The Real Reason Curry Feels "Somehow Lacking"—Six Common Mistakes Even Japanese People Make

In Japanese home cooking, there are few dishes as foolproof as curry.

Sauté meat and vegetables, add water and simmer, then dissolve store-bought curry roux at the end. If you follow the package instructions, you are unlikely to make a major mistake. It's suitable for a busy day's dinner, tastes better the next day, and can easily accommodate a growing family.

That's why, for Japanese people, curry has a strong image of being an "easy-to-make dish."

However, when you try to make spice curry at home with the same mindset as at an Indian restaurant, it suddenly becomes difficult.

You've gathered cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili, and garam masala according to the recipe. You've sautéed onions and added tomatoes.

Yet, when you taste it,

"It smells good but lacks depth in flavor."

"The powdery texture of the spices stands out."

"It's spicy, but somehow not tasty."

"Something is different from the restaurant's curry."

Many people might have had such experiences.

In an article published by Australian media "WAtoday" on August 14, 2026, Sarina Kamini, who has been writing about Indian cuisine for years and conducting masala cooking classes, introduces six common mistakes people make when cooking curry at home.

Interestingly, most of these six points are not about "how many grams of spices to use."

Oil.

Freshness of spices.

Overuse of spices.

Choice of meat.

Preparation of vegetables.

And time.

In other words, the reason you can't make delicious curry is not because you don't have rare spices, but because of more fundamental cooking concepts.

This insight might be surprisingly important in Japan, where curry is so familiar that it can be called a national dish.

Mistake 1: Starting Everything with Olive Oil

In recent years, olive oil has become a very familiar presence in Japanese households.

Pasta, stir-fries, salads, meat dishes.

With its healthy image, it's not uncommon for families to default to olive oil.

However, the first point raised in the original article is the use of olive oil when making Indian cuisine.

Kamini explains that the unique bitterness of olive oil can highlight the stimulating and bitter parts of masala, weakening the warmth and sweetness that spices naturally have.

Therefore, if a recipe specifies ghee, mustard oil, peanut oil, coconut oil, etc., it's better not to simply substitute them with the oil you usually use.

Of course, you don't need to understand it as an absolute cooking rule that "using olive oil in curry will always lead to failure."

The important thing is thatoil is also a seasoning.

In Japanese home cooking, oil is often treated as something to heat ingredients without burning them. However, in Indian cuisine, the aroma of the oil itself and the aroma created when spices are heated in it are all part of the dish's design.

Using your usual oil unconsciously.

This small choice can change the direction of the finished dish.

Mistake 2: Not Discarding Spices for Years

Looking around Japanese kitchens, you might find one or two condiments with questionable expiration dates.

Nutmeg.

Cinnamon.

Paprika.

Cumin.

Garam masala, which you barely remember buying.

Thinking "it's dried, so it won't spoil," you leave them for years.

The original article cites this as a major reason why curry doesn't taste good.

According to Kamini, old spices have a monotonous aroma. For example, fresh dried chilies have multiple nuances, such as smoky aroma and sweetness, not just heat, but these dimensions fade over time.

Here lies a difficult problem for Japanese households.

Suppose you decide to make spice curry and buy about ten bottles at once.

But unless you make Indian cuisine every week, they naturally don't get used up quickly.

They're still there six months later.

They're still there a year later.

And two years later, you use the same bottles to make spice curry "after a long time."

The recipe is the same, but the aroma is weaker than before.

So you think "there aren't enough spices" and increase the amount.

Then it becomes powdery.

This is a cycle that spice beginners in Japan are particularly prone to.

The original article suggests reviewing spices every few months if used frequently, or about once a year if used infrequently.

Rather than stocking up in large quantities, buy only what you will use in small amounts.

This might actually make homemade curry taste better.

Mistake 3: Adding Too Many Spices to Make It "Authentic"

This might be the most common mistake in Japanese spice curry making.

Cumin alone isn't enough.

Add coriander.

Turmeric is also necessary.

Cardamom is authentic too.

Let's add cloves.

And cinnamon.

And fenugreek.

There's also star anise.

Finally, add garam masala.

Before you know it, you've added almost all the spices in your kitchen.

However, the original article questions the understanding that "Indian cuisine = lots of spices."

India is a vast country, and the cuisine varies greatly by region.

Not all dishes have a strong spice flavor.

In fact, there are many dishes that bring out the flavor of the ingredients with a combination of few elements.

Kamini suggests that when creating your own recipes, one approach is to limit spices to about 5-8 types and combine different characteristics like whole spices, seed spices, fresh aromatics like ginger and garlic, and powdered spices.

The important thing is not the number but the role.

Something to bring out the aroma.

Something to create warmth.

Something to create heat.

Something to add acidity.

Something to add aroma at the end.

If you increase the types just because "it looks authentic," without considering these roles, the flavor focus will blur.

Similar concerns are seen in recent overseas cooking communities.

In a May 2026 post on Reddit's Indian cooking community, a poster familiar with making dal expressed concerns about always increasing the amount of chili or sambar powder, unable to achieve delicate flavors.

This is precisely the issue that "making it stronger" and "making it complex" are different.

Doubling the spiciness doesn't double the depth of flavor.

It's like how doubling the soy sauce doesn't make ramen taste like a famous restaurant's.

Mistake 4: Thinking Any Meat Will Do

When making curry at home, many people in Japan choose chicken breast.

It's relatively inexpensive, low in fat, and easy to find at supermarkets.

However, in dishes that require long simmering, the outcome varies greatly depending on the cut.

The original article recommends choosing chicken thigh instead of breast for chicken curry and respecting the recipe if it specifies bone-in meat.

For lamb, the impression of the dish changes even with the same masala, as the fat and meat quality differ between the leg and shoulder.

In other words,

"200 grams of meat"

is not enough information.

Not just the type of meat, but the cut, fat, and presence of bones all contribute to the flavor of the dish.

This point resonates well on social media.

In Reddit's IndianFood, when a beginner in Indian cuisine sought advice on making butter chicken for a large group, they ultimately chose to use boneless chicken thighs instead of breast because it stays tender even with long cooking.

In Japan, chicken breast is popular for being "high in protein and low in fat," but when considering only the taste, breast is not always the best choice.

"Because it seems healthy"

"Because it was in the fridge"

If you change the cut for these reasons, you'll need to adjust the cooking time, fats, and moisture accordingly.

Changing the meat is not just a change of ingredients; it's changing the recipe itself.

Mistake 5: Chopping Vegetables and Throwing Them Straight into the Pot

Japanese home curry has a very strong stereotype.

Onions.

Carrots.

Potatoes.

Meat.

Sauté and simmer.

When you're used to this method, you might think you can just chop vegetables and simmer them with masala for "vegetable curry."

However, the original article emphasizes the importance of vegetable preparation.

In the Indian vegetable dish "sabzi," vegetables are sometimes roasted, fried, or parboiled before being combined with masala.

In the example of Kashmiri dum aloo, potatoes are heated, fried, and then cooked in masala.

At first glance, it seems cumbersome.

However, in cooking, this "cumbersome" part often creates the flavor.

Boiling potatoes as they are.

Boiling after roasting.

Boiling after frying.

Even with the same potatoes, the surface condition, moisture content, aroma, and oil absorption change.

As a result, the way masala clings also changes.

This is not just about Indian cuisine.

In Japanese cuisine, the result differs if you grill eggplant in oil before simmering or add it raw to the broth.

Daikon radish also loses its bitterness and absorbs flavors better if parboiled.

Even if the cooking cultures differ, the idea of "preparing ingredients to suit the dish" is common.

Mistake 6: Trying to Finish Everything in 20 Minutes

The last point is probably the most painful for modern Japanese people.

"Rushing too much."

On social media and video sites,

"10-minute curry"

"One-pan dish"

"Three ingredients"

"15 minutes after coming home"

such recipes are popular.

Of course, quick recipes have great value.

It's unrealistic to tell someone who works every day to "sauté onions for an hour."

But the original article warns against forcing all Indian cuisine into the same quick-cooking mindset.

In curry, it's not just the "spicy heat" from chili that's important.

It's how you use the "heat" from the stove.

Moisture evaporates from onions.

Spice aroma transfers to the oil.

Tomatoes break down.

Fat melts from the meat.

The surface of vegetables changes.

Excess moisture evaporates from the sauce.

All these happen through time and heat.

Doubling the heat doesn't halve the necessary time.

Here lies an interesting contrast with Japanese curry culture.

In Japan, solid curry roux became popular after the war, and curry developed as a dish that anyone could easily make with consistent taste at home. The success of this solid roux culture is why modern Japanese people feel "