Basic spices for curry are ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, chilli powder, garam masala. (Or even better get the seeds and grind them yourself or cook whole).
I also use fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida (hing) a lot.
Obviously that's as well as ginger, garlic, onion. And tomatoes/tomato puree and stock usually.
Here is my staple chicken curry:
Achari Murgh
Ingredients
500g chicken, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 syns
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp nigella seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
4 dried red chillies, broken up
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 inch ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 stock cube
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 syn
3 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
1 tsp turmeric
3 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp Patak's mixed pickle (optional but makes it fantastic)
4 syns
1 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon)
bunch coriander leaves, chopped
- Whizz onion, ginger and garlic in a food processor to a paste (or you can just finely chop onion, crush garlic and grate ginger if you dont have a processor)
- Heat the oil and add cumin, fennel, nigella, mustard, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida
- As soon as the seeds crackle add the dried chillies, stir for 10 seconds, then add onion, ginger and garlic and fry until soft and brown - about 5-10 min.
- Add turmeric and coriander powder, stir for 10 secs and add tomatoes, puree, stock cube, methi leaves, pickle and chicken, bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 20 min on lowest heat.
- When cooked add garam masala, salt and lemon juice and half the coriander leaves, garnishing with the other half
Serve with basmati rice
I do this with Quorn too but add a bit of water.
I got this recipe from Mamta's Kitchen years ago and edited it quite a bit. She has loads of great recipes -
Mamta's Kitchen