Dopiaza hails from the Hyderabad region of India so it’s a South Indian homestyle curry that’s been adapted to work in restaurants. If you like onions, and you like curry, I think you’ll like a dopiaza curry.
Dopiaza curry gets its roots from Persian cuisine
There’s a bit of a legend around the origins of dopiaza. It was invented by accident when the cook of a Moghul emperor accidentally added way too many onions to a dish. Good thing the emperor liked onions. This could have ended badly for that cook. The cook’s name was Do Piaza. His name lives on in this dish. Seems unlikely but who am I to question legend. It’s a good story anyway. And it’s a great curry. One that’s been refined over the years. I like green chilies in my dopiaza curry. Big hunks of green chili. Gives it a little bit of a jalfrezi thing. That’s not so conventional. So if you want to stick to the more conventional version leave them out. Up to you.
Dopiaza means two onions
Dopiaza means two onions in Persian. But it’s not really two onions. It’s onion two ways. Finely diced onion is added at the beginning and pre-fried large pieces of onion are added right at the end. Doesn’t seem like a big deal but it’s the little things that make dishes great. And there’s really onions three ways in this dish. Curry base is mostly onions as well.
Cooking curries restaurant style
This is a master dopiaza curry recipe. You can make it with pre-cooked chicken, lamb, beef or use paneer, pre-cooked potatoes, mixed vegetables or fried eggplant for vegan options. Before you start do your prep. That’s important. Make your curry base and have some heated and ready to go. Pre-cook your meat. Measure out your ingredients. Have everything ready. Put on an apron – a bit of splatter is part of the fun. If you have not read the guide to Indian restaurant technique yet, do it now. It has pictures to help you understand the recipe. There’s a video there too. And a guide to Indian ingredients in that post. Crash course in Indian restaurant cooking.
Dopiaza curry is popular for a reason. It’s just a simple, tasty curry. Not too fancy. Not too many ingredients. Just lets the onions shine through. Try it. Pretty sure you’ll like it.
