Curry base sauce is used in British Indian restaurants or curry houses that give their curries or gravies distinct flavor, and texture and expedite the process of making curries. It's the starting point for making many curries, from creamy tikka masala to fiery vindaloo. You can make the curry base gravy once, freeze it, and then quickly whip up your favorite curry house-style curries all week. Here's an easy recipe with step-by-step photos & video.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time30 minutesmins
Total Time40 minutesmins
Course: Main
Cuisine: British, British-Indian
Servings: 6cups
Calories: 284kcal
Author: Preeti
Equipment
1 Deep Bottom Pot with lid
1 Ladle
1 Blender Jar or Hand Blender
Ingredients
¼cupoil
1-inchcinnamon
2green cardamoms
300gonionsroughly chopped (3 cups)
1tablespoonroughly chopped garlic
1tablespoonroughly chopped ginger
½teaspoonturmeric
1teaspoonKashmiri red chili powdersubstitute paprika
2teaspooncoriander powder
1teaspoongaram masala powder
1teaspooncumin powder
½green bell pepperroughly diced (½ cup)
½red bell pepperroughly diced (½ cup)
a small carrotpeeled and roughly chopped (⅓ cup)
500gtomatoesroughly chopped (4 cups)
Salt to taste
½teaspoonsugaroptional
4cupsof water
Instructions
Heat ¼ cup of oil in a deep bottom pot over medium heat. Add cinnamon and cardamom. Sauté for a few seconds or until aromatic.
Add onions. Stir and cook the onions for 7-8 minutes or until the sides of the onions start to become golden.
Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, Kashmiri red chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and cumin powder. Stir and cook it for a minute.
Add bell peppers, carrot, tomatoes, salt and sugar. Combine and cook it for 2-3 minutes. If it starts to stick the bottom of 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. It will take around 20 minutes. The curry base is cooked well. Remove from heat. Let it cool down completely. You can discard the cinnamon and cardamom.
Blend it with a hand blender or blender jar until smooth. If using a blender jar, scoop the mixture in small batches and blend until silky smooth. You can add water while blending if it is too thick to puree. You can discard cardamom and cinnamon before blending.
Let it cool down to room temperature. The base gravy will be thick. Transfer it to an airtight container and freeze. Stays good for a month.
Video
Notes
To use this base sauce for curry, first dilute it with the same quantity of water to get milk consistency.
Heat the base sauce before adding it to any curry or gravy recipe.
1 cup of this base sauce 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.
Store it 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.