Homemade, From Scratch: What "No Shortcuts" Actually Looks Like Inside an Indian Kitchen in Oslo
Most restaurants write “homemade” on the menu. Few show what it actually takes. Here’s what happens in the kitchen at Curry and Ketchup, Majorstuen, before a single plate reaches the table.
“Homemade” has become one of the most overused words on a restaurant menu — right up there with “authentic” and “fresh.” Anyone can print it. Fewer kitchens can actually back it up.
At Curry and Ketchup, on Kirkeveien 51 in Majorstuen, the claim comes down to three things that happen every single day, in full view of the kitchen: the curry simmers for hours, the naan is shaped and baked by hand, and the spices are ground fresh rather than scooped from a pre-mixed blend. None of it is fast. All of it is the point.
The Curry: Hours, Not Minutes
A properly made curry needs time. In the kitchen at Curry and Ketchup, that means chicken simmered slowly with curry leaves and whole dried chilies, allowed to cook down until the spices actually integrate into the sauce rather than sitting on top of it.
This is the difference between a curry that tastes seasoned and one that tastes cooked. A fast curry can taste like spice powder stirred into cream or tomato — the flavours are present but separate. A slow-simmered curry tastes unified: the base, the aromatics, and the protein have had time to become one dish rather than several ingredients sharing a bowl.
It’s a small distinction on paper. It’s an obvious one on the tongue.
The Naan: Shaped by Hand, Baked in a Tandoor
Naan is one of the easiest things for a kitchen to fake. Frozen naan, reheated naan, naan from a supplier — most people wouldn’t necessarily catch it on a busy night. Curry and Ketchup makes it the slower way: dough kneaded and rolled by hand, then baked in a tandoor clay oven running at 300°C or higher.
The kitchen has demonstrated this with two versions side by side — one topped with garlic and herbs, the other finished with chili flakes and cracked spice. Same dough, same oven, two completely different results, because fresh hand-made dough responds to toppings and heat in a way that pre-made or frozen bread can’t replicate. The char pattern, the blistering, the uneven puff of the surface — these are signs of dough that went into a hot oven fresh, not bread that was reheated to look the part.
The Spices: Ground Fresh, Not Pre-Mixed
Pre-mixed spice blends are a common shortcut across the restaurant industry — convenient, consistent, and available in bulk. They’re also part of why so many curry dishes across different restaurants can taste strangely similar to each other.
Grinding spices fresh is slower and less consistent by nature, which is exactly why it produces more distinct results. Every dish gets its own character instead of drawing from the same base blend as everything else on the menu. It’s a detail diners don’t see directly, but it shows up in how differentiated each dish tastes from the next.
Why Bother, After Almost Three Decades?
Curry and Ketchup has been on Kirkeveien for close to 30 years — long enough to have watched the fast-food shortcuts around it multiply. Pre-mixed spice blends, frozen dough, bagged sauces: all of it exists because it saves time and money. None of it is used in this kitchen.
That’s a deliberate choice, not an accident of not having modernized. Slow-cooked curry, hand-shaped naan, and freshly ground spice take more labour and more time per plate than the shortcut version. The trade-off is a kitchen that produces food closer to what you’d get cooked at home by someone who cares — which, for a restaurant built on nearly three decades of repeat customers, has been the entire business model.
What This Looks Like on the Plate
| Shortcut version | Curry and Ketchup’s approach |
|---|---|
| Curry simmered briefly, spices added late | Curry simmered for hours with curry leaves and whole dried chilies |
| Naan frozen or reheated | Naan hand-kneaded, hand-rolled, baked fresh in a tandoor |
| Pre-mixed spice blend | Spices ground fresh per dish |
| Consistent but generic flavour across dishes | Distinct flavour profile for each dish |
Practical Information
Restaurant: Curry and Ketchup Address: Kirkeveien 51, Majorstuen, Oslo Phone: +47 22 69 05 22 Hours: Open daily, 11:00–22:00 Cuisine: Indian, Indo-Chinese, Indo-Asian, tandoori What to look for: Slow-simmered curries, fresh tandoor naan (try both a garlic-herb and a chili-spice version side by side), freshly ground spice blends Nearest T-bane: Majorstuen stasjon (all lines) Reservations & takeaway: curryandketchup.no
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the food at Curry and Ketchup actually homemade? Yes. The curries are simmered for hours rather than quickly assembled, the naan is hand-kneaded and rolled before baking in a tandoor oven, and spices are ground fresh rather than sourced as a pre-mixed blend.
What makes tandoor-baked naan different from other naan? Naan baked fresh in a tandoor clay oven (300°C+) develops a distinct char and blistered texture that frozen or reheated naan cannot replicate. Fresh dough also responds differently to toppings like garlic, herbs, or chili flakes.
Why does slow-cooked curry taste different from fast-cooked curry? Simmering curry for an extended period allows the spices, aromatics, and protein to fully integrate into the sauce, producing a unified flavour. Quickly prepared curry often tastes like separate elements — spice, base, and protein — rather than one cohesive dish.
How long has Curry and Ketchup been open? Curry and Ketchup has operated at Kirkeveien 51 in Majorstuen, Oslo, for almost three decades.
Where is Curry and Ketchup located? Kirkeveien 51, Majorstuen, Oslo — a short walk from Majorstuen T-bane station.
Curry and Ketchup has served homemade Indian, Indo-Chinese, and Indo-Asian food at Kirkeveien 51, Majorstuen, Oslo, for almost three decades. Everything is made from scratch daily — no shortcuts. Open daily 11:00–22:00. Visit curryandketchup.no or call +47 22 69 05 22.