Plllog is right. It's a really important cuisine.

If you want to make it easier to get great results, look at this. https://www.thespicery.com/curry-legend-club/curry-legend-club-books just order that kit which is the recipe book and the spices. . I have this because the tastes are really authentic, delicious and if you're in an hurry, you can have a meal on the table in 20 minutes.

If I'm in a hurry, I'll use what's called "Curry" or maybe "Curry Powder" that I can pick up easily at Trader Joe's, but if I want a nice nuance of flavors, I'll mix my own. Depending on how you measure whatever spices, you can adjust the flavor of the curry.

Every time I make curry it comes out different. I use a lot of spices in it and vary the proportions, based in my whim. I generally use more ginger and cardamom than is what is in "curry powder". I do often start with Garam Masala as a start, which is a mixture of spices, but then I revise it to my prefence.

Japanese curry is completely different from Indian curry.

There is no one Indian curry either. A huge country with a fantastic cuisine that really deserves more than a jar of "curry". You won't be disappointed if you get into Indian cooking.

Manula's Kitchen is a good source of Indian recipes.

https://www.manjulaskitchen.com/

It shouldn't all taste the same.

As mentioned above, authentic Indian recipes don't call for "curry powder", they have individual combinations of spices and perhaps also Garam Masala which also can vary in taste. Since before I started trying Indian dishes, I have avoided curry powder because I didn't like the taste--I had decided that it was a spice called Asafoetida that is very strong that I didn't like. I recently looked at several brands of curry powder at grocery stores and found a couple that don't contain that spice. I have really enjoyed using them. So, look for a different brand of curry powder if you want to change up the flavor. Or, do as suggested above and get a book by Madhur Jaffrey and the individual spices to use.

Interesting that you don't like the asafoetida, Junco. I think the reason I like curry powder is the turmeric. :) So, for me, curry powder is for things like curry chicken salad. Kind of memories and implications of curry, rather than curry itself.

I’m trying to think when Penzey’s left my town. It was a few years before they left the town they moved to. And that’s been several years now. I suppose tonight’s curried lamb, made with close-to-decade-old curry powder wouldn’t win any awards, but to me it was great!

But that confession aside here’s my actual question: I puréed the curry with a stick blender which started the evening white and ended half yellow. Any suggestions?

Is the stick blender plastic? Tumeric can stain. I wouldn't expect it to stain metal but some plastics might pick up the color.

Yeah. Nothing like turmeric and a little oil. Try something like Oxyclean. Or even Dawn. Over time, it should wash down, but maybe not to white, but I wouldn't want to use a stronger chemical.

So, can any of you post a curry recipe you particularly like (without red meat)?

I can't remember which ones I like most. Why not go right to the source? Here are some Madhur Jeffries recipes from the newspaper, so should be easily made at home without a lot of study One of the recipes is for garam masala, which is called for in the actual food recipes.

Thanks plllog, an overnight soak helped a bit. But my real aha moment came when I noticed a splotch on the counter and instinctively grabbed for the BKF. It worked on the plastic, too.

Aside from the cleaning issue my biggest surprise was that my wife really liked the meal. Turns out she associates Indian with “hot” but likes the curry flavors themselves, so as long as I keep the heat down she’s good to go. That might have opened up a whole new world for me. Only took me 20 years to figure out! Will check out some of the above-mentioned sources.

I've had a penchant for curry since my 20s when I lived in England and there was a curry shop on every corner. Then, later, I traveled to India and ate myself into blissful oblivion for 17 days. Some of it was hot, some of it wasn't, all of it was divine. Back before ethnic cuisine became so popular (before food network), there were fantastic Indian restaurants along Touhy Ave. in Chicago--that was the place to go. I never tried to cook it myself back then--I was single and takeout was too easy. And curry was a hard sell once I started cooking for my family. But hot or mild, I've never met a curry I didn't like.

Funny story... when I was in India, at one point I was staying with a family who had a young servant cook. The family asked her to make me spaghetti as a gesture of hospitality. She tried her best, I believe, to Americanize it, but it still ended up tasting of curry spices (and I'm not sure what meat was used in the sauce). But she was beaming with pride as she presented it to me, and I told her it was the best spaghetti I had ever had.

LOL! i forgot about BKF! I think I have some, and some Dawn, for such things, but rarely use anything that isn't edible. I'll have to remember that BKF works for this kind of thing. It makes sense--it's pretty caustic.

Congrats on the revelation about heat vs. flavor viz Mrs. FOAS! I've had really good curries with layer after layer of spice (I aspire, but don't yet have the knack) without any heat at all. I like heat, and can take quite a lot if it isn't just raw capsicum, but it can be a copout. Like ketchup. If you don't have enough flavor you can douse something with either.

Which reminds me--in my youth I made a lot of vegetarian soups. I did add a touch of fat, which helps unite the flavors, but sometimes it just wasn't great. Then I'd add a bunch of dried turmeric (they didn't have fresh where I was living). It always fixed the soup. Sometimes it made it an unattractive color, but it fixed the flavor. Maybe keep both aspects in mind as you explore curry,

https://amp.theguardian.com/food/2019/nov/16/meera-sodhas-vegan-recipe-for-leek-potato-and-cashew-nut-curry

This recipe looks good!