Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
India Curry
Ingredients
Directions
Fry the onions in butter until pale golden brown.
Add curry powder and salt; simmer for 1 minute.
Add the meat, having removed all skin and fat, and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add 1 cup of milk and simmer uncovered for 1½ hours, stirring occasionally until quite dry.
Add another cup of milk, bring to a boil, and serve.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Onion + buttertop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together42,912 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + muttontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,781 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Onion + muttontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,531 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Mutton + milktop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together814 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Beefsteak or mutton
- Provides the main protein, which becomes tender during the long, slow simmer.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and body, and reduces down as the meat cooks.
- Curry powder
- Supplies the spice flavour that defines the dish.
- Butter
- Carries fat for frying the onions and helps them brown.
The step that matters
Simmering uncovered until quite dry. Simmering the milk slowly and uncovered lets it reduce while the meat tenderises. Stirring prevents the milk solids from scorching on the base of the pan. Stopping at the right dryness keeps the dish thick rather than soupy.
Swap the onion
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, mutton, milk):
- Potatofits better
- Leekfits about as well
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Onionthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, mutton, milk. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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