Onion Curry Recipe, How To Make Onion Curry

This easy onion curry for chapathi and poori or simple Indian style onion fry recipe is made with onion as the main ingredient and a few spices to add flavor to the cooked or sauteed onions.

This onion curry recipe is very simple and basic and you can adjust the recipe to vary the spices used and also make this with gravy or without gravy as you like.

Just make sure to saute the onions enough, as the curry will taste best with well sauteed onions (browning or caramelizing is the best but that is not necessary).

This onion curry is vegetarian as well as vegan curry which you can easily prepare at home, and it is delicious too with very simple and easily accessible ingredients.

This is an easy onion curry without tomatoes as well, and as I mentioned, you can make it with or without gravy as you like.

If you are looking for tomato onion curry, you can find the recipe here. I also have an easy recipe for onion tomato fry here.

This is a simple South Indian onion curry without tomatoes, which can be prepared so quickly and enjoyed as a simple side dish with chapathi, poori or bhatura. This onion curry or onion fry also makes great side dish with parathas including Kerala style malabar paratha (parotta).

We use garam masala powder and ginger & garlic along with other spices to make this easy onion curry easy and delicious. 

If you are a reader from India, you can buy garam masala powder here and ginger garlic paste here.

This Indian style onion curry is so simple and easy to prepare yet delicious when served with chapatis as a side dish.

You can easily make this in no time, as this is a very quick and super simple onion curry recipe for chapathi or poori.

This simple onion curry for chapathi can also be used with other dishes like dosa or rice, but it will pair more nicely with sandwiches as a great filling ( if you cook till all the gravy is absorbed).

More Onion Based Curry Recipes In This Blog:

Onion tomato curry recipe for chapathi

tomato fry Kerala style recipe with onions

This is a simple recipe without coconut (I specifically say this because many of my recipes, especially curry recipes are based on coconut gravy blended with spices) and its made without tomatoes too.

As I already mentioned above, I have more onion based curry recipes in my blog which are great to be used as side dishes for chapathi, which includes tomato onion curry for chapathi, onion tomato fry Kerala style recipe etc. 

You can quickly and easily prepare this curry for chapathi just using onions and spices.

Also you can adjust the spices based on your preferences.

Spices To Prepare Onion Curry

I strongly recommend using garlic and ginger along with spices as they add much flavor to this simple and delicious South Indian Kerala style onion curry.

You can either use ginger garlic paste or use freshly crushed garlic and ginger for the preparation of this dish.

Instead of freshly crushed garlic, you may also used garlic powder if you wish.

The onion curry is somewhat spicy,  and you can make this more spicy by adding more red chili powder or chopped green chilies, but this curry is already spicy with red chili powder, crushed ginger and black pepper powder.

If you do not want the onion curry to be spicy or just mildly spicy, skip either red chili powder or black pepper powder or reduce the amounts or skip both, as you wish.

We also add spices like coriander powder, garam masala powder etc to make this onion curry more delicious. You can see the whole ingredient list in the recipe card.

How To Make Onion Curry?

The onions are sauteed and spices are added to make this simple side dish for Indian flatbread like chapathi & poori.

I recommend lightly frying the onions until they are transparent or lightly browned for best results.

As you saute the onions for more time until they are browned, the taste of this dish will increase, however it is not necessary to brown the onions, you can just saute them until they look transparent in color and use little water to cook the onions if you are in a hurry.

We add spices to the sauteed onions and you can add little water and simmer also if you want gravy.

Adding water is not necessary though since the fried onions with spices make this so delicious.

So here is how you can make this easy and simple Indian style onion curry for chapathi and poori following this simple Indian onion curry recipe without tomatoes.

Ingredients needed

3 large onions

2 teaspoons fresh garlic (about 2 cloves crushed)

1 tablespoon ginger crushed

½ cup water (optional)

1 teaspoon tamarind paste (optional)

salt as needed

Spice Powders

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon red chili powder

¼ teaspoon black pepper powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds powder

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

For Seasoning

2 tablespoons coconut oil (use more if required)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 string curry leaves (make sure no water in leaves)

5 dry red chilies broken

Steps To Follow (The Process)

Peel and slice the onions evenly in long slices, keep this aside.

To prepare the seasoning, heat oil in a pan (or use an iron skillet or a kadai for better results), and add mustard seeds.

When the mustard seeds starts spluttering add curry leaves, broken dry red chilies fry for a few seconds.

Add the sliced onions, ginger and garlic and salt, mix well, and saute the onions for few minutes until the onion starts browning or turns transparent in color. You don’t have to caramelize the onions, but the the flavor of the dish will increase if you saute it for more time.

Once the onions are almost browned and cooked enough to your preference, add all the spices and mix everything well, let the onions get blended in the spices for about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Mix the tamarind paste in the water (you can make it without gravy also, if you do not want gravy you may skip this step) and add this to the onions, mix well. If needed you may add even more water for gravy and mix well.

Simmer the curry for about 2 to 3 minutes in low heat or until desired consistency (keep stirring in between as needed so it won’t burn at the bottom of the pan. Serve the delicious, hot onion curry with chapathi or poori as you wish!

Below you can get the recipe for onion curry in detail.

You might like to see my post on tomato curry for chapathi recipe