Indian Restaurant Curry Base Sauce (Gravy)

What is a curry base sauce?

A curry base sauce is a precooked sauce used in British Indian restaurants or curry houses. It is made with onions, ginger, garlic, and tomatoes, and lightly spiced with cumin, coriander, red chili powder, and turmeric.

The base gravy recipe may vary, but it adds awesome flavor to many different curries. It's the starting point for making many curries, from creamy tikka masala to fiery vindaloo.

British Indian Restaurant's kitchen prepares a large batch of base sauce for curry daily. This pre-cooked base sauce for curry is combined with precooked meat with some spices or cream depending on the recipe. This is how the BIR curries are served at restaurants quickly within 10 minutes.

Why use the base sauce for curry?

Using curry base offers several advantages:

• Flavor and Texture: It provides a consistent flavor and texture that's characteristic of BIR curries.
• Convenience: It saves time and effort, as you don't need to start from scratch each time you make a curry.
• Versatility: It can be used to make a wide variety of curries, simply by adding different proteins, vegetables, and finishing touches.

A base sauce doesn’t have much flavor or you can say it is mild or bland. This is because you can use the same base gravy to cook either creamy Chicken Tikka Masala or spicy Chicken Madras.

They are used to shorten the process of sautéing the onion and tomatoes to make onion-tomato masala that makes the base for Indian curry or gravy.

Ingredients you'll need for base sauce for curry

How to make the curry base sauce?

You can make curry base gravy at home and freeze it in portions for later use. Here's a simple recipe with step-by-step photos and a video:

• Heat oil in a deep bottom pot over medium heat. Add cinnamon and cardamom. Sauté until aromatic.
• Add 3 cups of roughly chopped onions. Stir and cook until the sides of the onions start to become golden.
• Add 1 tablespoon roughly chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon roughly chopped ginger, ½ teaspoon turmeric, 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder, 2 teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon garam masala powder and 1 teaspoon cumin powder. Stir and cook for a minute.
• Add ½ cup roughly diced bell peppers, 1 carrot, 500 g roughly chopped tomatoes, salt to taste, and ½ teaspoon sugar. Add bell peppers, carrot, tomatoes, salt and sugar. Combine and cook it for 2-3 minutes. If it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan add little water and stir.

  

• Add 5 cups of water. Let it come to a boil. Cover and cook on low heat until vegetables are soft.
• After 20 minutes, the vegetables will be soft and the oil will float on the surface. This is an indication that the base sauce for curry is cooked well. Do not remove the oil as it has all the flavors. Remove from heat. Let it cool down completely.
• Blend it with a hand blender or blender jar. You can discard cardamom and cinnamon before blending.

  

• Transfer it to an airtight container and freeze. Stays good for a month. Better to store in small portions like 1 cup or 2 cups and use as required. This recipe will give you a small batch (6 cups) of base sauce.
• Once you have your base sauce, you can use it to quickly whip up your favorite BIR-style curries all week long. Simply thaw the sauce, add your chosen protein and vegetables, and simmer until cooked through.

How to use this curry base sauce?

To use this curry base, first dilute it with the same quantity of water to get milk consistency. When you add this diluted base gravy while cooking the BIR-style curry it thickens up faster.

Heat the base sauce before adding it to any curry or gravy recipe. You can let the hot diluted base gravy simmer in another pot.

When you add it to any curry, add it in small portions like ⅓^rd cup (or a ladle full of sauce) at a time. Wait for it to cook down then add the second portion, depending on how thick or thin you want your curry to be.

I have shared my restaurant-style chicken jalfrezi recipe made with base sauce. Base sauce fastens the cooking process and the curry is ready within 15 minutes. It tastes just like the curries you get in British Indian Restaurants!

What quantity of base sauce should be added to the curry?

1 cup of this curry base when diluted can be used to make 2 portions. But sometimes you might need a little less or more of the base sauce.

When you are cooking the curry, add more base sauce if it looks dry. Same way, if it is too thin or watery/saucy cook it a bit more to dry it up to your desired consistency.

Is this the authentic way to make Indian curry or gravy?

No, at home, we usually make Indian curry or gravy from scratch, and it takes a lot of time. But in restaurants, they're super busy and can't wait around for hours to cook a single dish. That's why they came up with this versatile Indian base sauce for curry to cook different curries quickly without losing any flavor.

Do I have to prepare this base sauce every time I want to make Indian curry?

No, you don’t need to. You can make any Indian curry from scratch. However, if you desire the distinct flavor and texture found in British Indian Restaurants, then yes, you have to create the base sauce for curry before preparing the curry.

There's a noticeable difference in taste and texture between curries made with this sauce and those made from scratch.

How to store this base gravy

Store this curry base gravy in small portions like 1 cup or 2 cups. 1 cup of this gravy base makes two portions. Transfer it to an airtight container and freeze. It stays good for a month.

Defrost it overnight in the refrigerator. Before consuming check it out for any signs like foul smell, black spots, or bad taste. Heat the base sauce before using it.

BIR curries that you might like

• Chicken Pathia
• Chicken Madras
• Chicken Chasni

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