20 Vibrant Curry Recipes
Curries are as complex and varied as the many countries they hail from; indeed, even the very term "curry" conjures disparate definitions depending on who you ask. A curry dish can contain curry leaves or not; maybe it has curry powder in it, or maybe it's another specific blend of bold flavors. Some are saucy or soupy, and some, not so much. But we're not here to argue. We've rounded up a selection of our favorite dishes that fall under the curry umbrella, from Swahili vegetable curry to Indian-spiced halibut, with flavors from Kenya, Malaysia, New Orleans, India, Japan, Thailand, the Caribbean, and more.
Aloo Matar (Indian Potato and Green Pea Curry)
A blend of fresh ginger, garlic, and jalapeño chile forms the aromatic base for this vegetarian curry from chef Chintan Pandya of New York's Dhamaka. Studded with russet potatoes and sweet green peas, Aloo Matar is rich and satisfying, with a touch of warm ghee stirred in just before serving.
Grilled Pork Tenderloins with Vegetable Curry
Instead of using coconut milk, New Orleans chef Sue Zemanick substitutes coconut water and a touch of full-fat sour cream to add richness to this curry sauce. Lime juice and red curry paste contribute superb tanginess and flavor, too.
Shrimp Curry with Coconut, Mustard Seeds, and Chiles
Not to be confused with curry powder (the premixed spice blend dating back to the British colonists), the dish curry originated on the Indian subcontinent. Most recipes feature copious individual spices, herbs, and chiles, and many (but not all) are saucy. This variation from the state of Kerala in southwest India isn't simmered with the north's rich dairy (no yogurt or cream). It's lighter but deeply flavored with the hallmarks of the region's coastal cooking: shredded coconut, fresh curry leaves, mustard seeds, and raw rice toasted and used like a spice.
Pork and Pineapple Coconut Curry
Star blogger David Lebovitz smartly stirs a little peanut butter into his coconut pork curry to cut the sweetness of the coconut milk. He likes making big batches of curry so he can eat leftovers the next day.
Lemongrass Beef Skewers with Ginger and Shallots
A deeply flavorful homemade curry paste, inspired by chef Christina Nguyen's trips to Bali, is essential to the complex, delicious flavor of these beef skewers. You'll have extra curry paste left over, and that's a good thing: You can freeze it in ice cube trays, transfer to freezer bags, and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months for marinades, curries, and more.
Coconut Curried Shrimp with Bara
Light, airy, and slightly sweet, bara, a fried Indian-Trinidadian bread, is perfect for sopping up this spicy shrimp curry. The quick Scotch bonnet hot sauce here is intense on its own, but drizzled sparingly over the curry it adds just the right amount of heat and acidity.
Sweet and Spicy Chicken Curry
This is chef Neil Perry's riff on a rich, nuanced Malaysian curry that he calls Chicken Kapitan. Because he makes the recipe with plenty of fresh and dried chiles and coconut milk, it's sweet, spicy, and altogether sublime, especially when topped with a mound of crispy fried shallots.
Swahili Vegetable Curry
The South Asian spices in this vegetarian stew reflect the influence of Kenya's generations-old Indian community on the national cuisine. Feel free to substitute other vegetables based on seasonal availability.
Hina Auntie's Chana Masala with Puri
Roasting and grinding whole spices instead of relying on pre-ground spice powders adds unparalleled depth of flavor to this spicy chickpea dish from western India. This dish is a specialty of Hina Mody, restaurant editor Khushbu Shah's auntie who emigrated from the Indian state of Gujarat.
Mahimahi Coconut Curry Stew with Carrots and Fennel
Padma Lakshmi always makes extra portions of this excellent coconut-curried mahi-mahi so she can reheat it the next day and eat it over noodles, like laksa.
Green Curry Chicken
Chef Nigel Slater says, "The first recipe I cooked on television was this green curry. I presented it in a beautiful brass bowl I bought in Thailand. And I was so pleased with it. But my dishwasher, who is Thai, looked at it and said, 'Why did you put the food in that brass bowl? That's a bowl we use for bathing.'"
Curry Crab Rundown
Rundown is a classic Caribbean recipe that involves cooking foods like crab, mackerel, or lobster in coconut milk. (The word rundown refers to the simmering down of the coconut milk.)
Creamy Indian-Spiced Halibut Curry
© Lucy Schaeffer
Chef Vikram Sunderam makes his own spice blend with six ingredients, including green and black cardamom, cloves, and mace. At home, substitute garam masala, the Indian spice blend that employs many of the spices Sunderam uses, to season this rich, creamy, deeply flavored dish.
Cauliflower Curry
Curious home cooks are looking to South Asia for inspiration. One fantastic guide is Indian-cooking expert Raghavan lyer, the author of 660 Curries. This curry draws its lively flavors from cumin, coriander, and hot green chile.
Katsu Curry (Japanese Curry with Tonkatsu Nuggets and Fried Egg)
Japanese cooking expert Sonoko Sakai's curry recipe is an ode to two popular Japanese dishes: curry and katsu. The key to getting the brittle, crispy skin on tonkatsu is to use panko breadcrumbs, which are much larger and coarser than Western-style breadcrumbs. The tonkatsu is served on a bed of rice flavored with curry sauce and topped with cabbage, cilantro, and a fried egg, with pickled cucumber on the side for a delicious blend of textures and flavors.
Gang Gai Khao Mun (Thai Chicken Curry)
Sweet, sticky coconut rice colored and flavored with green herbs pairs with this creamy Thai chicken curry from chef Nok Suntaranon. The foundation of the curry is a vibrant from-scratch curry paste — the same one used at Kalaya in Philadelphia (one of F&W's Best New Restaurants in 2020). Making your own curry paste requires a little sourcing, but the resulting flavor is well worth the effort.
Lamb, Sweet Potato, and Coconut Mafé Curry
Perfectly tender lamb shoulder and creamy sweet potatoes balanced by floral coriander, warming turmeric and cumin, and piquant ginger and ground mustard make this West African curry a cozy delight. Fonio is a tiny grain that packs a nutritional punch and provides the perfect base for soaking up the flavorful curry sauce.
Keralan Egg Curry
Coconut milk, tomatoes, and onions add vegetal sweetness that rounds out the fruity piquancy of Kashmiri chile powder and Thai chiles in this warmly spiced egg curry. It's a South Indian dish that chef Margaret Pak of Thattu in Chicago, a 2020 F&W Best New Restaurant, first learned to make from her husband, who is originally from Kerala. For the brightest flavor, toast and grind whole spices in small batches just before adding to this curry or any dish.
Tempered Curry-Ginger Sweet Potatoes
"Tempering is one of the most valuable tenets of Sri Lankan cooking I learned from my mother," writes chef Sam Fore. "Whole spices, like cumin and mustard seeds, get a quick swirl in hot oil, toasting them just enough to impart big flavor in minimal time. These tempered sweet potatoes illustrate how transformative the technique is."
Curried Pumpkin and Buss Up Shut (Paratha Roti)
This dish from chef Nina Compton is packed with warm spices, aromatic ginger, and rich coconut milk for a perfectly balanced bite. Fresh habanero chiles add a touch of fruity heat to the chunks of tender pumpkin and softened callaloo leaves. Buss up shut gets its name from "busted-up shirt," which describes the flatbread's torn, crinkled texture, perfect for sopping up flavorful curry.
