konya ha gyuuniku de ha naku, butaniku wo tukatte karee wo tukuru tumori desu.

は marks 今夜 as the topic: As for tonight, ...

In this sentence, 今夜は sets the time frame the speaker wants to talk about. It does not mean that は is specifically a “time particle”; it is the normal topic marker being used with a time expression.

So the sentence starts by establishing:

• Tonight,
• as for tonight,

This is very natural in Japanese.

牛肉ではなく means not beef or more naturally using not beef, but...

It is a more formal/written-style version of:

• 牛肉じゃなく

Both are common, but:

• ではなく sounds more formal or neutral
• じゃなく sounds more conversational

So:

• 牛肉ではなく、豚肉を使って... = not beef, but using pork...

This is a very common learner question because で has many uses.

Here, ではなく is part of the fixed contrast pattern:

• Aではなく、B = not A, but B

So you should often learn ではなく as a chunk.

In this sentence, the idea is:

• not with beef
• but with pork

The で connects to the idea of the ingredient/material being used, and は adds contrast. Together, ではなく creates a clear contrast with what comes next.

In ではなく, the は adds contrast/emphasis.

Compare:

• で by itself can mark means/material/context
• では often adds a sense of as for that / with that / in that case

So 牛肉ではなく、豚肉... strongly sets up a contrast:

• not beef
• but pork

This AではなくB pattern is extremely common in Japanese.

Because 使う normally takes a direct object with を.

• 豚肉を使う = to use pork

So here:

• 豚肉を使って = using pork

Even though English often says with pork, Japanese uses the verb 使う with を for the thing being used.

So:

• 豚肉を使ってカレーを作る = use pork and make curry or more naturally = make curry using pork

使って is the て-form of 使う.

The て-form is being used to link actions:

• 豚肉を使って
• カレーを作る

So the sequence is:

1. use pork
2. make curry

In natural English, this becomes:

• make curry using pork

The Japanese does not necessarily mean two fully separate actions in time. It often just connects them smoothly.

Because there are two different verbs, and each has its own direct object.

• 豚肉を使って
  • object of 使う = 豚肉
• カレーを作る
  • object of 作る = カレー

So the sentence contains:

• use pork
• make curry

That is why two を particles are perfectly normal here.

Yes. In Japanese, 作る is the normal verb for making food.

So:

• カレーを作る = make curry
• 朝ごはんを作る = make breakfast
• お弁当を作る = make a lunch box / prepare a boxed lunch

This is completely standard.

つもりです means intend to, plan to, or be going to.

So:

• 作るつもりです = I intend to make = I’m planning to make

It expresses the speaker’s intention or plan, not a simple statement of fact.

So the whole ending means:

• I plan to make curry
• I intend to make curry

Good question.

• 作ります = I will make it / I make it

  • can sound like a straightforward future action or decision

• 作るつもりです = I intend to make it / I’m planning to make it

  • focuses on intention or plan

So つもりです adds the nuance of personal intention.

In this sentence, the speaker is not just saying what will happen, but what they are planning to do tonight.

Because つもりです attaches to the plain form of the verb.

For verbs:

• 食べるつもりです = intend to eat
• 行くつもりです = intend to go
• 作るつもりです = intend to make

So 作る here is not casual speech by itself; it is simply the form required before つもりです.

The politeness of the sentence comes from the ending です.

Yes, most likely.

Japanese often omits the subject when it is obvious from context. In a sentence like this, the natural interpretation is:

• I plan to make curry tonight, using pork instead of beef.

Depending on context, it could theoretically refer to someone else, but without extra context, I is the most natural reading.

Japanese usually puts the main verb near the end, and information before it modifies or supports it.

So this sentence builds up like this:

• As for tonight,
• not beef,
• using pork,
• curry
• intend to make

This is normal Japanese structure. English tends to state the subject and verb earlier, but Japanese often saves the main action for the end.

Yes. There are several natural alternatives, depending on style.

For example:

• 今夜は牛肉じゃなくて、豚肉を使ってカレーを作るつもりです。
• 今夜は牛肉の代わりに豚肉を使ってカレーを作るつもりです。

The second one uses:

• Aの代わりにB = instead of A, B

That can be easier for learners to understand:

• 牛肉の代わりに豚肉を使って = use pork instead of beef

But the original sentence is perfectly natural.

The comma is mostly there to make the sentence easier to read.

In:

• 牛肉ではなく、豚肉を使って...

the comma marks a natural pause after the contrast:

• not beef, but pork...

Japanese punctuation is often flexible, so the sentence could still be understood without it, but the comma helps separate the contrasting parts clearly.