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I often make a tomato based chicken curry or similar curry served over basmati rice. What is a good beer/wine pairing for this spicy dish. Here is what I put into the curry: 2 medium onions fried, 2 cloves of garlic, 4 green cardamom pods, 3 black cardamom pods, a stick of cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon of coriander, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1/2 teaspoon of tumeric, 1/4 cup of tomato puree, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of paprika, and 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger.

I will give a recap of the drinks I have tried with this dish.

First time around I tried a generic Gewürztraminer, generic perry, and Kingfisher. Both the Gewurtztraminer and the perry were very very sweet. The Kingfisher went very well in comparison and tastes much better than it does alone. Still want to try with another similar beer for comparison.

Next I found the Samuel Smith's Cider that Klypos recommended. I must say I was very disappointed. It didn't taste like much at all(Seltzer Water). Maybe Samuel Smith's is modifying their drinks for Americans. Very disappointing.

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6 Answers

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Hmm ... that's almost what is called a Rogan Josh (tomato stew with meat), employing the classical Indian technique of thickening by the combination of ginger, onions and tomatoes.

It is only just a curry. To call a dish a curry it must contain chilli, even if you fry it before you add everything else to take the heat out of it. There is usually a little in the Garam Masala. Add some more chilli, and there's not enough coriander (cilantro) - add it fresh, and plenty.

Shoot, you ask for beer or wine. The real answer is dry cider, or perry (pear cider). Look for a good hand-crafted product, make sure you sample a few before you decide. If you can get Westons or Merrydown, they are very much what you want.

You can buy spiced wine in India which accompanies curry well, but it costs a bomb after taxes, and it is only good for curry.

If you insist on wine, there is an extremely good gewurztraminer from Chile by Concha Y Toro which is a good value choice. No other "name grape" wine has the aroma to compete with a curry, until you get into the really expensive Pinotage Reserve wines from Stellenbosch, South Africa, and if you can afford those, why are you cooking curry? The best gewurztraminer comes from the Alsace, but the prices are silly. There is one fizzy red wine from the Loire (Cuvée Rubis de Bouvet - Laduby) which is good with curry, but if you find that in the US it is a helluva good day. There are similar wines from Russia, but if you find those outside Russia, it is a miracle. My nearest stockist is on Gran Canaria, just off Africa's west coast ...

Beers - there are a couple of light "lager" style beers designed to go with curry, Cobra and Kingfisher. Knowing you are in US, you might as well drink Coors - but now you know what to ask for if you're in India, Kingfisher.

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It actually does contain chilli. 1/2 a teaspoon. Knew I was forgetting something. I will try more coriander next time. Great answer. Wish I could up vote you more than once. The dry cider sounds great, and the wines do too if I can find them. I will try cobra and kingfisher with this meal, but I have not liked these beers in the past. – Kris♦ Oct 28 at 8:58
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 Cobra are in financial trouble - might be hard to get. But if you tried these before and didn't like them, I wouldn't bother. They are really designed to go with "steam out of your ears" hot curry, like Madras, and Phall. If you are in NY state, here is a link to the wine by post - prime.premiergroup.net/store/detail/… – klypos♦ Oct 28 at 18:08
I am going to pick up some cider, wine, and beer from whole foods tonight and post here what I like the best. I will be really interested to see if I like Kingfisher/Cobra better with this dish. – Kris♦ Nov 6 at 18:38
Wow what an experience. I was amazed how much better Kingfisher tasted when drinking with this curry. Even drinking after a bite of the chicken pulao side dish, it was clear that the beer was designed for drinking with curry and not pulao. Both the perry and the wine(hogue gewurztraminer 2008) tasted remarkably similar. Very crisp light and sweet. Although the perry had a scent that I did not care for. Maybe next time I will search out one of the specific wines you recommended and try a normal cider. – Kris♦ Nov 16 at 14:34
Both perry and gewurztraminer should be scented - but be careful, what you seek is not very sweet, and most cider/perry sold in US is very sweet compared to European taste. I have consulted with a friend to find out about ciders available in US - he says you should be able to find Samuel Smith's Organic, or Hornsby's Dark n Dry, which should be along the right lines. WTH he is a Brazilian from NJ ... – klypos♦ Nov 20 at 6:34
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I would have to agree with the above post about Cobra and Kingfisher being ideal curry partners. Zatec pilsner and Grolsch Weizen wheat beer are two other beers to try.

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I preffer the beer AMSTEL. I think it is one of the best, either you drink it with chicken curry or not, it stays one of the best. You should try it, and you will not regeret it!

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Yuengling Traditional Lager from Pennsylvania is one of the best choices for curry in the U.S. It is about as easy to get as Kingfisher, but has a slighty different taste.

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For me, I seem to always enjoy a nice Mexican beer with any sort of curries -- Corona or Dos Equis for a chicken dish. Something about the chilis seems to make it work.

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These beer answers are boring.

You don't have to go light lager/pilsner with a curry. A balanced saison that isn't too sweet, with american hops - Lost Abbey's Carnevale works. An IPA could work too, the bitterness complimenting the spice burn, and any malty sweetness bringing out some of the sweeter characteristics of the meat and tomatoes.

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I love saison's with food. Such a wide range of beer within this style though. I can't find Lost Abbey's Carnevale near me, but I will look for something similar. – Kris♦ Aug 29 at 11:08

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