These easy kitchen hacks for cooking curries will make daily cooking effortless. Most South Asian curries have three main ingredients: onions, garlic paste, and tomatoes. Cooking these just right ensures a curry's perfect taste, color, and texture. With the help of these kitchen hacks, you'll find a way to get it right every time and shave off a lot of cooking and cleanup time.
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Cooking a perfect South Asian curry is a skill that often takes time to master. Many people find the process time-consuming and complex. With these easy kitchen hacks at your fingertips, you can remove the day-to-day stress of getting a freshly cooked meal for your family on the table.
My mother used this hack for years in her kitchen to save time and money. To prep these three base ingredients, you only need a food processor (alternatives provided), a cooking pot, a baking tray, and a large amount of fresh produce. Then cook all your favorite curries like butter chicken and kofta curry like a pro.
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Why you'll love these kitchen hacks
- Makes daily cooking quicker—These kitchen hacks can shave off approximately 30 minutes of cooking time when making curries, which means less time in the kitchen daily.
- Less cleanup on weeknights - Less chopping and cutting also means less cleaning. That's another 20-30 minutes saved, which means more time to do all your favorite things.
- Curries with the perfect consistency - Everything is cooked and pureed ahead of time, so your curries will have a smooth and uniform consistency.
- A budget-friendly way to cook - With this kitchen hack, you can buy your onions, tomatoes, and garlic in bulk at the farmers' market or Costco and save money.
Ingredient notes
- Onions - Yellow onions are my favorite onions to use for my curries. They're affordable, have a mild neutral taste, and caramelize well. When picking your onions, ensure they're firm and have thin, papery skin. Look for dark spots and bruises, as onions can smell funky if not fresh.
- Tomatoes - Roma tomatoes are best for curries. They are juicy, have fewer seeds, and are not too acidic. Pick deep red tomatoes that are not too firm and not too mushy.
- Garlic - I buy fresh peeled garlic for my garlic, as it saves considerable time in the kitchen. If you want to use actual garlic bulbs, make sure they're firm, have papery, thin skin, and have no sprouts.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and recipe instructions.
Substitutions & variations
- Onion varieties—If you can't source yellow onions, I suggest white onions as an alternative but make sure they're not sweet. These have a neutral flavor and will caramelize better than red onions.
- Tomato varieties—Any plum tomato, like San Marzano or tomatoes on the vine, has a nice, juicy texture that is perfect for curries.
- Equipment options—If you don't have a food processor, use an immersion or regular blender to make the purees. Use any residual oil for the onions to help create a smooth consistency in the blender. Similarly, add a few tablespoons of oil to help the garlic puree better.
Step-by-step instructions
Onion prep
- First step: Peel and quarter your onions, add them to your food processor, and give them 2-3 pulses to chop them. Don't puree them too much, or they will start to water. You can slice them by hand, using a food processor attachment or mandoline.
- Second step: Use ¼ cup of cooking oil per 2 cups of onions and preheat the oil before adding the onions. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring every 15 minutes at the start and then every 5 minutes as the water evaporates and the onions start to brown. This will ensure even browning.
- Third step: Once they are a rich brown color, puree them if necessary, depending on how you cut them. Then, place them on a baking sheet with raised sides. Cover with foil and freeze overnight.
- Fourth step: Next morning, remove the frozen onions, thaw them for 15 minutes, and cut them into pieces. I usually cut as many cubes as there were onions, so I know each cube is exactly one onion. Place the frozen cubes in a Ziploc bag, freeze them, and use them as needed.
Tomato prep
- Fifth step - Wash the tomatoes, chop the top and bottom, and quarter them. Add these tomatoes and a quarter cup of water to a cooking pot, cover, and cook on high for 5 minutes to create steam. Then, reduce the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
- Sixth step: Uncover the pot and let it cool before pureeing the mixture with a food processor, immersion blender, or upright blender.
- Seventh step - Pour the mixture into a roasting pan or container with raised sides, cover with foil, and freeze overnight.
- Eighth step - Remove the frozen tomato puree, cut it into pieces, and freeze it in a Ziploc bag. An average curry for four people requires one medium onion and two tomatoes. As we did with the onions, calculate the number of tomatoes you prepped and cut cubes so that each one is equivalent to two tomatoes.
Garlic prep
- Ninth step—I like to use a few bags of garlic at a time to make my paste, as it freezes well and has a long freezer life. The average bag of peeled garlic yields about 30 teaspoons of garlic paste, so you can determine the quantity based on your needs.
- Tenth step - Add the garlic cloves to your food processor and grind to a paste. If you're using a blender, add two tablespoons of oil per bag of garlic cloves to help create a smooth puree.
- Eleventh step - Spread the garlic paste on a shallow baking sheet, cover with foil, and freeze overnight.
- Twelfth step - Remove the garlic paste from the freezer and cut it into cubes, each equivalent to 2 teaspoons. I usually add two teaspoons to my curries, but the cube is easy to half if I need less.
Cooking with the prepped ingredients
- Thirteenth step—Now it's time to use these kitchen hacks. In this example, I'm cooking ground beef and potato curry using the prepped ingredients. Heat two tablespoons of oil in your cooking pot and add the onions and garlic. Cover and turn the heat low to allow the ingredients to defrost thoroughly.
- Fourteenth step: Uncover, turn the heat high, and add the ground beef. Roast until it is no longer pink, and add the tomatoes. Add water as necessary to allow the meat to cook through.
- Fifteenth step - Dry the excess liquid after the meat is cooked and add all the spices.
- Sixteenth step - Roast the meat, add other ingredients per the recipe, finish cooking, and serve.
Expert Tips
- Organize your cooking space—Schedule a day and time every week, two weeks, or monthly, and devote it to these kitchen hacks. Have all your ingredients, prep tools, and kitchen equipment on hand to speed up the process. I like to start with the onions, as this step takes the most time. As these cook, chop and toss your tomatoes in a pot to steam, and then move on to the garlic paste.
- Chopping your ingredients - I highly recommend investing in a budget-friendly food processor for your prep, as it's the quickest and most efficient way to chop and puree all your ingredients. If you don't have one, alternatives have been provided above. If you're going the old-fashioned route and chopping by hand, place a damp dish towel underneath your chopping board to hold it in place. This makes the whole process more efficient.
- Storage solutions - I have a simple process for freezing and cutting my cubes to freeze. If you want to save time and are not interested in testing your math skills to cut the frozen ingredients yourself, invest in souper cubes.
Recipe FAQS
Can I mix the onions, garlic, and tomatoes and freeze them together?
I like to freeze the three ingredients separately, as most recipes call for them in different ratios. For example, you may need the onions and garlic to make a marinade for a beef pasanda recipe, but not the tomatoes.
Can I puree and freeze the tomatoes without steaming them first?
Steaming and slightly cooking the tomatoes gives them a longer shelf life. Raw tomatoes can go bad quickly. Since this step takes only 15 minutes, I prefer to steam them first.
How do I eliminate the smell in my kitchen after prep?
Make a solution of one part vinegar and one part water and let it simmer on the stove as you cook the onions and prep the garlic paste. It will neutralize the odor as you work.
How long can I store these ingredients?
These frozen ingredients can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months in a sealed Ziploc bag.
Other recipes you may like
For more Pakistani recipes like this, check out 20 popular Pakistani recipes. If you decide to try this recipe, Please don't forget to leave a rating and comment below! If you take a picture, tag me on Instagram! Thank You!
Kitchen Hacks For Cooking Curries
These kitchen hacks for cooking curries will help you save time on a day-to-day basis and result in the perfect consistency every time.
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Ingredients
Onions
- 15 medium yellow onions
- 2 cups cooking oil (see notes)
Tomatoes
- 30 Roma tomatoes
- ¼ cup water (see notes)
Garlic
- 1 bag peeled garlic cloves (see notes)
Instructions
Onions
- Peel the onions and then chop or slice them. (see notes)
- Preheat the cooking oil and add the onions to it.
- Stir to mix and then stir at 15-minute intervals until the onions are dark brown.
- Puree if necessary, add to a baking tray with raised sides, cover with foil and freeze overnight.
- Remove the frozen onions and cut them into 15 even cubes—place in a Ziploc bag and freeze.
Tomatoes
- Wash the tomatoes, chop off the ends and quarter them.
- Add them to a cooking pot with the water, cover, and cook on high for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
- Uncover, cool slightly, and puree. (see notes)
- Cover with foil and freeze overnight in a small roasting pan with raised sides.
- Cut into 15 equal cubes and freeze in a Ziploc bag.
Garlic
- Place the garlic in a food processor or blender and puree. (see notes)
- Place the garlic in a flat tray, cover with foil, and freeze overnight.
- Cut into 15 cubes and freeze in a Ziploc bag.
Notes
Cooking oil - I use canola oil to help brown my onions, but any neutral cooking oil with a high smoke point, like sunflower or peanut oil, will work.
Water - A little water added to the tomatoes helps create steam and cooks them quickly. Don't add more than a quarter cup; they will release their liquid, and you don't want to dilute their flavor.
Garlic cloves - I use a 6 oz bag of peeled garlic for this recipe.
Chopping the onions: I use a food processor and pulse 2-3 times to chop the onions. Don't grind them altogether, or they will release too much water, prolonging the cooking time. If you do this, you will not need to puree them later. If you don't have a food processor, slice the onions and puree them after cooking.
Pureeing the tomatoes - Once they are cooked, they can be pureed in a food processor or blender, or an immersion blender can be used to puree them directly in the pot.
Making the garlic paste - I use my food processor to make my garlic paste. If you don't have one and use a blender, add two tablespoons of oil as the liquid base.
Nutrition
Serving: 1curryCalories: 330kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 19gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 11mgPotassium: 455mgFiber: 3gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 1035IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 1mg
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