indian style.
Karlyn Cruz says
The last time I ate an Indian dish, I had an awesome appetite! I love their curry!
Rose Pingol says
I haven't tried cooking an Indian cuisine. Looks like I will like this one.
Rachel Mouton says
This looks yummy and so easy to make! I'm going to give it a try :)
CourtneyLynne says
Omg can we say yum?!?! I so have to give your curry recipe a try
Ileana says
Nammm! This looks so delicious! I love indian food... and in 30 minutes??! Sounds amazing!
xoxo,
Ileana
Cassie Tucker says
This looks so yummy and the recipe is so simple. I want to try this soon!
Bre at Maintaining Me says
This looks like a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Momina Arif says
Indian food is amazing. Its like eating something that reminds you of home. Fun and healthy recipes like this are what I live for
Bre | Maintaining Me says
This looks like a great recipe! Thanks for sharing!
victoria says
Omg, This absolutely looks good. My hubby was a huge fan of curry
Travel Pockets (Crystal) says
OMG this Indian curry looks out of this world! I want to make it right now :)
yandra says
30 minutes sounds great to me right now since life has become so hectic lately. I have most of the ingredients at home so I will be giving this a try for dinner. Thanks for sharing
Elizabeth O. says
Honestly, I love curry. It's spicy and flavorful and you can definitely make it vegan. I think this is a wonderful recipe and I would love to give it a try! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Amy Jones says
Indian food is amazing! So many flavors..I need to try this soon
Melanie Smith says
I love everything with curry! This recipe looks so delicious, I have to try it.
Krystel @ PlanningThe Magic says
Wow that looks delicious. I am trying new things and this one is definitely on my list.
Kimberly C. says
Being half Indian myself, I am very familiar with curry. My parents always made theirs a little spicy, which was delicious. Yes, we use Basmati rice also. I'm getting hungry just looking at your photos and reading your post. Too bad I can't smell it ;)
Subhadrika Sen says
Masala curries are some of my favourite dishes. Being an Indian myself, this used to be made at home by mum around three four times a month. However, since I moved to Manchester i dont get the flavours that i used to back in india and thus, its not being cooked for a while. Will cook it again next month when I go home.
Tara Pittman says
I love how you get this beautiful yellow from these ingredients. My husband would love this for dinner.
Juliana says
WOW, this looks incredible. The ingredients look so delicious, and not to mention the squash koftas! Well done. Thanks for sharing your recipe! I will try it out this weekend!
lex says
looks good, tasty and delicious , i also know this will be very very spicy. i want some. hahahah
Eloise says
I love the flavor of curry, it's so tasty! thanks for sharing this, I'll have to try it... pS: I'm trying to not take a bite of my computer screen it looks so good : )
Annie says
I'm not a big fan of Indian food because everything I tried so far turned out too spicy for me ????
However the dish looks amazing and I wouldn't mind to try it out XD
Ana says
Indian Masala curry looks spicy and delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe with us!
Ruthie Ridley says
Yum! Looks so good! I love quick recipes!
Chocolate Mama Loves Vanilla says
OMG I could have eaten my screen to get a taste of this! I Most deffinitely have this on the to-do list! :-D
Mardene Carr says
I love curry but I have never heard of masala. I think we should all eat curry at least once per week
Tiina A says
That curry looks amazing, so delicious! I like the way how you show the ingredients - not just mentioning and listing the spicies, but really showing them. That's not only nice looking but also pretty important as some of tthe spicies might be not so common - atleast for me not, and I would have it difficult to find in a store just by name.
Ivelisse Estes says
MMMM I love how bright the pictures look. This makes me want some Tiki Masala. *sidenote* How do you have it so that people can't copy or paste anything? I would love to have this on my blog :D
Love,
Ivelisse | CarnationDreams.com
roxy says
I've loved all of the Indian food I've ever tried. I'd love to have this one day. It looks so good!
Brian says
When I thought of Indian food, I always thought "spicy," but I'm learning otherwise. I tend to order mango chicken or chicken tikki masalaa.
Khansa says
Love Indian food, and this looks absolutely delicious.
Joanna says
This looks so delicious! I have been gifted from a friend a box with 6 of the most used spices in the Indian curries and I haven't used it yet. I, as everyone else, thinks that making curry from scratch is hard. I should give it a try, maybe this weekend.
Elizabeth O. says
What I love about Indian food is their use of flavorful spices to give a dish more character! The aroma is quite awesome as well. Curry is one of my favorites and it's very good with rice! This is such a nice recipe!
Kirsten says
I love curry! I've gone through a few recipes, but I'll have to try this one!
http://thewanderingbrunette.com
Christel says
OMG this looks so delicious!! I've never tried making my own curry before, but would love to give this a go!
Liz Mays says
I'd love to start too. I think it would be a lot of fun to try out.
Amy says
This looks incredible! I will definitely be making this when the weather cools off this fall!
alexandra @ my urban family says
Yum! This looks great - and I love 30 minute dinners :)
Liz Mays says
Oh, I'd love this curry! I need to start making my own curry from scratch. This would be perfect.
Brittany Giles says
i have always been scared to try to cook Indian food on my own but you made it look doable!
Gemima Cadet says
Im on a diet but definitly making this one my cheat day !
tp keane says
Curry's are my fav dish in the whole world, but I dont like buying the bottle form. Thank you so much for sharing this, I'm going to give it a go and see how I get on.
Jolina - The Unlikely Baker says
We just love Indian food. The flavours are so complex and so delicious! I saw on a cooking show once that to make a good curry takes hours and hours but of course a contestant proved them wrong lol! Can't wait to try your 30-minute version :)
Amanda | Maple Alps says
This looks so tasty - better than anything I might get in a restaurant! So delicious looking. I love Indian cuisine, though I'm no expert at all!
Bella says
Oh my gosh this looks so good, I love curry so much! Its by far my favourite. I will have to try this out!
http://xoxobella.com
Lauren says
The spices in this dish look amazing! I'm going to pin this for later!
Tania Potter - Soul Sense Coaching says
I have been wanting to make curry for a while and this is a really nice base to start from.
Jillian Pedersen says
I absolutely love Indian food! Just the smell alone makes my mouth water! I've always wanted to try to make curry but have felt intimidated by it. Just didn't know where to start. Thanks for this. Will have to give it a try!