11 Restaurant-Style Curries With Just 5 Ingredients

Restaurant-style curries often feel complex, but most of the flavor comes from five high-impact pieces: a good main (protein or legume), an aromatic base, a concentrated liquid base (tomato, coconut, or cream), a signature spice or masala, and a finishing fat or cream. For this list, I counted only the ingredients that drive flavor—salt and cooking oil are assumed pantry items and aren’t part of the five. Each recipe below lists the five counted ingredients, a quick cooking time, a short restaurant-style tip, and a plating note so your family dinner or weekend tiffin looks shop-ready. These picks cover classic favorites you’ll find on Indian restaurant menus—Butter Chicken, Paneer Makhani, Goan prawn curry—and a few regional nods such as a mustard-finished Bengali-style fish and a South-Indian coconut vegetable curry. The technique matters more than a long spice shelf. Bloom spices in hot oil, reduce tomatoes until glossy, finish with butter or cream, and give proteins the quick sear they need. That’s the sort of advice Dadi passed down, adapted for small kitchens. You’ll see where a simple tomato reduction replaces a dozen spices, or where toasted mustard seeds do the aromatic work of an entire rack of jars. Each recipe aims for about 20–30 minutes of hands-on time so you can get that takeaway-style comfort without the fuss.

1. Butter Chicken: Creamy Tomato Comfort in 5 Ingredients

Ingredients (counted): chicken thighs, canned crushed tomatoes, heavy cream, butter (or ghee), garam masala. Start by searing well-seasoned chicken in a hot pan to build a caramelized surface. Push the chicken aside, add a splash of oil, then tip in tomatoes and let them simmer hard until they thicken and darken; this reduction concentrates sweetness and gives that glossy restaurant sauce. Return the chicken and finish with cream and butter, then stir in garam masala at the end for aroma. Cook time is about 25 minutes. For a restaurant touch, strain the sauce briefly through a sieve for silkiness and finish with a small knob of butter and a sprinkle of crushed fenugreek if you have it. Plate over steamed basmati and wipe the rim of the serving bowl clean—presentation makes a simple dinner feel like a special order.