![Basil and Tomato Fried Rice](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2023/08/01/dining/HM-tomato-and-basil-fried-rice/merlin_210026700_8232a93f-3b37-4eba-b072-7a544beaedfc-mediumThreeByTwo440.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
Curried Rice
![Curried Rice](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2019/05/19/magazine/19mag-eat-slide-IH4N/19mag-eat-slide-IH4N-articleLarge.png?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
- 1½teaspoons ground black pepper
- ½teaspoon ground white pepper
- 3tablespoons curry powder
- 2teaspoons canola or other neutral oil
- 5fresh curry leaves
- 6tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2shallots, peeled and diced
- 2garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2tablespoons soy sauce, plus additional as needed
- 1½tablespoons oyster sauce, plus additional as needed
- 1tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 to 2habanero chiles, seeded and minced
- 3cups cooked white rice, cooled
- 2limes, 1 juiced and 1 quartered
Preparation
- Step 1
Place a large skillet over medium heat, and add to it the black pepper and white pepper. Toast, shaking the pan occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the curry powder, shake again and toast for 1 minute more. Scrape the toasted-curry-powder blend into a small bowl using a rubber spatula, and set aside.
- Step 2
Add the oil to the skillet, and swirl it around. When it shimmers, add the curry leaves, and fry, 1 minute. Stir in 4 tablespoons butter. When it melts, add the shallots and garlic. Lower the heat, and cook, stirring frequently, until the shallots are soft and translucent, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Step 3
Raise the heat to medium. Stir in the toasted-curry-powder blend, followed by 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1½ tablespoons oyster sauce and the sugar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add habanero to taste, then adjust the levels of soy sauce and oyster sauce if you want to go a little saltier or sweeter. Scrape the curry paste into the small bowl.
- Step 4
To finish the dish, add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet, and heat over medium-high. When the butter melts and foams, flake the rice into it, and allow it to crisp slightly, then stir a few heaping tablespoons of curry paste into the rice to season to taste. Finish with lime juice to taste, and serve with lime wedges alongside fried fish, stewed chicken, goat or lamb, or just on its own. Transfer remaining curry paste to a lidded container. Let cool, cover and refrigerate up to 1 month.
- You’ll end up with more curry paste than you’ll need to season the rice, even if you season aggressively. Refrigerate the extra to make the dish a second time (it keeps well), or to enliven ground meat for a Caribbean-ish version of sloppy joes, even just to improve a bowl of instant ramen.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I Googled it: Some cooks use a combination of basil leaves and lime zest to replicate both the herbal and citrus notes in curry leaves. You can use the zest of a single lime to replace 8 curry leaves. Use the same amount of basil that your recipe indicates for curry leaves.
The “curry” powder of the Caribbean is bright yellow with turmeric and not very spicy. My favorite Jamaican brand includes only Tumeric, coriander, foenugreek, salt, cumin, allspice, pepper, and garlic. It’s pretty representative of the style.
Thanks for your note. I actually think the curry powder here is a feature not a bug. It's a Caribbean curry powder we're using, as Karolyn Schalk notes below (or above?), what I call murky and yellow, heavy on the turmeric. It's sometimes labeled "Jamaican" curry powder in stores, other times as "British-style."
The problem with this dish is the main ingredient, "curry powder". In India, 20+ variants go under that name. Some South Indian variants use loads of coriander+cumin roasted until dark brown and almost bitter (plus mildly bitter ingredients like ground fenugreek seed, an acquired taste) and need to be combined with a sour base like tomato or tamarind. Parsi variants are fragrant and low on cayenne. Knowing what ingredients the "curry powder" contains would make the recipe usable.
Does 2 shallots = 2 bulbs or 2 cloves? Of which size? Since shallots come in a wide range of sizes, it would be better to have a measurement for this in tsp or tbsp.
This is my ultimate fav brand of curry to use for West Indian dishes. Curry, Oxtail etc. Kala Brand Madras Curry Powder from Trinidad. You can find this on Amazon or in Caribbean markets, where we have lots here in Toronto.
Wow! I happened to have some leftover rice in the fridge, so I made this right away. I left out the habanero, because I don't really do chile (all that pepper & curry was more than enough heat for me) and reduced the butter by half, because... who needs 6T butter for 2-4 servings of rice? I also reduced the sugar by half, and topped it with some fresh sorrel (it's lemony, so it's like an extra facet to the lime juice to finish) and it was fantastic! Turns rice into a meal all by itself!-)
Loved this. Subbed hoisin for oyster sauce, used 5 basil leaves plus the zest of 1 lime in place of curry leaves, used 1/4 cup diced pickled jalapeños in place of habaneros. Heat level was 5 out of 10, perfect for our palates. Really great when I added shredded rotisserie chicken, served with roasted broccoli as a side.
Nothing like curry powder, but a leaf native to southern India (and apparently grown in Florida now for the diaspora). I find them easily at East Indian grocers in Winnipeg Canada, so anywhere that has an East Indian population and associated food stores should be able to help you out. They're delicious - earthy yet mild...a taste that's hard to describe for someone brought up on a western diet. There's a great write up on them on the Food52 website. Don't buy dried - the fresh ones freeze well.
When a recipe calls for "curry powder", please tell us what is meant - is it Madras, Jamaican, (or any of a thousand alternatives) - what are the ingredients? This is the beating heart of the recipe and we have no idea what rhythm is sought.
As a retired chef I would say it doesn't matter. The main thing is that the rice is cooked, cold and the grains are separate. It's best using day old rice and is a good way to use left over cooked rice.
Is there a decent substitute for the fresh curry leaves? They are simply unavailable where I live, and the curry plant at the garden store doesn't look like the plant leaves sold on Amazon (with lousy reviews, not fresh, tasteless, moldy, etc.).
I would hear stories about my Grandpa (born in India) and how he liked his curried rice HOT. I remember the smells of the curry my Grandma (St Kitts) would make in my Aunt’s kitchen next door to us in Brooklyn. A very strong, foreign odor. I never ate it as a child. After my first Indian meal as an adult, I rued the lost opportunity.
This dish is incredible! I just threw everything in the instant pot on sauté and cooked on high pressure for 20 min. 1:1 ratio water and rice, perfect. Maybe I’d add a little extra water next time. Substituted a Serrano for the habaneros and was the perfect amount of spicy for me
What are curry leaves? Curry is a mixture of spices, not a specific plant. Or does the term refer to the leaves of the Thai lime tree, which are fragrant and used in Thai cooking?
The curry paste is incredible and is a huge flavor bomb. I used kaffir lime leaves because I had them on hand and added a dollop or two of Maesri red curry paste (probably not needed but why not?). This is a keeper.
The curry leaf plant has compound leaves of 8 -12 leaflets. So, which is used for the number in the recipe ?
What a wonderful recipe that is forgiving, as I am in a place where fresh peppers and curry leaves are not readily available. It was still delectable, easy, and delicious!
Curry leaves? Nope. Added a box of chopped spinach. The flavors are amazing! Just WOW!
I love this curry paste recipe. I added it to fresh rice since I didn't have any in the fridge, but made sure to fry it up first. I had plenty of curry paste left over which I used for several more servings of rice, and my husband used the remainder to season meat. It's just such a good blend to have on hand. Highly recommend this recipe!
I grew up eating Korean/ Japanese curry, later discovered Indian/ Thai curries and loving them all. Got to learned the German curry wurst in Berlin and Irish curries in Woodside, NY, where I both resided. This Caribbean curry recipe is familiar yet so different, yet so good! Earthy, sweet, savory and spicy! I am happy to expend my curry vocabularies. We are the world!
I want to make a big batch of this to bring upstate (just the paste, not the rice) and was thinking of subbing butter with ghee? Any experts wanting to weigh in lmk! Thought ghee might be more travel friendly for a long unrefrigerated train ride…
I regularly sub butter for ghee (unless white sauce) because I like that it doesn't burn (haphazard cook). As ghee is 100% fat (and butter is 80% fat, 20% water), replace 6tbsp/90g butter with 5tbsp/72g ghee.
Several variants of this are in the Indian cooking - both north and south. Curry originated from India and was absorbed and changed across Britain and Jamaica mainly. Turmeric, cumin, coriander, curry leaves, and chili powder are native across many Indian recipes. Prakash points out some of these variants. As food is globalizing even more now, and secrets are being revealed, i see a lot more variants emerging among all of us.
I’m lucky enough to have a massive curry plant growing in my yard. I almost never use its leaves because I’m not sure how. For instance, in this recipe, do you remove the curry leaves after frying them? (Like one would do with bay leaves.) Or do they break down?
No you do not remove. Fresh curry leaves don't break down like fresh herbs but they are softer than fresh/dried bay leaves. They chew down nicely, but I'm young. If in doubt, remove them after being fried in oil :). Just thought it's frying them in oil that makes them soft so I don't advise for spray oil.
For everyone asking about locating a source for curry leaves -- I bought an expensive curry plant on Amazon a couple of years ago and planted it in a container. I bring it in the house in November and put it back outside when the weather warms up. (Same with a couple of keffir lime trees and lemongrass plants.) It is much easier than sourcing these Asian ingredients each time I need them. And it's a pleasure to harvest something I am growing, summer or winter.
Blue Mountain Jamaican Curry Powder!!
Add cashew nuts and spring onions
The sole purpose of this submission is for review of the recipe. Had curry leaves left over and frozen from a previous recipe. Made the curry paste exactly as written, although I did have to add a bit of water, as it turned out somewhat dry. This dish is absolutely addictive. I literally licked the pan the second time making it, after transferring the rice into a bowl. A perfect blend of sweet, spicy, and salty. And rice. *sigh* A keeper. Thank you, Sam.
You can order curry leaves from Kalustyan’s in NYC. And they freeze well, as others have said.
In Persian, and several other Middle Eastern languages, Curry means "sauce". Curry powder is just one means to make a sauce.
Advertisement