How to cook the perfect curry REVEALED - thanks to a new scientific formula

It's one of Britain's best-loved dishes.

And as of today, none of us need to suffer through a dodgy curry ever again - as scientists have revealed the secret to the perfect curry.

Forget measuring out the right amount of spice or grinding all the ingredients together, as it seems it's all down to the perfect ratio of meat or vegetable, sauce and rice on your plate.

According to experts at the University of Warwick, the key is to ensure every forkful includes each of these key variables in equal measure to ensure the correct blend of flavours and textures.

The size of the meal is based on the fork test, with the optimum curry having a ratio of 1:1:1 of meat/vegetable, rice and sauce.

Not only is this 'golden' ratio said to the tastiest but it's also the most aesthetically pleasing dating all the way back to Ancient Greece, with the circle of rice an exact 61 per cent wider than the spherical cap of curry sat on the top.

It's thanks to this that the formula falls into place, with the weight of rice in terms of its height and diameter and the weight of curry in terms of height and radius.

Revealing how they developed the formula, Dr Mark Hadley of the University of Warwick said: “We have assumed that, with a 27cm standard dinner plate, we want a 2cm clear band of clean plate around the outside of the rice for aesthetic purposes and to allow room on the plate for ‘breakage’ of the circle of rice when eating.
 
“The fluffiness of the rice is key to the formula as, with the separate grains, there is as much air as rice when laid out on the plate, which affects the look of the rice and how it feels in the mouth. "

He continued: "This changes the effective density of the rice and results in equal volumes of rice and curry having differentweights."

And before you pile your plate of curry too high, the study also revealed recommended portion sizes to achieve the perfect curry.

Each person should have a portion size of 100g of cooked rice (60g uncooked), with 200g of curry to balance it visually, containing 100g of meat or vegetable.

Plate size is also important to take into consideration, with 27cm for a standard meal requiring a 23cm diameter bed of rice that's 5mm thick, supporting a low dome of curry measuring 14cm (w) x 2.4cm (h).

Anna Beheshi, Senior Brand Manager at Tilda rice who commissioned the report, added: “The perfect curry really is about balancing each of the elements to ensure the best culinary experience possible.

"It is also important that the meal is visually appealing too, so the ‘hill’ of curry sits perfectly on the wider base of rice."
 
But those with bigger appetites for curry will be pleased to know that the formula for the perfect curry can be applied to any size meal too. For example, a smaller meal with 30g of uncooked rice on a 23cm diameter plate would have a 15cm diameter circle of rice and 9cm diameter circle of curry.
 
Will you be applying the perfect curry formula to your next dish? Tell us over on Twitter, now.