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Read our privacy notice . Once you get the hang of cooking delicious curry , you’ll come to realise that making a vegetable-packed, perfectly spiced sauce with rice or naan is just as easy as resorting to a simple pasta dish on those days when you don’t feel motivated to craft a wholesome meal. The noun ‘curry’ originates from the Tamil ‘kari’ which translates to ‘sauce’.

Traditional curries vary across regions and continents. Northern Indian cuisine reflects a Mughal influence and tends to use lots of dairy, especially paneer. Western Indian cuisine is beloved for its fish and coconut-based dishes, but it’s southwestern India in particular that makes the most use of fishy dishes due to its coastal influence.

While Gujarat in the northwest is particularly known for vegetarian curries, its proximity to Rajasthan sees some overlap with meat and poultry-based dishes. It’s impossible to simplify the vast and varied culinary traditions of the subcontinent, especially when sweeter Thai, Chinese and Japanese curry traditions are brought into the equation. A classic, easy-to-follow curry base for beginners normally consists of chopped onions, ginger and garlic.

What truly makes curry, howeve.