10 Brilliant Curries to Make at Home – From Rogan Josh to Butter Chicken

I’m from Bradford, and if there’s a better place in the UK for a curry, I’m not sure I know it.

Sure, the city has fierce competition from the likes of Birmingham and Manchester, but I firmly believe Bradford is one of the best places in the country to eat a proper, authentic curry. Growing up there meant Indian and Pakistani food was simply part of life — and by the time I hit my teenage years and started frequenting the city centre’s questionable collection of low-rent bars and nightclubs, I was nearly always ending the night with a chicken rogan josh and chips.

Classy? Perhaps not. Absolutely bloody delicious at the end of a night out? Yes.

Years later, now in my forties and no longer living in the city, it’s actually one of the things I miss most about Bradford. I don’t have that seemingly endless choice of Indian and Pakistani restaurants on my doorstep anymore, where you can decide you fancy a karahi at 7pm and have a steaming bowl of one sitting in front of you not long afterwards.

So, naturally, I’ve learned to improvise.

I’ve been known to whip out the spice tin and cook up a karahi myself — inspired by rather than strictly authentic, I should probably add — and over the years I’ve collected loads of curry recipes that I return to again and again.

Some have come from TikTok creators whose videos have made my mouth water. Others have come from friends, cookbooks I’ve picked up along the way, or recipes I’ve tinkered with until they taste exactly how I like them.

The problem is that most of them currently exist on scraps of paper shoved into, or pinned inside, an increasingly battered notebook.

So I thought: why not finally put them all together properly?

Partly for me, because it would be quite nice to know where my favourite curry recipes actually are for once — but also to share them with you.

These aren’t necessarily restaurant-perfect reproductions or claims of absolute authenticity. They’re simply ten brilliant curries to make at home: big on spice, flavour and comfort, and good enough to satisfy me when Bradford is just that little bit too far away.

Before We Start: A Quick Word About Spice

I like my curries hot. And by hot, I mean I have a considerably higher tolerance for chilli than some people I know, so following my preferred quantities blindly may not always be advisable.

More importantly, though, spicy and hot aren’t the same thing.

The cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, garam masala, fenugreek and other spices in these recipes are there to build flavour. Chilli is largely where you control the heat.

So consider the chilli quantities below a guide rather than a command. Remove the seeds, use less chilli or leave it out if you prefer things mild. Add another chilli or more chilli powder if you like your curry with a serious kick.

I’ll give each curry a suggested starting point:

Mild — aromatic with very little chilli heat.

Medium — definite warmth, but nothing ridiculous.

Hot — chilli is an important part of the dish.

You Decide — works brilliantly anywhere from mild to fiery.

Taste as you cook. It’s your curry.

1. Chicken Rogan Josh

Heat: Medium – or hotter if you fancy it

We obviously have to start here.

Rogan josh was my post-night-out curry of choice in Bradford, although I suspect serving it alongside a pile of chips isn’t necessarily how its original creators envisaged it.

Traditionally associated with Kashmiri cooking, rogan josh is all about aromatic spice, tender meat and a deeply flavoured sauce. Lamb is traditional, but chicken is the version I used to order and therefore chicken is what I’m making here.

Ingredients

Serves 4

700g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large pieces
2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
1 large onion, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1–2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garam masala
4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 cinnamon stick
400g tin chopped tomatoes
150ml chicken stock
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
Salt
Fresh coriander, to finish

Method

Heat the oil or ghee in a large heavy-based pan and cook the onion over a medium heat until properly soft and golden. Don’t rush this bit — those onions are giving you the foundation of the sauce.

Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute.

Stir in the cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli powder, paprika, cardamom and cinnamon and cook for around 30 seconds until everything smells incredible.

Add the chicken and turn it through the spices until coated, then add the tomatoes and stock.

Bring to a gentle simmer, cover loosely and cook for around 25 minutes, removing the lid for the final 10 minutes if the sauce needs thickening.

Turn the heat right down before stirring through the yoghurt and garam masala. Season, scatter generously with coriander and serve.

Rice and naan are the obvious accompaniments.

Me? Occasionally I’m still having chips.

2. Lamb Saag

Heat: Medium

This is everything I want from a cold-weather curry: slowly cooked lamb, loads of spinach, garlic, ginger and a thick sauce that demands something warm and bread-like to mop it up.

You can use lamb shoulder here, which becomes beautifully tender when given enough time.

Ingredients

Serves 4

700g diced lamb shoulder
2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
1 large onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 green chilli, finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp chilli powder
400g chopped tomatoes
200ml lamb or chicken stock
300g fresh spinach
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
Salt
Fresh coriander

Method

Brown the lamb in batches in a large casserole or heavy pan, then remove and set aside.

Reduce the heat and cook the onion until soft and golden. Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli and cook for another minute.

Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli powder and stir for around 30 seconds.

Return the lamb to the pan, add the tomatoes and stock and season well.

Cover and simmer gently for around 1½ hours, or until the lamb is beautifully tender. Add a splash more water during cooking if necessary.

Wilt the spinach separately, squeeze out excess water and roughly chop it before stirring it into the lamb.

Add the garam masala and yoghurt over a low heat and cook for another five minutes.

This one is particularly good with naan or chapatis.

3. Paneer Makhani

Heat: Mild

Paneer is one of those ingredients that proves a meat-free curry needn’t feel like you’ve missed out on anything.

This one gets a rich makhani-style sauce of tomato, butter and cream, with enough spice to keep it interesting but very little heat.

Ingredients

Serves 4

450g paneer, cut into cubes
1 tbsp vegetable oil
30g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
100ml double cream
Salt
Fresh coriander

Method

Heat the oil in a frying pan and brown the paneer lightly on several sides. Remove and set aside.

Melt the butter in the same pan and gently cook the onion until soft.

Add the garlic and ginger followed by the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli powder.

Stir in the tomatoes and tomato purée and simmer for around 15 minutes.

For a really silky sauce, blitz it with a stick blender at this point.

Return it to the heat, crumble in the dried fenugreek leaves and add the paneer.

Simmer gently for five minutes before stirring in the cream and garam masala.

Taste, season and finish with coriander.

4. Aloo Gobi

Heat: You Decide

Cauliflower and potato don’t sound particularly exciting on paper.

Then you add cumin seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger, tomato and garam masala and suddenly things improve considerably.

Aloo gobi is also useful because it gives us a drier curry among all these bowls of sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 4

1 medium cauliflower, divided into florets
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 green chilli, finely chopped, optional
1 tsp turmeric
1½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp garam masala
Salt
Large handful fresh coriander
Lemon wedges

Method

Parboil the potatoes for around five minutes, then drain.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the cumin seeds. Once they start sizzling, add the onion and cook until soft.

Add the garlic, ginger and chilli followed by the turmeric, coriander and ground cumin.

Add the cauliflower, potatoes and tomatoes and turn everything thoroughly through the spices.

Add a small splash of water, cover and cook over a medium-low heat for around 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender but haven’t collapsed.

Remove the lid towards the end so any remaining liquid evaporates.

Stir through the garam masala and coriander and finish with a squeeze of lemon.

5. Butter Chicken

Heat: Mild

There are occasions when you want a curry capable of clearing your sinuses from three streets away.

And then there are occasions when you want butter chicken.

Rich, tomatoey, buttery and creamy, this is probably the most crowd-pleasing curry on the list.

Ingredients

Serves 4

For the chicken:

700g boneless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
150g natural yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tsp turmeric
Salt

For the sauce:

40g butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
400g chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
150ml double cream

Method

Mix the chicken with the yoghurt, garlic, ginger, spices and salt. Leave for at least 30 minutes, although a few hours in the fridge is even better.

Cook the chicken under a hot grill or in a very hot frying pan until browned and almost cooked through. Set aside.

For the sauce, melt half the butter with the oil and cook the onion until soft.

Add the garlic, ginger and spices, followed by the tomatoes and tomato purée.

Simmer for 15 minutes, then blend until smooth if you want that classic silky butter chicken sauce.

Add the chicken and simmer for another 10 minutes until completely cooked.

Finish with the remaining butter, fenugreek and cream.

Don’t boil it furiously once the cream goes in. Keep everything gentle and luxurious.

6. Chicken Karahi

Heat: You Decide

This is probably the curry I make most instinctively.

I’m making no claims that my home version would survive scrutiny from somebody’s Pakistani grandmother. It’s inspired by the karahis I’ve eaten over the years: lots of tomato, loads of ginger, garlic, coriander and enough green chilli to make things interesting.

Unlike some of the richer curries on this list, there isn’t a heavy creamy sauce. It’s fresh, punchy and absolutely packed with flavour.

Ingredients

Serves 4

700g boneless chicken thighs, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
5 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp fresh ginger, finely shredded
1–3 green chillies, sliced
1½ tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder, optional
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp crushed coriander seeds
Salt
Large handful fresh coriander

Method

Heat the oil or ghee in a wide pan and brown the chicken well.

Add the garlic and half the ginger and cook briefly before adding the tomatoes, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric and chilli powder.

Season and cook uncovered over a reasonably lively heat, stirring regularly.

The tomatoes will collapse and their liquid will gradually reduce until you have a thick sauce clinging to the chicken rather than something resembling soup.

Once the chicken is cooked through, add the garam masala, crushed coriander seeds and as much green chilli as you’re comfortable with.

Finish with the remaining shredded ginger and an indecent amount of fresh coriander.

7. Red Lentil Dal with Garlic, Ginger & Tomato

Heat: You Decide

Everyone needs a good dal recipe.

It’s cheap, comforting, ridiculously easy to make and, once you’ve got the basic recipe down, incredibly adaptable.

This is the sort I like: red lentils cooked until thick and creamy with tomato, garlic, ginger, cumin and turmeric, then finished with a sizzling temper of garlic and spices poured over the top.

It’s also brilliant for using up leftovers.

Keep it completely meat-free, or stir through whatever cooked protein happens to be in the fridge. Leftover roast chicken, shredded lamb or beef all work. You can throw in leftover roasted vegetables too.

Essentially, make the dal and then raid the fridge.

Ingredients

Serves 4

250g red lentils
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
400g chopped tomatoes
750ml vegetable or chicken stock
1 tsp garam masala
Salt
Fresh coriander
Cooked leftover meat or vegetables, optional

For the temper:

1 tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp chilli flakes or sliced fresh chilli, optional

Method

Rinse the lentils thoroughly under cold water.

Heat the oil and gently cook the onion until soft. Add the garlic and ginger, followed by the turmeric, cumin and coriander.

Add the tomatoes, lentils and stock.

Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for around 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils have broken down and become thick and creamy.

Add more water if it gets too thick.

Stir through the garam masala and season to taste.

If you’re adding leftover cooked meat or vegetables, stir them through now and heat thoroughly.

For the temper, heat the ghee in a small frying pan. Add the sliced garlic and cumin seeds and cook until the garlic is golden, then add the chilli.

Immediately pour the whole sizzling lot over the dal.

Possibly my favourite bit.

8. South Indian-Style Cod Curry

Heat: Medium

After all that butter, lamb and slow cooking, we need something fresher.

This South Indian-inspired fish curry combines tomato, tamarind, mustard seeds and curry leaves with chunks of cod that only need a few minutes in the sauce.

It’s tangy, fragrant and considerably lighter than some of the curries on this list.

Ingredients

Serves 4

600g skinless cod loin, cut into large chunks
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
10–12 fresh curry leaves
1 onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1–2 green chillies, sliced
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
400g chopped tomatoes
200ml water
1 tbsp tamarind paste
Salt
Fresh coriander
Lime wedges

Method

Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the mustard seeds.

Once they begin to pop, add the curry leaves — carefully, because they can spit — followed by the onion.

Cook until softened, then add the garlic, ginger and chilli.

Add the turmeric, coriander and cumin and stir briefly before adding the tomatoes, water and tamarind.

Simmer uncovered for around 15 minutes until the sauce has reduced and the flavours have come together.

Taste and adjust the salt and tamarind if necessary.

Nestle the cod pieces into the sauce, cover and cook gently for around five to eight minutes, depending on their size, until the fish is opaque and flakes easily.

Try not to stir it too enthusiastically once the fish goes in or you’ll end up with curried cod rubble.

Finish with coriander and lime.

9. Chicken Korma

Heat: Mild

Forget the overly sweet, luminous takeaway kormas you may have encountered over the years.

A good korma is aromatic rather than hot, with cardamom, cinnamon, yoghurt and ground almonds creating a rich, fragrant sauce.

It’s also the curry I’d make for somebody who insists they “don’t like spicy food”.

Ingredients

Serves 4

700g boneless chicken thighs, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
1 large onion, finely sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
4 green cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 small cinnamon stick
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
100g natural yoghurt
50g ground almonds
250ml chicken stock
75ml double cream
1 tsp garam masala
Salt
Flaked almonds and coriander, optional

Method

Heat the oil or ghee and cook the onion slowly until very soft and lightly golden.

Add the garlic, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon and cook for another minute.

Add the cumin, coriander and turmeric, followed by the chicken.

Cook for a few minutes until the chicken is coated in the spices.

Turn the heat down and gradually stir in the yoghurt rather than dumping the whole lot into a furiously hot pan.

Add the ground almonds and stock and simmer gently for around 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the sauce has thickened.

Stir through the cream and garam masala and season.

Finish with toasted flaked almonds and coriander if you fancy them.

No sugar required.

10. Chana Masala

Heat: You Decide

Finally, something that proves a tin of chickpeas lurking at the back of the cupboard can actually become dinner.

Chana masala is inexpensive, filling, naturally meat-free and built around ingredients I generally have knocking around anyway: chickpeas, tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger and spices.

It’s also even better the following day.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 green chilli, chopped, optional
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
½ tsp chilli powder, optional
400g chopped tomatoes
150ml water
Salt
Juice of ½ lemon
Fresh coriander

Method

Heat the oil and cook the onion slowly until soft and golden.

Add the garlic, ginger and green chilli and cook for another minute.

Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric and chilli powder and stir until fragrant.

Tip in the tomatoes, chickpeas and water, season and bring to a simmer.

Cook uncovered for around 20 minutes, allowing the sauce to reduce.

Use the back of your spoon to crush a few of the chickpeas against the side of the pan. It thickens the sauce beautifully while leaving most of them whole.

Stir in the garam masala and lemon juice and taste for seasoning.

Finish with plenty of fresh coriander.

A Few Things I’ve Learned About Making Curry at Home

I’m certainly not claiming to be a curry expert, but after years of making them — some considerably more successfully than others — there are a few things I’ve learned.

Don’t rush your onions. If a recipe starts with onions, give them time. Five minutes of vaguely warming them before throwing everything else in isn’t the same as properly softening and browning them.

Cook your spices. Ground spices need a brief encounter with the hot fat in the pan to release their flavour. Just don’t wander off and burn them.

Fresh ginger and garlic make a difference. I always have both around and I’m fairly liberal with them.

Buy some decent garam masala. Spice blends vary enormously and an old jar that’s been sitting open in a cupboard since 2021 isn’t doing anybody any favours.

Chicken thighs beat breasts for most curries. They’re more forgiving, have more flavour and cope far better with simmering in a sauce.

Don’t assume cream makes everything better. Some curries should be creamy. Others absolutely shouldn’t. My karahi, for example, doesn’t need a pint of double cream thrown at it.

Fresh coriander goes on almost everything in my house. If you’re one of those unfortunate people to whom coriander tastes like soap, obviously we’ll have to agree to disagree.

And finally, make more than you need.

There are few things better than remembering at lunchtime that there’s a container of homemade curry sitting in the fridge from the night before. Like stews, chilli and plenty of other heavily spiced dishes, many curries taste even better after they’ve had a night for those flavours to settle into each other.

What to Serve With Homemade Curry

I’m not going to dictate what belongs alongside your curry because, as I’ve already confessed, I spent a significant portion of my youth eating rogan josh with chips.

Basmati rice is the obvious starting point, while naan, chapatis and parathas are there for scooping up every last bit of sauce.

Then there are the extras: cooling raita, mango chutney, lime pickle, sliced onions, fresh coriander and wedges of lemon or lime.

If I’ve made something particularly hot, I like plenty of yoghurt or raita alongside it. Not because I regret the chilli, you understand.

Just because I’m sensible enough to have an escape route.

Which Curry Should You Make First?

If you want something rich and comforting, start with the butter chicken or lamb saag.

For something fresher, try the chicken karahi or cod curry.

If you’re cooking meat-free, you’ve got paneer makhani, aloo gobi, dal or chana masala to choose from.

And if you want the curry that started this whole thing?

Make the chicken rogan josh.

You can even have it with chips.

I certainly won’t judge you.

Joanne Brook-Smith is a writer and editor with two decades of publishing experience. She launched Crave Magazine during the Covid period to create a fresh, inspiring space for food, travel and lifestyle content.