• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Indian Kitchen and Spices
  • About
    • Disclaimer
  • Spices
  • Kitchen
  • Indian Cooking 101
  • Recipes
Home » 10 Ways To Thicken Curry that’s Watery and Runny

10 Ways To Thicken Curry that’s Watery and Runny

January 24, 2021 2 Comments

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Watery and runny curries are part of every Indian cook’s cooking journey. There is no way you can escape them. We have listed here 10 ways to thicken curries that are watery and runny.

Here are some of the tried and tested tricks that I have learnt and used over time to rescue my watery curries.

If you are looking for reasons why your curry turned out to be runny you can check those out here.

Have divided these into 3 categories-

  • Ways to thicken the curry in the initial steps while making it
  • Ways to fix it that involve very little cooking i.e. simmering for 5-10 mins at the end
  • Fixes you can perform after the curry has been cooked and does not require any cooking
Table of Contents
  • Ways to thicken curry in the initial stages while you are cooking it:-
    • 1. Add tomato puree 
    • 2. Cook the curry base i.e. onion, tomato, ginger and garlic very well in hot oil.
  • Ways to fix it that involve very little cooking i.e. simmering for 5-10 mins at the end
    • 3. Add a thickening flour like corn flour, rice flour or coconut flour
    • 4. Let the curry simmer for some more time
    • 5. Take out the excess water 
    • 6. Add yogurt
    • 7. Add cashew paste
  • Ways to fix the curry after it has been completely cooked –
    • 8. Add boiled potatoes 
    • 9. Add cream
    • 10. Blend the ingredients
  • Related Posts

Ways to thicken curry in the initial stages while you are cooking it:-

1. Add tomato puree 

This can be done for most tomato based curries as tomatoes add more flavor to the curry and the puree makes the texture thicker.

Add tomato puree to thicken the base
Add tomato puree to thicken the curry base

Please note that the tomatoes need to be cooked in the curry so you can only do this while you are still cooking the curry. If the curry has been cooked already then please try the other options listed below.

2. Cook the curry base i.e. onion, tomato, ginger and garlic very well in hot oil.

These need to be cooked together in spices until they all get mushy and cooked really.  You should be able to see the oil separating from this mix. If you do not perform this sauté step well and add water before all these ingredients are cooked well together the curry will turn out watery.

Cook well to form a thick paste
Cook curry base well until the oil separates

Ways to fix it that involve very little cooking i.e. simmering for 5-10 mins at the end

3. Add a thickening flour like corn flour, rice flour or coconut flour

Please do not add these thickening agents directly to your curry. First add about 1 tbsp. Flour the same amount of water and mix it well. 

Make sure there are no lumps and then add this water and flour mix to the curry and let it simmer for 5-10 mins.

It’s important to mix the flour in some water first because if you add it directly to your hot curry then lumps will be formed.

4. Let the curry simmer for some more time

When cooked longer more water will be lost to evaporation and will make the curry thicker. Make sure that the curry is not covered when simmering as this will not let the water evaporate from the curry base.

Also, you may want to set aside the meat, fish or vegetables in the dish so that it does not get overcooked.

Watery or Runny Curry
You can also remove the excess water from the curry

5. Take out the excess water 

This is a recommended solution if your curry is like flavored water. If you think that it cannot be thickened enough simmering it will take forever to reduce. Then it makes more sense to just remove the water that’s excess and then add a little bit more salt and spices to compensate for the excess water removed.

If you have boiled vegetables in the excess water you can drink it or use it in making flavored rice so the nutrients are not wasted.

6. Add yogurt

This can be done to only curries that have a tangy taste to them. If you add it to a creamy curry with slightly sweet taste to it (usually called Makhni curry) it can spoil the taste.

So make sure that you add yogurt only if the curry has a tangy taste profile.

Make sure you beat the curd well and remove the pan from the heat briefly when adding it. If you add it unbeaten at high cooking temperature, the fat in yogurt can separate making the curry even more runny.

Also, make sure that the yogurt is at room temperature and better to use greek yogurt as its thicker than regular yogurt.

7. Add cashew paste

This is a perfect thickener for creamy rich curries that have a sweet flavor profile. You can soak and grind some cashews, add this thick cashew paste to your curry and let is simmer for 5-10 mins.

Soak and Grind Cashews to make paste
Soak and Grind Cashews to make a paste

This will also help if the curry is very spicy to lower down the spice quotient.

Ways to fix the curry after it has been completely cooked –

8. Add boiled potatoes 

Potatoes go well with most of the vegetables. It’s better to add mushy boiled potatoes to the curry. These will combine with the watery curry base and will make them thicker.

Boiled potatoes to thicken curry

9. Add cream

You can add heavy cream to the curry, which will make the curry thicker, lower the spice quotient and will also give a rich flavor to your curry.

Like yogurt please make sure that you add it only on low cooking temperature else the fat in cream may separate while cooking.

10. Blend the ingredients

The curry is watery if the ingredients have not cooked and mixed well with the curry base. In order to fix this you can take part of the curry and run it in a blender. Add this blended paste to the rest of the curry.

This will change the texture of the curry base and will make it thicker.

Which one of these tips did you use to thicken curry? Let me know in the comments below.

Related Posts

9 REASONS WHY YOUR CURRY IS WATERY

7 EFFICIENT INDIAN KITCHEN GADGETS THAT YOU NEED TODAY!

10 TIME SAVING KITCHEN GADGETS FOR LESS THAN $10

Filed Under: Indian Cooking 101 Tagged With: Curry, Tips

Subscribe

for your weekly recipe fix.

Previous Post: « 9 Reasons Why Your Curry is Watery
Next Post: Why is your curry bland? How to fix it? »

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Lets Connect

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest

Recent Posts

  • Tomato Rice for Toddlers – Non spicy, quick and easy
  • Sugar Free Strawberry Ice Cream – 3 Ingredients, Quick & Easy
  • What does “Cook until oil separates” mean in Indian Cooking
  • Why is my curry bitter? How to fix it?
  • Why is your curry bland? How to fix it?

Hi there! I am Deepti. Welcome to Indian Kitchen and Spices! Join me for
- Decoding Indian Spices & Flavors
- Indian Cooking Basics
- Creating a Stress Free Kitchen
Find more about me here→

Tags

Chapati Curry Desserts Entree Essential Indian Spices Gluten Free Indian Breads Indian Cooking Indian Food Indian Kitchen Indian Kitchen Essentials Indian Spice Blends Indian Spices Kitchen Kitchen Gadgets Masala North Indian Food Recipe Rice Roti Save Time South Indian Food Spices Tips

Feature Your Favorites

Hottest Indian Spices

Hottest Indian spices – How to tame the heat?

Ultimate Indian Spices List

Ultimate Indian Spices List with Picture, Hindi Names & Flavors

7 Indian Spices Proven Benefits

7 Indian Spices Proven Benefits – Do you know them?

Can Indian Spices Make You Sick

Can Indian spices make you sick? What to avoid!

Indian Spices that go well together

Indian spices that go well together – Never Fail Combinations!

Masala in Indian Cooking

Masala in Indian Cooking – A Complete Guide

7 Different Types of Masala

7 Different Types of Masala – How to make and use!

Copyright © 2021 Indian Kitchen and Spices on the Foodie Pro Theme

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter