Indian Take Away Curry Base Gravy

Here is the secret of all restaurant curries.
It's all in the gravy base and here it is...dead easy to make. This is my version. There are plenty others out there.

The base gravy,
750 grams chopped onions,
1/2 a green or red pepper(capsicum),
1 t-spoon garlic(fresh),or from a jar
1/2 t-spoon ginger(fresh),or from a jar
1 t-spoon salt,
100ml sunflower oil,
1 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander,
1 t-spoon fenugreek leaves,
1 t-spoon coriander powder,
1 t-spoon cumin powder,
1 t-spoon turmeric powder,
1 and 1/2 t-spoons garam masala,
1 tablespoon of tomato paste,1 can tinned tomatoes,
1 and 1/2 litres of water. I add another half litre of boiling water at the end while blending.

Fry the onions, in a large pot, until soft but do not allow to colour.
Add all the other ingredients and boil gently, covered, for 1 hour.
After one hour blend the mix until smooth using a blender or hand blender, add more water when you blend, if you have to. Make sure the mix is blended very well indeed.
The blended gravy should be quite thin( like a soup), when you make the curries and boil on high heat this will reduce the gravy to the consistancy you want, this also intensifies the flavours.
Leave to cool and place into individual portions of 300ml each.
The gravy can be used straight away or frozen in its portions for use later.

I usually vac seal the portions but you can use a food seal bag or tuppaware type containers.


This is the gravy used by most Indian restaurants, some have added other ingredients, like coconut block, but this to me is the general one and gives a perfect result every time.

Note:
When using to make a curry de-frost and re-heat as it will make cooking the dish easier.


Thanks to Mick (Curry barking mad) for his help on this one and others on my blog. I have changed some of his recipes to suit my own taste. This is Mick's video on how to make the gravy. Mick has been very helpful with all my questions about curry making. His Chicken Tikka Masala is fab and I hope to get his permission to put it up on the blog.

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