Do you love Indian style curries, but don’t make them at home because you think they take too much time? Or effort? Or skill? Do you make curries at home, only to find that they’re nothing like the ones you order at your favorite restaurant? I’m going to let you in on a little secret…something I do, sometimes, to help save time. Ready? Here it goes:
It doesn’t look like much, I know. And, most traditional Indian cooks would not make so much gravy at one time…or freeze it. In fact, In India they don’t freeze much of anything (in my experience). But, luckily for you…and me…I’m not a traditional Indian cook.
The idea came to me while Piyush and I were dining out one night…I wanted to know how the restaurant could offer so many different curries, and have them on the table in so little time. So, I asked…and I was told that they use a base and then add things to it to make whatever was ordered. Genius!
I prefer my food to be homemade, healthy, flavorful and fast. There are some days that nothing sounds better to me than slaving over the hot stove, mixing spices and nurturing along a delicious, slow cooked curry. Those “some days” are not most days. Usually I’m busy or tired and I just don’t feel like cooking much. Now that Spring is here, my days off will mostly be spent tending to my gardens and re-staining my deck. So, I figured that if Indian restaurants can make a base gravy to make many different curries, fast, then why can’t a home-cook?
This is a really easy method, the curry is flavorful…but not spiced too heavily. After all, you want to use this simple gravy to make anything from Chicken Tikka Masala to Vegetable Korma. It can be used with veggies, chicken, and lamb (although I will say that if you choose to make a lamb dish…you really do have to cook it low and slow to get the best results. I, personally, would probably not use this curry base in that instance).
From start to finish you’ll have to invest about an hour and a half to two hours—-depending how long it takes you to cut 10 onions. I was lucky. No crying for this girl! I was done slicing them all in about 10 minutes—but, there have been certain onions in my past that were really vicious and took a good 20 minutes (and many tears) to get through!
10 sliced onions…and not a single tear shed. Victory!
This recipe will yield approximately 12 cups, you could add more water to increase the amount of gravy—just don’t water it down too much! Using my recipe, each cup of gravy is equal to a little less than 100 calories. Isn’t that exciting!? Depending on what curry you decide to make, one batch of curry gravy should make anywhere from 4 to 7 curries. Maybe even 8. Gnarly, huh?!
As I use the gravy, I’ll post recipes for different curries—a lot of them will be my versions of popular dishes served at some of my favorite restaurants. In fact, when I start cooking a dish, I keep my local restaurants take out menu near-by. I can work off their descriptions and tweak the dishes so that they taste similiar.
Last night I used it to make Chicken Jalfrezi—and it was awesome!!!
The Spice Mix:
Some of my most-used spices: Green cardamom, Whole Cloves, Paprika, Mustard Seeds, Turmeric, Cumin Seeds, and Garam Masala
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon coriander (seeds)
- 1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 tablespoon paprika (this is not hot, it mostly just gives color)
- 1 small 1″ piece of cinnamon
- 3 cloves
- 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg (optional)
- 2 green Cardamom pods- crushed
- 1 large bayleaf
Mix all spices together in a bowl. Take a smell…they should smell a little pungent, but mostly good! The smell will change a lot once they’re added to the oil/ghee. Set your masala mix aside.
Ingredients:
- 10 onions- baseball sized- sliced pretty thin
- 1 carrot – peeled and chopped (use 2 if you want!)
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 12 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used Hunts brand canned tomatoes)
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp. ghee
- salt/pepper to taste (I added a little salt, but left out pepper. I can add this to the individual curries I make)
Directions:
- Heat oil and ghee in a large pan, over medium high heat. Once it’s nice and hot, toss in your masala mix. Fry the spices-being careful nothing burns. Stir around a while until everything is nice and fragrant…and no longer raw. Add the ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for a minute or so, just until it lets off a nice smell. Add the onions. Mix everything together really well so that the onions are covered with the masala.
The onions are covered with the masala mixture and are starting to reduce in size.
- While the onions cook down, slice the red bell pepper and grate the carrot. Once the onions have gone soft and translucent (they will also shrink quite a lot), add the bell pepper and carrot.
- Cook the vegetables until they go soft (you could also toss in about a cup of shredded cabbage, if you want). Once the vegetables have softened properly, add the tomatoes and water to the mixture. Stir everything together, mixing well.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about a half hour. Once it’s well cooked and all the flavors have had a little time to mingle, pull out your blender. Working in batches (I had to do three batches), blend the mixture into a smooth, creamy looking gravy.
My beloved Vitamix. This thing is a curry-lovin’ girl’s best friend. It makes your dish look so velvety. (I forgot to take the photo with gravy actually in it)
The finished gravy will look something like this:
please forgive the photo, I forgot to get one once I dumped it all back in the pan!
- Pour all the gravy back into the pan and simmer for about 15 to 20 more minutes. You can taste the gravy—it’ll be a little bland will desperately need salt. Fear not! This under-seasoned gravy will go on to become many, many great curries!
- Once you’ve let everything cool for a while, pour it into containers to freeze/use. You can keep it in your fridge for a few days, but any longer you should freeze it. It’ll keep really well, I promise!
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I used the base gravy last night, and made Chicken Jalfrezi. It was wonderful! Flavorful. Healthy. Fast! …It seriously took 15 minutes (ignoring the time the chicken marinates) to make this:
…As good as any Restaurant! Piyush gave it 2 thumbs up. (it should be a little less watery, but that’s my fault. I added the water. doh!)
The curry base was a huge success!!! If you love curries, but you’re too busy to make them at home…I hope you give this method a try!
Chicken Jalfrezi Recipe to come! It’s too good not to share!
Lovely idea! I didn’t even know you could freeze this. Will have to attempt!
Please do! Let me know what you think of it!
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Do you use oil or ghee? I have been using coconut oil mostly, and occasionally ghee. I made ghee at home and it turned out well, but it didn’t last as long as the storebought stuff (I Probably didn’t boil off/strain all of the milk solids). Lately my preference has been for a mix of coconut oil and ghee used for flavoring at the end (as a finishing touch to lentil dishes, for example.)
Hello, Jenny!
I love ghee! It’s about 100 calories a tbsp (the store-boughten kind….I haven’t made it yet), but it is very high in saturated fat! If you’re trying to replicate your favorite curry from your local take-away, ghee will definitely be needed! You’re absolutely right about using ghee as flavoring to finish a dish. Usually I won’t even add it to the dish, but I’ll add it to the rice instead.
I think that’s so awesome that you make your own ghee!!!
When I cook, I use a mix of olive oil/ghee–or just olive oil. I have cooked with coconut oil, and I like that too, I just forget to replenish my stock when it’s all gone!
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Thanks for posting this. I’ve had a craving for curry for awhile. I’ve been researching the spice mix. This idea of making the gravy in a large quantity and having it ready for later is perfect for our lifestyle. We make large quantities of stews and soups to use throughout the year. Keeps us away from those nasty chemicals that companies litter their food with, too! I will save your recipe for our fall cooking. Thanks again for posting this!
Greetings from north of the Arctic Circle.
I’m glad you found my blog!!!
Yes, making the curry gravy in large batches works like a charm! It tastes so fresh, no one would ever know you “cheated.” I’ll be posting more recipes that use the curry base, as well!
What is your favorite soup to freeze?
Shari,
Making ghee is very, very simple. And very much worth it. The store bought kind is most often stale and gives a bad aftertaste to the dishes. Google how to make it (really, very simple!) and you will not believe the difference! I know you can make it! You are an amazing cook! I freeze mine in an ice cube tray so I always have “fresh” ghee on hand! Doesn’t go stale!
Thanks a bunch for the curry base recipe. Making a batch as we speak. Smells wonderful.
I am so pleased that someone is helping out novices to the curry world. I have always been alittle timid when it comes to using all of the different spices but the way you have it I even think I might be able to make gravy lol. I will let you know how it turns out.
I have a question. I love the yellow chicken curry. You know the one we saw for years. Do you know a simple version of that. Also, I have a family who can only handle mild food. Is the gravy very spicy, if so how would I be able to cool it down?
Teresa,
This curry base is very, very mild. Not spicy in the least. When you use it to make an actual curry, simply cut down on the amount of fresh or ground chili.
Yogurt is a great cooling agent.
The yellow chicken curry…hmmm…Indian? or Thai?
Can the gravy be frozen in batches for later use? I was little worried about the mixture separating and becoming watery when thawed.
I was worried about that too. I have frozen curries before and had that happen, but because the base contains no yogurt and no cream…it shouldn’t be an issue. In fact, I freeze all of my gravy in 1 c. portions. To make the Chicken Tikka Masala I actually used some of the frozen gravy. It was just as perfect as the day I froze it!
Make sure you don’t throw it in the freezer until it is properly cooled though—this will help keep excess vapor from forming.
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Hello, this looks great. One quick question, though: do you remove the bay leaf and/or other whole spices before blending? Thanks!
Jon,
I actually don’t remove the spices. I blend everything together. The result is a beautifully light-spiced gravy…perfect for making lots of curries!
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Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it yesterday and made the Korma today. YUM! Your recipes are easy and well written – thank you.
One question – When I don’t have cardamom pods, is it okay to use ground cardamom? I’m not quite sure why pods are used and don’t always have the pods.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipes!
You can definitely use ground cardamom. You don’t need much though! I’d recommend adding it 1/4 tsp. at a time and taste as you go. I just googled it, and learned that 1 whole cardamom pod is equal to 1/6 tsp. ground.
Hi, I have found yours base curry recipe quite interesting .Could you please post some more Indian recipes in which this base curry can be used especially some ones which are using Chicken or cheese (paneer)
Thanks
Absolutely! I’m actually working on one right this very minute.
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Hi there,
I’m really, really eager to make this!! I do have one question though. Is it ok to substitute vegetable oil with coconut oil or olive oil?
I’m glad to hear that!!!
To answer your question, yes. It’s perfectly acceptable. In fact, I often use olive oil instead of veg. oil.
One of the most useful things thnigs I’ve come across in a long while. Thanks.
You are most welcome!
Hi Shari, I was looking for a healthy version of mild Thai yellow curry sauce (almost like looking for the holy grail) and found your site instead. I really enjoy Indian food too, except I always run into the problem of the food being too spicy for me, but am so glad to find this mild curry recipe! I’ve avoided cooking Indian food before, thinking that it was too complicated, but you make it sound easy enough to try. You mentioned that you freeze them in 1 cup amounts, and I was wonder what you use to freeze them in? How long will it last in the freezer? Also, how much does 1 cups of sauce become when used in an entree.. i.e. how many servings? I cook for only for myself so I wouldn’t want to make too large of a serving that I couldn’t eat in a few days. Thanks for the inspiration!
Joanne,
I typically freeze my base in 1, 2 or 4 cup containers I purchase from the Dollar Store. They’re very similar to take out containers you might get at a deli.
I find they last quite awhile in the freezer, I’ve used some that was about 3 months old and it still tasted fresh and new.
1 cup of sauce in an entree…it really depends on which curry you are making. Most of the curries on my site feed about 4-6 people, so you’d probably have to do some math and figure out exactly how much you’d need to scale the recipe down.
If the recipe does not include cream, milk or yogurt…it can definitely be frozen, and it’ll taste wonderful for at least 3 months. If a recipe does include cream, milk or yogurt…you could always set aside portions to freeze before adding these ingredients, and then when you re-heat the food you can toss a little in then.
I forgot to ask.. can you substitute fresh tomatoes for canned tomatoes? And if so, how many cups worth of tomatoes would you use, and would you take out the seeds first before chopping up? Thanks!
Also any secrets to cutting so many onions without crying? I had to make do with less onion than I wanted because my eyes were stinging so badly..
Hello JoAnne!
I’ve made it with fresh tomatoes many times, and also less onions.
Instead of using small onions, I’ve used 3 giant ones. I also tossed in a few pounds of fresh heirloom tomatoes (seeds and peels included—it all gets blended up anyway).
If you decide to use fresh tomatoes, my only suggestion would be to taste as you go. You may need to add a little sugar or even a little lemon juice. Just remember, the base should be fragrant and will smell like a nice curry, but the taste will be flat. This is because I never add salt to the base (you definitely could if you wanted), but instead wait until I have made my final curry before adding the salt.
I hope this helps!
Shari
Thanks Shari for your reply and the tips! How do you manage to cut so many onions without tearing up.. any special techniques? I have a hard time cutting onions because my eyes wind up stinging badly. Thanks!
JoAnne,
I have the same problem, unfortunately. You should see me dance around my kitchen, rubbing my eyes, and cursing! It’s probably hilarious, but it’s definitely not fun.
What I try to do is to just chop as fast as I can. I try to use HUGE onions instead of small ones, this way I can cut less but still end up with the same amount.
Another thing you could do when making indian food (most of the time, anyway) is to grind your onions up in the food processor. You’ll end up with an onion paste and tons of onion juice too, but the water will evaporate when cooking…so that’s not a problem.
I hope this helps!
Hi Shari!
I posted twice several days ago, and although you replied to one of them, the other post says “Your comment is awaiting moderation”.. so I’m not sure if you saw it, but I’m posting the question part of my post again in hopes that you will see it.
You mentioned that you freeze the the curry base in 1 cup amounts.. what do you use to freeze them in? How long will it last in the freezer? Does 1 cup of sauce equal 1 serving? Thanks!
Hi, have you experimented with making this recipe in a slow cooker? I’d love to hear about it if you have.
Hi, have you experimented with this recipe in a slow cooker? I’d love to hear about it if you have…
I haven’t…but I’m fresh out of curry base, so I’ll definitely try it and blog about it! Thanks for the idea.
Hello. I have found several recipes similar to yours, but none tell how to use the base to make a dish. Most recipes for curry that I find assume that I am NOT using a base. So my base sits around useless. Can you tell me how to substitute my base into a recipe that doesn’t know I have a base? Thanks a lot. Q
Quimby,
When I create a dish using my curry base, I will typically use between 1 cup to 3 cups of base per curry. How much I use depends on how many tomatoes and onions the recipe calls for. For something with poultry or a recipe that yields a lot of curry, I’ll use 3 cups. For something that uses less protein or vegetables (a shrimp curry, perhaps) I would tend to stick with the 1 cup. If you find that you use too much base, you can try to remedy that by adding a little bit of sugar (will help cut any additional acidity from the tomatoes). If your curry is meat based, you could also try adding a little stock to see if that helps.
I hope this helps. Thank you for the question! I think I’ll do a whole post on that soon!
Thanks so much for the recipes, Shari. I’ve just discovered your website and am going to make the curry base tomorrow. I don’t have a vitamix, sadly, and am wondering if the cinnamon will completely grind. Can I use preground cinnamon instead? If so, how much do you think I should use?
Thanks,
Lori
Lori, I hope the curry base turned out for you! I’m sorry that it took me so long to respond. If you don’t have a really strong blender, I definitely recommend using ground spices. I would just toss in about a 1/4-1/2 tsp, depending on how much you love cinnamon. You can always add more later, so taste as you add.
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Great recipe,been doing it years. Try blending your sauce after cooked with some ghee ,it makes it a lot smoother pal. Never fry your chicken first. Put it in raw. Reason being,when you fry it ,nothing can get in its texture. When you boil it in the curry all the water comes out and as it shrinks all the spices and sauce vacuum back in . Good tip ,try it,no need to marinate.
Thanks for the tips, Mark! If I’m making the curry ahead of time, I definitely just toss the chicken in raw–that way it can soak up all the delicious spices overnight. If I’m making it for that day, I usually always marinate. You are right though…raw chicken will soak up more than pre-fried. Thanks for pointing that out!
Hallo Jenny,
thanks for posting your recipe in the net, it was helpful because I have always wondered how the Indians make such a nice sauce, it took a Girl from America to inform me. No more jars of curry sauce will come in my house.
Thanks again,
Mark
Mark, I’m glad to hear no more curry jars will come into your home! Enjoy the curries!
lovely…great
I will have to try this when I am feeling ambitious.
I hope you do!
Shari, New to your site and just finished making your curry base. We can’t wait to try it in a recipe. My husband was wondering why the butter chicken recipe doesn’t use your curry base? And we would love to try your version of a good saag/base recipe. We haven’t found one we like yet.
Cynthia
Cynthia, Welcome to My Fancy Pantry! I’m glad you are trying some of the recipes! The butter chicken does not use the curry base because I had made that curry before I figured out the secret to making curries quickly.
The recipe for butter chicken on my blog is still quite fast, but I’ll definitely write one up that uses the base as well. I’ve had a lot of requests for saag paneer, so stay tuned…I’ll share my recipe soon!
can you please tell the weight of the onions? its difficult to judge baseball size esp since where i stay, the onions are never similar in sizes. Thank you.
Tanu, I’m not sure of the weight off the top of my head and I don’t have any onions in the house at the moment, but I will most definitely get a weight ASAP and let you know. Thanks for asking!
Reblogged this on Random Ink Blots and commented:
Here is a great idea, cuts way down on cooking times later!
Great idea! Reblogged on my blog at http://ergoandmax.wordpress.com so that I remember to make it. Thanks for sharing!
Sorry didn’t mean to comment twice regarding my reblogging, I did not know it auto-commented when I reblogged it, So feel free to delete one of them., or both – it is, of course, up to you.
Kevin
Kevin, I hope you enjoy!!!
I have learned to love onion chopping. Here is one of many methods you might try to avoid crying: julienne https://www.stellaculinary.com/podcasts/video/how-julienne-onion
Reblogged this on Poohalicious's Blog and commented:
Do try this!
I am 100 times grateful to this lady for this curry base, it has made daily cooking 100 times easier!!
I made this curry base and chicken jalfrezi this weekend and it turned out yummy. My fiancé grew up in India so I’m excited to learn how to make some of his favorites. I was wondering what size of pan did you use to make the base? I used a 6 quart Dutch oven and the onions went almost to the top making it a bit difficult to stir. Thanks!
Hello Jen! I’m glad you tried the curry base and enjoyed the Chicken Jalfrezi! To answer your question, I use a 10 inch Chicken Fryer. It’s about 3 inches deep, I believe. There are a lot of onions, and they do pile up in the pan making it hard to stir. I usually flip more than stir until the onions begin to cook down enough for me to easily stir the vegetables. Alternatively, you could cook everything in two separate batches…but I don’t have the patience for that. I know this isn’t a very good answer, but I hope it helps a little! Let me know if you need anything else!